Apollo 13

A Leadership Movie
 Introduction
 The highly acclaimed film Apollo 13, which is based
on the real-life crisis on board an Apollo spacecraft
that occurred on April 13, 1970.

 The Apollo missions had become so routine and

perfect that the Apollo 13 mission generated little
interest from the press - until a routine maintenance
procedure caused an oxygen tank to expolde,
leaving the three astronauts trapped in a crippled
capsule that might not ever make it back to earth.
This movie describes the struggle of the astronauts
and the Mission Control technicians in Houston to
improvise a new set of procedures to safely return the
astronauts back to earth as one crisis after another
arises.

This movie makes us aware of just how often

disruptions and discontinuities occur.

How is a leader to survive and thrive in a world in

which the unexpected events occur on a regular basis?

This is the question that Apollo 13 raised so

pointedly.
 Apollo 13 – A Successful
Failure
 Basic Plot of Apollo 13:
The true story of the near-disastrous Apollo 13
mission. On April 11, 1970, gung-ho astronauts
Jim Lovell, Fred Haise and 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.

 Apollo 13 illustrates an abundance of leadership

values and principles especially an emphasis on
team cohesion.
Topics related to Apollo 13

 Trait Based Theories

 Skills and Competencies
 Behavior Based Theories
 Leader/Member Exchange
 Path/Goal Theory
 Situational Leadership
 Transformational Leadership
 Trait Based Theories
 In short, trait based leadership implies that one’s
leadership ability is rooted in the right combination
of personal characteristics the individual
possesses.

 Over the past two centuries trait based leadership

theory has been very controversial and have been
challenged with counter-arguments supporting
other theories.
 Over the past two centuries trait based leadership
theory has been very controversial and have been
challenged with counter-arguments supporting
other theories.

 About 24 minutes into the movie. Apollo 13 main

crew has realized that Ken has not had measles;
therefore, will not be able to participate in the
mission. All three of the original crew members are
sitting in a space center and discussing the
situation. 
 Apollo 13 original, main crew: Jim, Ken, Fred.

 Ken is really upset about the news, but at the

same time understanding and calm. He also
implies that maybe there is a possibility to tweak
the rules and still be a part of the mission. He
turns to Jim for the decision regarding this
proposal. Jim responds by saying “This was my
call”. This answer shows Jim’s sense of honesty
and self-confidence, which, according to the trait
based leadership theory, are rooted in Jim’s
personality.
 Skills and Competencies
(Use HTM Model)
 HTM Competency Model is a pattern of
competencies that, if exercised, would almost
guarantee a leader’s success and ensure his/hers
status as a role model.

 HTM Competency model is composed of three

main areas – People, Self, and Business Savvy.
 This model is great for growing leaders, as it
allows you to define competencies that you are
strong at, as well as determines areas where you
could improve.

 About 52 minutes into the movie. Apollo 13

mission just experienced the accident and all the
alarm signals are going off. Space ship is shaking
and overall chaos is occurring.

 Apollo 13final crew: Jim, Fred and Jack

 The situation is the Apollo13 crew is experiencing
is very unique in terms of emergency and level of
danger. It would be very understandable if the
crew would start panicking. However, Jim starts
assessing the situation in calm and confident
manner and his associates follow. This situation
demonstrates Jim’s Self Savvy and
professionalism more specifically.
 Behavior Based Theories
(Use MLQ or LPI)
 Essentially, behavior based leadership theories
believe that one’s behavior is the main element for
his/hers success as a leader; consequently,
leaders can be made, rather than are born;
leadership is viewed as a learnable ability.

 Based on our in-class discussion regarding this

type of leadership, I have concluded that It mainly
focuses on actions of leaders, rather than on
mental qualities.
 About 55 minutes into the movie. The crew of
Apollo 13 and the command center in Houston has
determined that there is oxygen leak on the space
ship. The situation in Houston is getting chaotic.
Gene is addressing his followers.

 The project coordinator Gene Kranz.

 In this extremely stressful situation and Gene is

saying: “Let’s stay cool people! Let’s work the
problem, people, let’s not make things worse by
guessing” This shows Gene’s ability as a leader to
being able to behave appropriate to the situation
and keep his mind fresh.
 That way he delivers and ensures confidence and
organization amongst his team. In addition, he
starts delegating tasks, which provides a start
point for action for his team members. Overall, the
ability to stay calm and confident in a stressful
situation like that has to be learned based on
experience.
 Leader/Member Exchange
(LMX)
 LMX focuses on two-way relationships between
supervisors and employees. LMX suggests that a
leader has a unique, individual relationship with
each follower. Moreover, the authors of
“Individualized Leadership” article emphasize that
LMX “considers the follower role as actively
contributing to leadership effectiveness and
outcome quality”.
 About 58 minutes into the movie. One of Gene’s
followers suggests shutting down fuel cells in order
to stop the leak. Gene realizes that this decision
would determine if Apollo13 would make it to the
moon. 
 Gene Kranz and his subordinate (the engineer with
big, black glasses)
 After hearing the opinion of the engineer, Gene
realizes that his decision will determine the success
of the mission. He has developed a relationship with
the engineer and trusts his judgment; therefore,
making it easier for him to make the harsh decision.
This situation also shows that Gene appreciates his
subordinate’s opinions and considers them as a
major contributor to his success as a leader.
 Path/Goal Theory
 Path/Goal theory establishes that as leaders
engage in different types of behaviors depending
on situation, they are responsible to provide
direction and support for their subordinates in
reaching their personal and organizational goals.
In addition, the success of achieving this is
determined by leadership style and situational
favorableness. This perspective was developed by
Mr. Fred Fiedler and his contingency model.
 About 14 minutes into the movie. Apollo 13 main
crew has just finished their 7 hour practice
simulation. Project coordinator approaches and
congratulates the crew on a well done job.

 The extra crew is entering the simulator for their

run.

 Apollo 13 final crew: Ken, Fred, Jim and the

project (Apollo 13) coordinator Gene Kranz
 Apollo 13 main crew exits the 7 hour successful
simulation. Gene congratulates them for successful
job. However, Ken is not completely satisfied with
his performance and insists on repeating the
simulation. Gene tries to argue that the previous
simulation was successful; however, in the end he
agrees and lets the main Apollo 13 crew repeat the
simulation. This situation shows Gene’s ability to
adapt to a specific situation and consider all
variables involved. He kept in mind that Ken is
looking for confidence in his skills that would
ultimately lead to achieving both of their common
goal – landing on the moon.
 Situational Leadership
 Situational leadership argues that effective leaders
have the ability to adapt to a specific situation and
execute different leadership styles accordingly.
According to the article “High Task-Low
Relationship”.

 Management: Is It Right for Payroll?”, in order to

achieve that leaders are expected to adopt their
leadership style based on the situation and
followers attitude/personality.
 About 87 minute into the movie. Jack approaches
Jim and Fred in the spaceship and stressfully
delivers a message that, in his opinion, they don’t
have enough power to return back to earth.
 Apollo13 final crew: Jack, Jim, Fred
 In this situation Jim exhibits his ability to change
leadership styles and adapt them to different
situation. In order to calm Jack down and gain the
confidence of his peers he raises his voice to
demonstrate that Jack assumptions/ statements
are not welcome in the manner presented.
Whereas usually Jim executes calm and well-
thought-out communication style; in this situation
he was more aggressive and persuasive in
presenting his opinion.
 Transformational Leadership
 Transformational leadership theory focuses on
connections between leaders and followers. In this
case leader’s main goal is to motivate and inspire
people by focusing on the importance of the job
being done. As stated in the PowerPoint
presentation about the Transformational
Leadership; it is “exceptional form of influence that
moves followers to accomplish more than what is
usually expected of them”.
 About 114 minute into the movie. Ken has arrived
to the main NASA station in Houston with a plan to
save energy. He is guiding Jack through the
procedure. Both are aware of the importance of
the successful execution of the situation.
 Apollo 13 final crew member Jack and original
crew member that stayed home Ken.
 In order to successfully execute the developed
power procedure Ken and Jack has to grow a
connection in terms of understanding each other.
Jack in a way motivates Ken to take responsibility
and confidence to guide him through the
procedure, as he has lost his eye focus.
 This situation is interesting, because in a way
both, Jack and Ken take roles of leader and
follower. They both influence each other moves
and accomplish the goal that was set for them.
 Summary
 What was the best leadership trait exhibited in the movie?
 What was the best followership trait exhibited in the
movie?
 What will you take away from the movie and discussion
to make your unit a better place to work?
 Final thoughts ….
 Presentation By
Bio-Medical Department
Class – A
Semester : 2
Year: 2013-14
Subject : Intermediate Communication Skills
Presentation Prepared by : Abhishek
Kenchgundi
Thank You