[NOTE: this post is spoiler-free! And long overdue, since I saw it in May…]

Something troubled me about the new Star Trek. I loved the movie. I was glad that it surpassed my expectations and that it challenged me. What troubled me is that I’m convinced that people will mistake James T. Kirk for a good leader.

Perhaps that’s too harsh. I think in this movie he is a great leader. I’m actually afraid people will totally misunderstand what is effective in Kirk’s leadership.

The allure of James Kirk’s character is his bravado and willingness to break rules to be effective. Every time he infuriates his commanders is one in which he has done something none of them could bring themselves to do. As a viewer, these are the moments that endear Kirk to us most.

In the newest movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness, these traits are on full display. What the movie does, however, is put the team, and particularly Kirk, on different footing. They are tested in unique and some pretty unconventional ways.

The Captain’s actions in the movie, however, are quite disastrous on their face. In watching them, they have a sense of heroism that make the viewer see his risk-taking and self-sacrifice as the hallmarks of good leadership. Not unlike that old saying that the captain must go down with his ship.

The movie’s sinews and tissue, however, don’t reward Kirk for his behavior, but consistently punish him. The physical and career damage he endures are not badges of honor, but examples of his weakness.

Where Kirk’s superb leadership is demonstrated is in his more subtle character traits of vision-casting and trust in his crew. This movie makes it appear as if individuals are making individual decisions, but underneath, we can see a group empowered to work in their giftedness and trusted to achieve it. They are unbound by the shackles of hierarchy to work toward common vision. They are indeed working together.

The brilliance of this new Kirk is not found in his arrogance or sacrificial moments, but in the inspiration of his crew, all of them, by the way, who shine. This is the true test of a leader, and a fulfillment of the idea I wrote about yesterday.