Apollo 13 Assignment Hisham Sayed

ESLSCA Business School Spring 2017
Apollo 13 Leadership Lessons
Presented by: Hisham Sayed
Objective
Students will watch the movie Apollo 13 to document instances within the film that
illustrate/violate the leadership concepts and principles explained throughout the
course, and discuss the learned lessons that can be used to develop themselves as
leaders.
Basic Plot
The true story of the near-disastrous Apollo 13 mission. On April 11, 1970,
astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and the last-minute, less experienced replacement,
Jack Swigert, blast-off towards the moon. But while in space, an oxygen tank
explodes, putting the trio in peril: they quickly lose oxygen, run out of power, and get
exposed to dangerously high amounts of carbon dioxide. Unbeknownst to them,
there are more problems to come, including emotional friction when Jack is
(wrongly) blamed for the explosion. Intensifying the situation is the fact that these
mishaps catch the scientists and technicians at Mission Control by surprise, and
they're not sure how to remedy the situation. Everyone must work together to come
up with the right answer - if the astronauts are to survive.
Cast of Main Characters

Tom Hanks................................................................................................................................ Jim Lovell
Bill Paxton................................................................................................................................ Fred Haise
Kevin Bacon......................................................................................................................... Jack Swigert
Gary Sinise........................................................................................................................ Ken Mattingly
Ed Harris................................................................................................................................. Gene Kranz
Kathleen Quinlan........................................................................................................... Marilyn Lovell
Course
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Questions
1. Assess Gene Kranz’s leadership style and effectiveness using Fidler’s
contingency model, and his decision making style using the normative
decision model.
Answer:
In order to be able to answer this question sufficiently, one has to understand the
basic principles that frame the concept of Fidler’s contingency model. The
contingency model is because there is no such thing as one leadership style that fits
all situations. However, the effectiveness of the leader is based on the nature of
situations. The situation is the main supplier to the leader’s position to act in certain
way. The contingency model is based on two factors; "leadership style" and
"situational favorableness".
In order to be able to evaluate Kranz’s leadership style we have to use the
“Leadership Style Matrix” as if we are thinking just like Kranz himself as he views
his closest co-workers. The matrix viewed by Kranz, and based on his personality
traits and his behaviors throughout the movie, would look similar like this:
Unfriendly 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Friendly
Unpleasant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pleasant
Rejecting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Accepting
Tense 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Relaxed
Cold 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Warm
Boring 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Interesting
Backbiting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Loyal
Uncooperative 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cooperative
Hostile 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Supportive
Guarded 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Open
Insincere 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sincere
Unkind 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kind
Course
Inconsiderate 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Considerate
Untrustworthy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Trustworthy
Gloomy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cheerful
Quarrelsome 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Harmonious
As the “leadership style matrix’ dictates, we have to calculate the total of the
scores. If the sum of the scores are high, this means that the leader is high on LPC.
Kranz total score was 103. This means that Kranz focuses more on personal
connections, and He is good at avoiding and managing conflict. Kranz was able to
make complex decisions as illustrated since the beginning of the crisis until the
shuttle was restored by the end of the movie.
As Victor Vroom stated in his normative decision-making process theory, we have

five types of decision-making processes that vary according to the degree of
participation by the leader and his involvement on the decision. The five types are:
1. Decide: The leader makes the decision or solves the problem alone and
announces his/her decision to the group. The leader may gather
information from members of the group.
2. Consult (Individually): The leader approaches group members
individually and presents them with the problem. The leader records the
group member’s suggestions and makes a decision, deciding whether to
use the information provided by group members.
3. Consult (Group): The leader holds a group meeting where he/she
presents the problem to the group as a whole. All members are asked to
contribute and make suggestions during the meeting. The leader makes
his/her decision alone, choosing which information obtained from the
group meeting to use or discard.
4. Facilitate: The leader holds a group meeting where he/she presents the
problem to the group as a whole. This differs from consulting approach as
the leader ensures that his/her opinions are not given any more weight
than those of the group. The decision is made by group consensus, and
not solely by the leader.
5. Delegate: The leader does not actively participate in the decision-making
process. Instead, the leader provides resources (e.g., information about
the problem) and encouragement.
Course
Based on the first response of Kranz in the movie after knowing the explosion of the
Oxygen tank, he rushed into a meeting to gather all the subject matter experts in his
team and facilitate a discussion between them all to generate the best solution that
can save the day. Kranz started the meeting by stating that he “"failure is not an
option”. Then he started consulting his team members and give them the chance to
share their input.
Therefore, I believe that Kranz’s style of decision-making was based on “Consulting”
and “facilitating” the decision that has been formulated by his team. However, the
fact that he was facilitating the decision-making was more influential than merely
consulting his team. As the final resolution of the crisis was not his, rather it was the
team’s effort
Course
2. Describe Jim Lovell’s leadership behavior with his crew members in light
of the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership theory
The Answer:
The Situational leadership theory introduced by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard
states that there is no such thing as one size fits all when it comes to leadership and
followers. They came up with four different styles that can be used by the leader
according to the situation he is facing and the readiness level of the follower. The 4
Styles are:
 S1: Directing – is characterized by one-way communication in which the

leader defines the roles of the individual or group and provides the what,
how, why, when and where to do the task;
 S2: Coaching – while the leader is still providing the direction, he or she is
now using two-way communication and providing the socio-emotional
support that will allow the individual or group being influenced to buy into
the process;
 S3: Supporting – this is how shared decision-making about aspects of how
the task is accomplished and the leader is providing fewer task behaviors
while maintaining high relationship behavior;
 S4: Delegating – the leader is still involved in decisions; however, the process
and responsibility has been passed to the individual or group. The leader
stays involved to monitor progress.
Lovell’s responses and leadership styles varied throughout the journey back to earth
to suit the intensity and severity of the ever-changing crisis. Dealing with the fact
that Swigert was being blamed by Haise for being inexperienced, is the very reason
that led to this catastrophic turn of events, was very challenging. Lovell managed to
switch between the different styles very smoothly. Most of the time Lovell was using
the “supporting” and the “coaching” styles. As his teammates were competent and
highly committed, he had to maintain the emotional bond that would support them
to carry on their tasks without sensing that they might be the cause of the problem.
The maturity level of his teammates were varying as well due to the pressing
situation. Swigert and Haise’s maturity level were moderate. They were capable of
doing the tasks; however, they were unable to contain their feelings and impressions
regarding how the accident happen. Lovell had to be directive sometimes in order to
maintain control and discipline to avoid the failure of the restoration mission.
In conclusion, I believe that Lovell’s adoption of the suitable leadership styles in the
right time made it possible to get the shuttle to return back home safely with the
minimal amount of losses.
Course
3. What are the most important traits and values that Jim Lovell
possessed and that helped him lead the space ship crew to successfully
return to Earth (elaborate more on his EI skills)?
The Answer:
Lovell possessed a wide variety of emotional intelligence skills that enabled him to
deliver his team successfully through this crisis back to Earth. Lovell’s emotional
intelligence skills included great deal of self-regulation. He managed to be very calm
and contaminate his personal impressions regarding the cause of the crisis. He
managed to maintain the situation under control whenever his teammates were on
the verge of starting a conflict. His empathy with Swigert played an important role
as well to communicate him a message of trust. Lovell wanted to convey to him that
he is trustworthy of his overcoming this dilemma.
Lovell also was able to put himself in Swigert’s shoes. He visualized himself as
Swigert after causing the incident. Therefore, he kept defending Swigert all the time.
As a leader, he believed that pointing fingers in the middle of crisis is the worst thing
a leader can do. Doing so would have led to catastrophic consequences.
His social skills also included high level of conflict resolution skills. If he did not
possess such skills, the conflict would have risen and escalated to serious levels that
would have led to real damage.
If Lovell was not emotionally intelligent enough, he could not have managed to get
over the situation and contain any potential conflict. His emotional intelligence skills
were the key to successfully survive.
Course
4. Discuss evidences of the three elements of charismatic leadership (leader,

follower, and situation) of Gene Kranz.
The Answer:
There are 3 dimensions that form a charismatic leader; follower characteristic,

leader characteristics and the situation which calls into external factors and
organization factors. Let’s start with the leader:
 One of the most important characteristics of being a charismatic leader is
being able to inspire your followers and subordinates with the vision of what
you represent as an organization, especially at the times of crisis and
hardships. In addition, this is exactly what Kranz did.
 He was also very expressive. In his first meeting with his subordinates after
the explosion of the oxygen tank, he communicated to them all that getting
this mission back to Earth Safely is not an option, it is an obligatory task.
Inspirational motivation is one of the most important elements of charismatic
leadership that Kranz has. He was able to motivate the entire team to be
accountable for the safe return of the team and be in charge of crafting
creative and applicable solutions.
 A charismatic leader is highly energetic and enthusiastic. Kranz was the true
representation of of such great energetic persona. His high level of self-
confidence was another trait of charismatic leader.
As for the followers:

 Their loyalty and devotion to Kranz were unquestionable at all times. None of
them complained or broke down under the pressure that was imposed by
Kranz
 Their unquestionable obedience is another reflection of their readiness to
follow the leader to achieve the optimum objective that was set in the first
meeting. None of them expressed the impossibility of achieving the task,
though all the indications and the odds were not in the favor of having the
team returning back at all
 Their affection of Kranz was very obvious from the moment he laid down the
burden of getting back the mission safe to earth
As for the situation:

 Kranz response to the incident was very prompt and instantons. His sense of
imminent crisis was present from the very beginning once the incident was
reported.
 The nature of the complex task when they had to save more power from the
lunar capsule. He reverted to Mattingely even though he was disqualified
from the mission for health reasons. He entrusted him with this complex task
with no question. The result was more than amazing and astonishing
Course
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ESLSCA Business School Spring 2017

Apollo 13 Leadership Lessons

Presented by: Hisham Sayed

Cast of Main Characters

As Victor Vroom stated in his normative decision-making process theory, we have

 S1: Directing – is characterized by one-way communication in which the

4. Discuss evidences of the three elements of charismatic leadership (leader,

There are 3 dimensions that form a charismatic leader; follower characteristic,

As for the followers:

As for the situation:

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