Professionalism In Star Trek

“A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person." – Dave Barry

Being professional is more than just being nice to wait staff, but the wait staff example is a solid allegory for the topic.

Those who treat others without respect, use power to intimidate or threaten, or have a situational value system (one in which actions are ok for themselves, but not for others) demonstrate a low degree of professionalism. So do other behaviors, like “freaking out” under stress, raising your voice with coworkers or clients, even simple things like no-showing a meeting, not returning emails or phone calls, or dressing inappropriately.

The list could technically go on and on (lists of “what not to do” always can), so let’s instead focus our attention on what professionalism is.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise
Who better to illustrate professionalism than the captain of the Enterprise from “Star Trek: The Next
Generation”, Jean-Luc Picard.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, Captain Picard was a much more mild-mannered captain than his predecessor on the original show, James T. Kirk. More diplomat than “shoot from the hip” gunslinger, he led his crew on missions that tended to have political consequences more often than leaving starships in space wreckage. To solve a dispute, Captain Kirk would often punch an alien in the face. Captain Picard would sit the aliens around the table for a beverage of their choice, and talk it out.

Let’s take a look at some specific reactions Captain Picard would have, falling under the topic of professionalism:

If presented with a threat like an attacking starship, Captain Picard would sit in his chair and calmly dispense orders to his officers.
He would not insist on taking over their duties, or begin running around the bridge inciting panic.
If Picard had an issue with the performance of one of his officers, he would directly address the issue with the officer soon after the incident in a one-on-one conversation. He did not save it for a performance review, chastise the officer in front of others, or call other officers into his ready room to talk about how poorly the first person was performing.
If a ship system malfunctioned, he did not start yelling at the engineer, or finding who to blame. He instead assessed the situation, had his staff brainstorm options, and then selected an appropriate course.
I don’t believe there was an episode where he no-showed an officer meeting, nor did he have a habit of showing up
late.
He never used his authority as captain to get things done. “I’m the captain, I’m in charge, and if I say I want to use the holodeck right now, I’m going to use the flaming holodeck right now!”
He listened effectively, and strove to create unity among his team, rather than divisiveness.
True professionals, in addition to competence in their area of technical expertise, demonstrate a number of other traits – traits like integrity (they speak their mind, and do what they say they will), composure (staying steady under stress), teamwork (playing well in the sandbox with others), and respectful communication.

Sure, we all have our "moments" from time to time, but those should be the surprising and rare exception rather than the regular occurrence.

Being good at your work is only part of the battle. It’s one thing to have the skills of a professional, it’s another to carry yourself like one. Achieving both is critical to your success.

What say you? What do you feel are the most critical traits that make up professionalism?