Movie Analysis Essay on Apollo 13

Apollo 13 is a drama movie based on occurrences of the Apollo 13 lunar mission that was aborted in 1970 and adapted from a book published in 1994 called the Lost Moon (Block, 2020). The movie portrays astronauts Jeffrey Kluger, Jim Lovell, and Fred Haise, among other individuals recruited to be part of America’s fifth crewed mission to explore the moon (Block, 2020). Unfortunately, there was less oxygen supply in the spacecraft due to an onboard explosion. The aspect forced NASA’s director Ed Harris to abort the mission and formulate a plan to land the crew safely (Block, 2020). Throughout the plot, Apollo 13 demonstrates various leadership principles and values that emphasize team cohesion as the crewmembers worked to ensure their safe landing (Block, 2020). Team cohesion is a primary characteristic of an aspect of leadership regarded as the relational approach (Northouse, 2019). Relational leadership involves individuals working collectively to make a difference or achieve a goal that mutually benefits them (Northouse, 2019). The leadership strategy recognizes diverse talents within the team members and invites good thinking to social-responsible changes agreeable to all members concerning the success of their mission (Northouse, 2019). The paper focuses on analyzing the relational leadership approach, as illustrated in the Apollo 13 movie.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

One major attribute of relation-based leadership is inclusivity, which includes both people and diversified viewpoints. The aspect can be achieved through the leader-member exchange (LMX) theory of leadership that involves the creation of dyadic relationships between the leader and his or her followers based on their individualized working relationship (Northouse, 2019). Leaders applying the strategy are expected to enhance inclusivity equally amongst their followers. In the case of Apollo 13, Ed Harris holds an emergency meeting with engineers and flight controllers to devise a strategic plan to get the boarding crew home around the moon (Block, 2020). In addition, Ed Harris makes several timely and accurate briefings with the controllers throughout the movie, as is expected when using the relational approach of leadership (Block, 2020). LMX is consistently associated with improved job performance, commitment, satisfaction, and turnover intentions (Northouse, 2019).

Another vital concept of the relational approach is transformational leadership that involves the empowerment of employees to achieve behold their capabilities. The component is illustrated in Apollo 13 by Ed Harris, who at no point accepts that their mission would fail (Block, 2020). The concept recognizes that every individual within the group has something to offer towards the objective with the aim of enhancing self-esteem amongst members (Northouse, 2019). To install empowerment in a team, it is essential that the respective leader adopt transformational leadership attributes that are consistently effective for motivational purposes (Northouse, 2019). These attributes include charisma to install ambition, inspirational motivation to install vision, Intellectual stimulation to install innovation, and individualized consideration to ensure maximum support for team members (Northouse, 2019). For instance, Harris’s faith in the success of his team instills a belief in controllers and engineers around him (Block, 2020). For every seemingly impossible scenario faced, the NASA director just urged responsible parties to find a way to make it work.

According to Bill George’s authentic leadership approach, purposefulness is another aspect of relational leadership (Northouse, 2019). The concept involves individual commitment towards the goal of interest and is characterized by attributes such as passion, behavior, consistency, compassion, and connectedness amongst the crewmembers (Northouse, 2019). In addition, the approach enhances the ability to find a common purpose, common ground, and work collectively towards accomplishing the goal (Northouse, 2019). Every member is primarily focused on achieving the goals put in place regardless of the level of input and sacrifice required. For instance, there is a case in Apollo 13, where a grounded pilot is expected to find a re-entry strategy in the simulator (Block, 2020). Also, there was an incident where a NASA staff was handed a box with different tools and asked to make a square peg that fits into a round hole (Block, 2020). Purposefulness within a group is enhanced through participative leadership practice, which involves the invitation of followers in decision-making processes and the integration of their ideas. The aspect improves individual participation and commitment to shared team objectives (Northouse, 2019).

The relational approach also incorporates team leadership, which is characterized by supportive traits involving consideration of behavior mechanisms such as ethics. The ethical-based leadership approach involves driven standards and values when making decisions (Northouse, 2019). The attribute is associated with the development of values, justice systems influence, ethical decision-making, and the trait of self-value and valuing others (Northouse, 2019). For instance, in Apollo 13, the flight physician speeches Ed Harris twice regarding the need for astronauts to sleep based on his medical evaluation (Block, 2020). The leadership approach in question requires that team members consider each other’s experience, fatigue, and physical limitations when allocating duties (Northouse, 2019). It is vital that crewmembers take care of each other’s needs, as engineers in the movie in question did by developing a carbon dioxide filter to help enhance oxygen supply. Another incidence portraying the essence of ethical leadership in Apollo 13 is shown by Lovell’s statement that astronauts are only the visible part of a large team that they are all part of (Block, 2020). In addition, the ethical concept requires integrity amongst the crewmembers. Integrity involves trustworthiness and honesty that individuals will strongly adhere to set principles and be accountable for their actions (Northouse, 2019). For instance, during the blind turn in the movie in question, Lovell makes a mistake and apologizes to Swigert and Haise (Block, 2020). Leaders with integrity inspire trust and confidence amongst team members in a way that they can trust each other to deliver on their promises (Northouse, 2019).

The results-oriented theory approach is the final concept discussed under the relational approach of leadership. The aspect entails how the team maintains unity amongst themselves and ensure the sole purpose of its purpose is accomplished (Northouse, 2019). The leadership approach is based on how team members communicate, work together, devise solutions, and achieve their collective goals (Northouse, 2019). The success of the approach is enhanced by leaders who believe that the process is as vital as the results (Northouse, 2019). In Apollo 13, engineers together determined that the ship’s weight distribution is incorrect based on the expectation that weight moon rocks will be part of the returning ship (Block, 2020). The aspect portrayed their attribute to devise timely and sound decisions during difficult times to ensure the crewmembers landed safely. Also, effective communication is illustrated in the movie through instances such as Lovell’s inquiry on Mission Control to double-check their computations (Block, 2020). The major attributes associated with top process-orientation include reflection, collaboration, making meaning, civil disclosure, challenging, and giving and receiving feedback from involved parties (Northouse, 2019).

To sum up, relational leadership is an effective strategy for a group working together towards accomplishing a common objective. An example of a successful mission associated with relational leadership is the Apollo 13 movie that was based on real occurrences during a moon-landing mission that was terminated in 1970. As discussed, the major concepts of relational leadership include inclusivity, purposefulness, empowerment, ethical behavior, and process orientation. The leaders applying the leadership approach in question are required to aware and sensitive about how they relate with their followers at different levels of leadership. It is vital that leaders be fair to all crewmembers and allow individual participation to the best of each person’s capability. Good leadership requires that there be the growth of both leaders and followers due to positive influence focused on achieving the set goals. Different groups could adopt the strategy of leadership as portrayed in Apollo 13 safe landing mission achievement. To ensure success, it is vital that group members adopt relational leadership concepts that enhance better conversations, reduce internal group conflicts and tense relationships, and improve team involvement towards common goals.

References

Block, A. (2020). Retrieved 3 December 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZP5O7NFvGs&t=507s.

Northouse, P. G. (2019). Leadership: theory and practice. In catalog.loc.gov Library Catalog (Eighth Edition). SAGE Publications. https://lccn.loc.gov/2017049134‌