Following Dr. Elizabeth Weir Through the Stargate
Dr. Elizabeth Weir is an amazing character to study leadership in high-stress situations. Weir is a character from the T.V. show Stargate Atlantis, which is a spinoff from a movie called Stargate and the T.V. show Stargate SG1. In the show, humans use Stargates to travel throughout the universe to explore new planets and civilizations. In Stargate Atlantis, they find the mythical lost city of Atlantis in another Galaxy and can reach it through the Stargate.
The issue is that this is a one-way trip for the crew that goes; there is not enough power for them to go back and forth from Earth to Atlantis. Dr. Weir is chosen to lead this expedition and is the first civilian to be chosen to lead an expedition like this. In the Stargate SG1 and the movie, the military controls the expeditions, so this is brand new for everyone to have a civilian in charge. She was a highly accomplished diplomat before taking on this role. She embraced it with enthusiasm and pride: in herself and the staff accompanying her.
In episode 4 of the first season, “Thirty-Eight Minutes,” Weir handles an extremely time-sensitive and ever-changing crisis extremely well. One of the puddle jumpers (the spaceships the teams use to travel through the Stargates) gets stuck within the gate, and if the gate closes while they are stuck, everyone in the jumper will die.
On this jumper is Colonel Sheppard, the military commander of Atlantis, Lieutenant Ford the second military leader on the base, Dr. Rodney McKay, the lead scientist, two of the best pilots, and Tayla the leader of the Athosians, the locals that the expedition has befriended. This jumper has most of the leadership of Atlantis onboard. Weir only has 38 minutes to figure out how to save them before the Stargate shuts down and they all die. Colonel Sheppard also has an alien creature stuck to his neck, quickly incapacitating him and will possibly kill him without medical attention.
Weir immediately talks with the crew on the jumper to get caught up to speed. Next, she gets the top experts on the base together in a room to try and find a way to get the jumper through the Stargate. She keeps the communication system open between Atlantis and the jumper at all times. This way, information can be passed immediately between the two. At no point does she allow her emotions to overcome her, and through her calm demeanor, everyone else stays calm. For those who start to freak out, she talks with them and gets them back to the task at hand.
Spoiler alert- The jumper makes it through, and everyone is ok. Once the jumper is through, Weir goes immediately to check on the crew and ensure everyone is ok. She does this without taking over and making it about herself. She keeps herself detached enough to think clearly and stay in control. While she is the boss and is in control, she knows that she is not the expert and listens to those who are and takes them seriously.
Please take a look at our Youtube video!
