Leading and Inspiring a Team

In 1969, as the United States was racing to be the first country to successfully execute a manned lunar landing, the Apollo 11 mission was hours away from making history when flight director Gene Kranz, the leader of the entire mission operation, called his team together and shared the following:

"Hey gang, we're really gonna go and land on the moon today....We're about to do something that no one has ever done. Be aware that there's a lot of stuff that we don't know about the environment that we're ready to walk into, but be aware that I trust you implicitly....I know we're working in an area of the unknown that has high risk. But we don't even think of tying in this game, we think only to win, and I know you guys, if you've even got a few seconds to work your problem, we're gonna win. So let's have at it".

Here's The Point: A team will follow a leader who prepares the team well, exudes confidence in the team's ability, and who personally leads the team on the mission.

Source: Apollo: The Race to the Moon (Murray and Cox)