Apollo 13 was the third mission planned by NASA to land in the moon. Unfortunately, the astronauts never made it to the lunar surface. This is because the oxygen tanks exploded, leading to a gradual fall in the oxygen levels while CO2 levels increased. Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert are the main characters in the film (Lovell & Kluger, 2006). These characters were left with the responsibility of making necessary and significant decisions to survive the tragedy. Therefore, they depicted different leadership styles while dealing with the problem. Such leadership styles played an important role in the survival of the film characters during the crisis. The essay discusses different leadership styles depicted by different characters in the film with the examples from the real events in the film. Some of the leadership styles in the film are a transformational leadership style, motivational leadership style, and service leadership style.
During the Apollo 13 mission, Jim assumed the position of a commander. One of the members of the crew was unfortunately exposed to measles. Due to that, Jim was responsible for practicing transformational leadership and make necessary change decisions to solve the issue. Since Ken was unable to proceed with the mission, Jim ordered that Ken be replaced by Jack Swigert. This was evidence of transformational leadership that existed during the mission(Lovell & Kluger, 2006). On the other hand, it is depicted that Jim practiced aristocratic leadership since he stood by her decision to replace Ken. The vwas the right decision, though it was difficult.
The motivational leadership style is also depicted by Jim Lovell in the movie. During the argument between Swigert and Haise, Jim intervened and said, “… we’re not gonna do this, we’re not gonna go bouncing off the walls for ten minutes. Cause we’re just gonna end up right back here with the same problem. Try to figure out how to stay alive.” From his statement, It is clear that Jim was confident in the mission. In his leadership, he focused on giving hope and motivation to Haise and Swigert. He made them believe in succeeding through the use of teamwork. Consequently, confidence was built towards Jim all through the mission. Also, He involves the members of the crew and valued their ideas during the tragedy. He asked the crew to be creative while solving the problem, “Gentlemen, what are your intentions? We’re gonna need a contingency if we lose communication with Houston.” During the difficulty, Jim focused on the problem rather than focusing on blaming whoever made any mistake during the mission (Lovell & Kluger, 2006). This shows how a good leader he is. The two types of leadership styles are good for Jim. On the other hand, he seemed to make quite great decisions. Therefore, the transformational leadership style best fits Jim Lovell.
Another special and significant character in the film is Jack Swigert. Swigert depicted a service leadership style during the mission. Basically, he found it hard to replace Ken because he believed to have less experience as compared to Ken. Despite that, Jim had trust in him. Furthermore, he was dedicated to serving the crew with the crew whole working towards solving the underlying problem. Haise is another main character in the film. His efforts also counted a lot in the fight against the tragedy. He depicted service leadership in the mission. This is due to the fact that he serves in the crew as a service pilot. His commitment was based on the willingness to attain the best for the crew and allow them to get home safe despite the tragedy. This leadership style best fits the character based on his profession and experience as a pilot, especially when there is a tragedy. However, Haise declined his leadership capabilities when he almost lost focus on finding a solution to the problem while he devoted his time and efforts to blaming Jack Swigert for the crisis (Lovell & Kluger, 2006). Luckily, Jim Lovell intervened and helped solve the dispute.
In conclusion, the Apollo crisis was guided by different kinds of leadership styles portrayed by Jack Swigert, Haise, and Jim Lovell. Different kinds of leadership are depicted in the tragedy. They include transformational, service, and emotional intelligence leadership amongst motivational leadership styles. These leadership styles played an important role in decision making as the members of the Apollo mission crew tried to survive through the tragedy. All challenges that existed in the mission were solved by effective leadership (Homan, 2016). For instance, there was a misunderstanding as Haise was blaming Swigert, but the issue was solved by the intervention by Jim Lovell as the crew commander. These leadership qualities are also important in today’s society.