Strauss will deputise for Michael Vaughan in the first Test against West Indies starting at Lord's on Thursday knowing that Vaughan will return for the remainder of the four-match series when his broken finger heals.
"It's important for me to set the right sort of example from the off," Strauss told a news conference.
"It's a very important summer for English cricket and I've been chatting with Vaughanie quite a lot about setting the tone for the summer. This first Test is my responsibility.
"I'm very comfortable. Firstly the likelihood is he will be ready for the second Test and he is the captain for the series.
"Also he is a very experienced captain and he's got the ability to see things that other people might not. I'm certainly not going to be stubborn enough to say I'm not going to listen."
Vaughan has not played Test cricket for 18 months through injury, although he led England at the World Cup this year after the side captained by Andrew Flintoff lost the Ashes 5-0 to Australia.
Strauss captained England to a 3-0 home series win over Pakistan last year when both Vaughan and Flintoff were injured, scoring two centuries at opener. Flintoff's chances of leading England in the near future disappeared when he was involved in a drunken escapade at
FLINTOFF DOUBT
England are still ranked second to Australia in the official Test rankings and an under-prepared West Indies side without the retired Brian Lara on a damp surface at Lord's would appear to be ideal opposition.
"I think the public are entitled to see English cricket played in the way we have done over the last few years and that means enjoying each other's success, going out there and providing a positive attitude and playing good attacking cricket," Strauss said.
England will decide on Thursday morning whether to risk Flintoff's vulnerable left ankle, which troubled him again at the weekend. Pace bowler James Anderson has been drafted into the side as cover.
If Flintoff is ruled out, coach Peter Moores indicated Middlesex batsman Owais Shah would win a second cap.
"If he doesn't play, it depends on the shape of the team, but we are more likely to be playing a batter," he told a news conference.
Ramnaresh Sarwan, who has succeeded Lara as captain, has the unenviable task of leading a side who have lost all their overseas series excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh since 1995.
They have not played a Test match this year and two complete days were lost to rain in their only practice match against Somerset.
"That's caused a bit of concern but we will be urging each other to be mentally strong," Sarwan told a news conference.
"We know how quickly the weather can change, I think it's important to be mentally strong going into the Test match."
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