Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: Do Starfleet Captains Need Sport Psychology?

My co-author David Smith, MSc, (below) and I discussing Star Trek in an episode of Movie House Sport Psychology.  

Do Starfleet Captains ever need the help of a sport psychologist?

Recently, I blogged about an upcoming text book chapter I am co-authoring with my colleague David Smith, MSc, a university lecturer in sport and exercise psychology. We have the privilege of addressing the importance of emotional regulation in leadership performance through the lens of case studies of Star Trek captains. Our chapter features cognitive-behavioral recommendations and expands the sport psychology and leadership studies literature in a fun and unique way. Jean Luc Picard, Avery Sisko, and of course the dynamic duo Kirk and Spock are all featured and given recommendations for facing their biggest (and funnest to watch) challenges.

Deleted scenes

As consumers of popular media, we all know about deleted scenes. Often times, scenes need to be cut to improve the flow of a story, even if it seems like an integral moment. Such a moment needed to be cut from our chapter. I listed several cognitive behavioral sport psychology recommendations in our original draft that, while helpful to a reader, did not fit into the overall flow of the chapter. Therefore, I am excited to share the section of the chapter unchanged below:

Sport psychology recommendations for Starfleet captains

You can also incorporate mindfulness meditation into your daily routine (Gardner & Moore, 2007). Vulcans such as Tuvok utilize Keethera, but today we humans have access to a wide range of free guided meditations available online through apps on our phones. Practice tolerating distress by inducing emotions or distractions before you meditate. Make the challenges more difficult over time. See examples below:

- Listen to a song that you either love, hate, or gets “stuck in your head.”

- Watch a YouTube video of a situation you would like to avoid (i.e., sports blooper reels).

- Watch a video clip of an intensely emotional scene from a movie or series. Star Trek has many to offer!

Gaining cognitive flexibility through practicing cognitive reappraisal is a core component of CBT (Barlow et al., 2018). A simple strategy for a leader, such as Sisko, who is struggling with appraisal of a situation, would be to ask himself the following questions:

- What is my negative thought about the situation?

- Am I thinking the worst, jumping to conclusion, or thinking rigidly about the situation?

- What are other possible ways to interpret this situation?

Balance the passion and boldness of Kirk with the logic of Spock through value-driven behavior. Spock can begin assessing his core personal values by imagining himself at a Starfleet banquet and asking himself what he would want to hear Kirk, or another valued crew member, say in a speech honoring his life and career. Once Spock is more aware of his values he can ask himself the following questions (Gardner & Moore, 2007):

- What specific behaviors should I do on a consistent basis to live in alignment with my values (e.g., daily keethera or mindfulness meditation).

- What are possible obstacles that can get in the way of my value-driven behaviors?

- How do I overcome those obstacles?

In the vast, complex world of Starfleet, where captains like Picard, Sisko, and Kirk navigate high-stakes challenges daily, sport psychology techniques offer invaluable tools for resilience, emotional regulation, and leadership. Just as these captains must master cognitive flexibility, distress tolerance, and value-driven behaviors, so too can leaders in our own world benefit from similar skills.

If you're interested in developing these skills, I’d love to help you on your journey. I work with clients via telehealth across Los Angeles, the South Bay, Long Beach, and throughout California, and I'm also available to work with teams in person across Southern California. Contact me today to schedule a free consultation and explore how sport psychology can enhance your leadership and performance.