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Leadership lessons from Star Trek: Recruiting

In a regular job, people are motivated to get work done by what they get back, and they become so dependent on what they receive that the fear of losing those benefits or resources becomes incentive to continue to do something that they may not look forward to doing.  If I stop mindlessly sending email to technology partners about that it’s time to renew their subscriptions to engineering services, I could lose my job and not be able to feed my family, right? 

What about extracurricular activities?  How do you get someone to volunteer to do more work?  It’s one of the most common dilemmas, especially in non-profit and volunteer-run organizations.  In a sense, the motivation is similar.  People are still motivated by what they get back.  However it doesn’t need to be monetary.  Here are some examples:

  • Recognition among peers (“flattery will get you everywhere!”)
  • Learning a new skill, or receiving new experience
  • The promise of future learnings and experiences
  • The satisfaction of a job well done / doing something you know you’re good at
  • “We need you!”  Not just someone, but you. (which is somewhat a mixture of the above)

Here’s an example from the popular television show, Star Trek:  The Next Generation.  This is fiction, but it’s so elegantly written that it could have been real.  Indeed, entire web sites have been built around leadership lessons we can learn from the show’s main character, Starfleet Captain Jean Luc Picard.  The scene is Earth, set in the future but the year is irrelevant here.  Captain Picard has gone through a lot recently (a situation similar to being a prisoner of war), and has come back home to the family vineyard, and to his friends to get centered again on what really matters in life.  He has started to wonder whether putting himself at risk as the captain of a space ship is something he’s willing to do again.  In this scene, Picard starts to talk with pride about a solution his crew had developed to a tectonic plate problem similar to one that Louis said was an issue in his project, "Atlantis," when Louis interrupts him:

 

                                      LOUIS
                               (interrupting)
                       You know, it's a shame...
                               (off Picard's look)
                       The government's been looking for
                       some one to take over the
                       project... a real leader who can
                       come in and get it moving...
                       They're looking for you, Jean-Luc.
                               (Picard reacts)
                       But I know you'd never leave
                       Starfleet.
 
                                      PICARD
                       No, I'd never leave Starfleet.
 
        And he said it, but the words come out hollow, without
        conviction. And no one is more surprised than Picard.
        The revelation is extremely disconcerting and Louis
        is sharp enough to catch the subtle shading in Picard's
        voice.
  
                                      LOUIS
                       That's what I thought.
                               (thinks for a second)
                       Hey, if nothing else, why don't
                       I send over some of the internal
                       studies of the tectonic problem...
                       since you're interested... We
                       could use any thoughts you might
                       have...
 
                                      PICARD
                               (beat)
                       All right.
 
        Louis smiles as he realizes that the subject is still
        alive... and anything is possible. They continue
        walking in the vineyard.
 

Louis does an excellent job of planting the seed, and getting Picard to volunteer for something.  He uses a mixture of flattery and the appeal of doing something that Picard might be good at to attract Picard to the opportunity.  Furthermore, he makes Picard feel like his skills may be useful to someone new, that he would be appreciated and needed.  …and though he would be good at, it would be an opportunity to do something new, and to stay close to home. 

When Louis fails, he goes about it a different way, involving Picard in an indirect way in hopes that once Picard has had a taste of the experience, he could become more fully involved later.

 

In Toastmasters, we could all learn a lot from Louis.  By praising the skills of others, by making someone feel like they alone have the power to do something that would greatly be appreciated by all, and by offering new experiences, we can recruit new members, fill meeting roles, fill officer roles, encourage participation in speech contests, or organize committees.

Let’s flash forward to what happened a short time later.  The scene is his brother Robert’s house, and he’s talking to his sister-in-law, Marie:

                                      MARIE
                       Are you all right?
 
                                      PICARD
                       Actually... I seem to have made
                       a disturbing discovery...
 
        She looks at him with concern...
 
                                      PICARD
                       Louis mentioned the Atlantis
                       project needed a director... and
                       I actually found myself thinking
                       about it.
 
        Her face brightens considerably...
 
                                      MARIE
                       But that would be wonderful,
                       Jean-Luc...


                                      PICARD
                       Do you think so?
 
                                      MARIE
                       Having you back home... of
                       course...
 

Marie plays a part in recruiting Picard too, providing a second opinion that is also supportive.  We later learn that Marie and Louis were working together to persuade Picard to leave Starfleet.  ...but without her encouragement at this point Picard might not still be considering leaving his Starfleet Captain job behind.  I've only removed a line or two of stage direction from the script here, let's continue the scene -- Louis has just walked in from the vineyard.  

 

 
                                      MARIE
                       Come in, Louis... I'll get you
                       some wine...
                               (subtle encouragement)
                       The two of you can talk
                       business...
 
                                      PICARD
                       Well, there's really nothing to
                       talk about...
 
                                      LOUIS
                       I'm interested to know what you
                       thought about our plans.
 
                                      PICARD
                       I've just really had a chance to
                       glance at them... I have a few
                       ideas but...
 

Had this scene continued, Louis might have had hope of recruiting him for the project.  …but we don’t have time to let the scene evolve organically, so the show’s writers made the Louis character jump the gun a little, which turns out to be a mistake.

 
                                      LOUIS
                       Wonderful. We should discuss them
                       with the board of governors...
                       I've set up a meeting...
 
 
                                      PICARD
                       A meeting... ?
 
                                      LOUIS
                       Just a preliminary conversation...
                       tomorrow morning...
 
        Picard begins a slow build... to contain his anger...
 
                                      PICARD
                       Preliminary to what?
 
        Louis takes a breath... okay, I'm going for it --
 
                                      LOUIS
                       They want you. I mentioned your
                       interest in the project, that's
                       all. That's all I had to say.
                       They jumped at the prospect...
 
                                      PICARD
                       I never said there was a
                       prospect...
 

Louis is in danger of losing Picard on this completely.  Too much of an ask, too soon. 

 
                                      LOUIS
                       At least, listen to them,
                       Jean-Luc.
 
        Picard goes inside himself and turns away, shakes his
        head, trying to contain whatever is trying to get
        out... inside him is the anger and pain... feeling
        pulled between two worlds again... defeated... he never
        turns back to Louis as he says in his softest voice.
 
                                      PICARD
                       Fine. Good. I'll listen to
                       them.
 
                                      LOUIS
                       You won't regret it, Jean-Luc.
                       I promise you. I'll see you in
                       the morning...
 

Alright, yes, by now you’ve probably pegged me as a Trekkie.  …but you probably also recognize that whereas Picard might have been a more enthusiastic participant, he’s definitely not enthusiastic about this meeting, and it will be up to the board of governors to recover from this and provide enough incentive to make Picard leave his life in Starfleet to join the Atlantis project.

Encouraging Toastmasters needs to work in the same way.  A gentle encouragement of the members to participate on their own schedules.  Ask too much too soon and you risk losing them completely. ...and it needs to come from all of us, not just the members' mentor.

…which is why encouraging evaluations, praise, and recognition are the lifeblood elements of a successful club.

LABELS:  LEADERSHIP,&sid=1484eb23653f2742622b7b7e60f41686 RECRUITMENT,&sid=1484eb23653f2742622b7b7e60f41686 PICARDTIPS,&sid=1484eb23653f2742622b7b7e60f41686
Posted: Securely Speaking Toastmasters, 15 Feb 14, 02:09 by Marc Miller    Comments:


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