Apollo 13 Exemplary Leadership Practices

The first value suggested by James and Barry is to model the way (Jlucarelli, 2011). The leader should know what he wants to do and how he should do it. Modeling the way is all about finding one's own voice and acting upon it. The leader needs to lead from front hence he should be very clear. He should be an example for his team or organization. A leader cannot ask his people to do something he won't do himself. Hence, becoming a model is the key. People believe in a message only if they believe the one delivering the message and the messenger can develop his trust only by acting on principles and developing his credibility (Jlucarelli, 2011). The leader should come up with

One of the important points for leaders in critical situations is the fact that one must remain optimistic and believe in themselves and the team to achieve the set goal. Without the personal conviction managers will not be able to motivate the team to develop new solutions, to continue working and foster collaboration. This leadership style is known as transformational leadership. (LaFasto 2001). After “Houston we have a problem” was transmitted from Apollo 13, Gene Kranz stayed optimistic all time and was convinced that they can manage to get the crew home safely and alive. He believed that Mission Control could overcome all the difficulties occurred. “We are not loosing these men“. One of the other sentences Gene Kranz said “failure is not an option“ emphasizes, that he believed in the goal and was willing to pull out all the stops to get the crew home (Apollo 13 1995).

While the movie provides the dramatic fuel to entertain anyone that can understand the danger the men faced, the real story lies behind the successful failure that was Apollo 13 in the three astronauts and NASA experts. Within the storyline a multitude of examples of the leadership skills, theories, and traits that were all called upon in desperation to successfully bring the astronauts home can be found. The real success is seen within the leadership attributes of Apollo Commander Jim Lovell, Flight Director Gene Kranz, and the astronauts and NASA experts as two groups, as they each worked in separate ways to find solutions to the various problems that plagued this mission.

In Leadership 101 by John Maxwell, the author uses practical application points to give guidance on what it takes to be good leader. The book is divided in three parts, linking the development, traits and impacts of a leader, with a series of questions that the author answers. He also uses real-life stories and quotes from leaders such as the McDonald brothers and Princess Diana, to demonstrate leadership principles. The author also uses these examples and a detailed framework to help the readers enhance the leadership abilities they already possess. Maxwell suggests that in order to be a successful leader you need to; Follow your vision and bring others with you, produce a lasting legacy, grow the loyalty of your followers, make continual

The film, Apollo 13, is based on the real-life crisis that occurred April 13, 1970 on board the Apollo spacecraft. The two main characters, Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) and Jim Lovell (Tom Hanks) are the key players who will address how a leader is able to survive and thrive in a world in which unexpected events occur on a regular basis. They portray the effective styles of leadership in balance with their ever changing surroundings, as well as their ability to maintain their interpersonal relationships with a group under unfavorable conditions. This film is a powerful movie because it makes clear to the viewer just how often disruptions and discontinuities occur. Also, it is an excellent example of how leaders must be able to meet

Leaders are look upon as role models as they guide us with their motivating, influence to accomplish tasks. There are a lot of leadership styles; when leading, it is based on the situation. When I was in the military, I encountered with many different styles of leadership. A leadership that I considered meaningful is a Transformational Leader. The transformational Leader in the military with their inspiring charisma of motivating, influence creates a visualized path that produces energetic characteristics that inhere to new changes, developments, and possibilities.; by demonstrating authority, the Transformational Leader in the military utilizes their power to inspire and motivate people into trusting and following their example; this as

Effective leaders opt to implement a specific type of leadership style as a result of their personalities and job experiences, and apply it to their organizational structure. However, that particular type of leadership style a leader utilizes may not apply to every job situation (Peak et al., 2010). In order to be an effective leader, an individual must acquire the three basic leadership skills and they are as follows: (1) human relations; (2) conceptual skills; and (3) technical skills (Haberfeld, 2013). Additionally, a skillful leader must also be proficient in motivating, communicating, and problem solving (Hess & Orthmann, 2012).

Leadership is not a solo act, it’s a team effort the authors explain (p. 223). To enable others to act the leader needs to create a climate of trust by facilitating relationships. To start the process one must, “be the first to let go of control,” Kouzes and Posner explain and it requires self-confidence (p. 227). Just like Bass and Avolio (1980)

Leadership is the ability to inspire and focus members on a common goal, whether short term or long term and have the same vision. Leadership is more than telling or ordering, but having members believe and want to follow the same path as you. It’s a commitment to your people built on trust and respect. Many leaders shaped my personal leadership philosophy, to include several negative and positive experiences. Negative experiences from poor leaders and lessons learned on my part have uniquely shaped this vision. Difficult to be a good follower when your leader lacks competency, integrity, and your trust. If a leader takes credit for work other than their own, or forces and ideology onto others, but does not follow it themselves; these negative influences damage the trust and respect required by all leaders. However, positive experiences can also have a career lasting impact. A leader who inspires through personal actions and convictions can change how an entire unit operates without ever saying a word.

Although leadership traits can be studied from textbooks, the best way to adopt good leadership traits is to follow an example of positive leadership. In my career, I’ve been very fortunate to have had numerous positive role models on which to model by own behavior after. The following examples are some situations where shipmates and supervisors have demonstrated outstanding leadership, and have had a profound impact on me:

Leaders tend to think about” Why.” and not “How.” this is an important lesson I learned from reading the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Good leaders are focused, they care for the total well-being of their group, and make decisions based on the group. As well as, taking charge when no one else wants too or can. The novel shows these qualities throughout its chapters with one of its main characters, Ralph.

After analyzing the case study: “Effective leadership in unexpected places: A socio-historical analysis of Red Tops dance orchestra”, It is my belief that Walter Osborne’s team leadership of “effective communication” and “specifying team mission and organization” as the most important and meaningful leadership traits to me as a military leader. These leadership traits are essential for enhancing the trust relationships between a leader and his subordinates as well as subordinates to leaders. These leadership traits are embedded in the Army’s definition of leadership “the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization” as stated in ADP 6-22.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect and make an analysis of the general strengths and weaknesses of a leader, provide recommendations, thoughts of overall performance to improve on this person’s leadership style in which practices and theories were utilized most effectively. Upon such, draw conclusions and provide an integration of this leadership practice into my own leadership practice. The accomplishment of this will be achieved by identifying several key practices from published documents surrounding and encompassing the leader, and comparing them to known relative concepts for a holistic view of the approach.

Leadership is a very broad topic; I never knew just how many different traits and skills that it takes to become an effective leader. Some of which I was familiar with, and others that I was not aware of, but now from taking this course, they all seem to be necessary for the role of leadership. The attached paper, will explain of some of the important theories and concepts that I thought were most important to be able to become and effective leader.

I have had many leaders I’ve followed over the years. An impactful experience was working for my brother. I was 20 and my brother 21 when I got a job for him as an automotive detailer. Up until that point I never looked at my brother as a leader. Over the year or two my perspective of him changed a lot, and I learned a great deal. These things came naturally to him. One thing I observed is how he consistently held his team accountable. So much so, if a coworker messed up. They would almost be afraid the consequence. On the other hand he also would acknowledge good work which showed respect. Over time I saw how the team progressed. Eventually my brother hardly even needed to be at work.