5 Workplace Communication Tips for Project Managers from the Apollo Missions

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The manned Apollo missions (between 1968 and 1972) to land humans on the Moon and return them safely to Earth remain among the most remarkable achievements in human history.

As a small business leader and project manager, you can especially appreciate the teamwork, innovation, and determination required to complete a project of this scale using the technology available at the time.

Nearly 50 years later, project managers and small business leaders can still learn many important lessons from Apollo, even with all the advances in project management software and technology .

And some of the most important lessons can be learned from the team communication that is practiced throughout the Apollo program.

astronaut standing on moon with flag decorated with chat icon
5 Workplace Communication Tips from Apollo
If you're skeptical about the importance of team purchase shareholder database communication on large projects, consider these statistics from the Project Management Institute: poor communication is the leading cause of project failure in nearly 30% of all failed projects .

Small business leaders and project managers should look to high-performing teams, like the NASA teams that worked on the Apollo program, as a model for workplace communication to increase project success and avoid project failure.

Let's dive in.

Jump to:
Tip 1: Don't panic; be a calm role model
Tip 2: Use technology to facilitate communication
Tip 3: Get everyone involved in the conversation
Tip 4: Respect the leader's voice
Tip 5: Speak directly and clearly


Tip 1: Don't panic; be a calm role model
A black and white photo of the Apollo 13 Mission Control crew working to resolve a problem with an oxygen tank.
Apollo 13 mission control team quietly works to solve pesky oxygen problem ( Source )

Apollo example: Halfway through the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, astronauts Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise had plenty of reason to panic. They were more than 200,000 miles from the safety of the earth's surface when bad wiring caused a small explosion that ruptured an oxygen tank. The tank leaked its entire contents, which is not a good thing when you're in space.

Instead of immediately trying to steal each other's oxygen or desperately searching for a black hole that would hopefully take them home, the astronauts calmly reported the problem to Mission Control in Houston, and they solved it as a team .

For their part, the Mission Control team did not cry or scream, did not go home, and did not hide under the blankets. They began to work together, and as a result, the team got home safely.

Conclusion: Communication in the workplace works best when people communicate calmly and are willing to cooperate. There are moments that require urgent decisions, but never panic decisions.

TalentSmart, an emotional intelligence training provider, found that “90% of top performers are able to manage their emotions under stress to stay calm and in control.”

Inevitably, a problem will arise in your workplace for which there is no easily identifiable solution. As a team leader and project manager, it is your responsibility to set the tone when this happens.

If you lose your cool and go into red alert mode at the first sign of trouble, your team will follow suit. But they will also follow suit if you think things through, organize, mobilize, and solve the problem with a clear head.