Captain Jonathan Archer: Corporate Mogul?

Over the last few weeks, I have been examining each of the Star Trek captains to determine how they would measure up as leaders in the corporate world.  In this, my sixth and final installment, our subject is Captain Jonathan Archer, who served as the first captain of the starship, Enterprise, and became President of the United Federation of Planets in 2184. In the episode, In a Mirror, Darkly, from the original series, Archer is recognized as being "the greatest explorer of the 22nd century."

On paper, Archer's career is quite impressive. During his ten years as captain of the Enterprise, Archer most likely initiated first contact with more species than any other Enterprise captain.  His was the foremost voice that championed Earth's readiness to begin exploring space and he continuously fought against Vulcan intervention in the humans' quest to reach the stars. His sense of human destiny and steely determination refused to take "no" for an answer. It was largely thanks to Archer that the Enterprise was sent into space in the first place.

However, it cannot be said with certainty that Archer was correct in his assertions. Humans, and especially Archer himself, may not have been ready for the challenge. The truth is that Archer managed to alienate (excuse my pun) more species than he befriended. His poor diplomatic skills (to which he willingly admitted) also placed a constant strain on Earth's relations with the Vulcans and the Klingons and often pushed Earth onto the brink of war. In the corporate world, this inability to "play well with others" would be equally disastrous. 

Much of Archer's ambivalence to other species can be found in his history.  Archer believed that the Vulcans had held humans back and damaged the career of his father- the inventor of the warp five engine.  As a result, he traveled into space with a chip on his shoulder and that attitude made many situations worse.  In addition to the problems with alien cultures, Archer's anger and bitterness impacted the crew on more than one occasion.

Archer's emotional baggage made him a volatile captain.  In any given situation, the crew could not anticipate whether Archer would act with circumspect caution or with reckless abandonment.  With no prime directive to follow, the Enterprise needed a leader with a strong moral compass.  Archer just didn't seem to fit the bill. Against T'Pol's recommendations of non-interference, he would get involved with alien disputes; but a week later, he would rant at a crew member for doing the same thing. As a boss, this arbitrary type of leadership would be extremely frustrating!  In addition, it would not be unusual for Archer to take his anger out on his employees. 

It may be true that Captain Jonathan Archer was the most "realistic" captain in the Star Trek franchise, being free to show the weaknesses and drawbacks of his personality; however, most employees would probably prefer to work under a boss who has evolved- both personally and professionally- rather than under a leader who settles for being "only human."