Day number three brings us the first television character on the list. It was so hard for me to narrow my list down to just 30 characters, because there are so many great characters throughout all of film and TV and books and comics. It was especially hard with TV, because there are so many shows I enjoy, and a lot of that has to do with the characters on the show. I hope you have enjoyed the first two days of the list, and I hope you will continue to come back each day and see the newest addition. Remember to join in as well with your own list on social media using the hashtag #30Days30Characters and tag me- @thegeekymormon.
Captain Jean Luc Picard
I am not going to apologize for how much I like Star Trek: TNG. I don’t know if I can objectively say it’s the best Star Trek. Personally, quality wise, I think DS9 is better, but TNG is my favorite. A big reason for that is the fearless, diplomatic, and charismatic captain of the USS Enterprise-D- Jean Luc Picard. I don’t know that TNG would have been the same success if anyone other than Patrick Stewart had played the role of Picard. It was the perfect fit for him.
Why Picard?
Kirk was the perfect captain for the 1960s. He was the space aged maverick cowboy everyone wanted to be in the 60s. Picard was very different. He had his scuffles and he had his women, but there was a lot more to the character. Picard was the ultimate diplomat. He could talk his way out of almost every confrontation or conflict. Think about, his speaking skills were so amazing that the Borg captured him and assimilated him just to make him their spokesperson.
When I think of leadership, and how I would want to be as a leader, I think of Picard. He is confident, but he knows he doesn’t know everything. He knows he can’t do everything by himself all the time. Picard trusts his crew and his senior officers to do their jobs, and he helps them to grow and develop and become better. He looks for ways to understand the other side and then to find peaceful resolutions. He is everything a leader should be.
In addition to what he does is how his crew feels about him. They are loyal to him, they trust him, they are inspired by him. Seriously, he is everything I would want in a leader, and everything I strive to be as a leader. He is just awesome.
Did you miss days one and two of 30Days30Characters? You can check out day one here and day two here. Be sure to follow me on social media as I roll out a new character every day.
