“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead
where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Emerson

Inspired Leadership: Lessons
Learned from the Great Antarctic
Explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton

By Brian Zeiner

Men wanted for Hazardous Journey
Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.

The most successful ad ever written attributed to the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton circa 1913 for recruiting people to join his expedition to be the first to walk across the South Pole. Would you apply? Almost 5,000 did.

Shackleton has been called the “greatest leader that ever walked on earth and a master of guidance in a crisis”.ⁱ He has also been called the greatest failure in the history of exploration. His greatest failure and greatest success was his 1914-1916 Endurance expedition named after his family motto: By Endurance We Conquer.

Shackleton failed at the possible and succeeded at the improbable
Shackleton faced many of the same challenges that face today’s Executive Directors, Chairs of Boards and Managers of the voluntary sector. He had to raise funds, recruit a diverse group to work towards a goal, effectively deal with negative attitudes, insecurities, fatigue and stress, work with limited resources, maintain order in times of chaos and provide unwavering leadership during a period of crisis.          

This true, and now legendary, story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1916 Antarctic adventure is an inspiration and example of leadership, heroism and human endurance, with all 28 men surviving two years in the frigid Antarctic. His ship is crushed, his goal to be the first to cross the Antarctica on foot is gone, and no one in the world knows they are stranded. His crew begins to question his decisions, crew morale is getting low.

This is your opportunity to explore, add to your leadership skills, and challenge your own beliefs and practice around leadership. 

Shackleton’s Greatest Failure and Greatest Success
Using his entrepreneurial skills and careful planning Shackleton raised the equivalent of 10 million dollars for his Endurance expedition.  He set sail from England in August 1914 with 27 hand picked men made up of the ship’s captain and crew, a carpenter, two doctors, various scientists, a photographer, and seasoned explorers from previous expeditions.

Making his way to the Antarctic Circle, his ship, the Endurance, plowed through one thousand miles of ice-encrusted waters. One day’s sail from their destination in the Vahsel Bay on the Antarctic Coast the ship became stuck in the ice flow. The pack ice dragged the ship and the men further from the Polar cap for ten months. His ship was eventually crushed by the ice and sank. The 27 men were forced to camp on the ice flow for several months.  

With the pack ice literally melting underneath them, Shakleton made the decision to set out with all 27 men in their three small lifeboats. They fought the sea for a week, finally making their way to Elephant Island. After a time, Shackleton decided to take five of the men to sail eight hundred miles over uncharted waters, with only a sextant, to a whaling station on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic.

By some miracle of navigation, they made it. But they landed on the far side of island from the whaling station. His life boat too battered from the journey to sail around the island, Shackleton chose instead to cross a nearly impassable frozen mountain range to reach the whaling station. Shackleton and two of his men set out, armed only with wet clothing, one rope and spikes on their boots.

They reached the whaling station and, after a short recovery period, Shackleton eventually returned for the rest of his crew on Elephant Island. Every single member of his crew survived. As he approached Elephant Island the men waved from shore and shouted: “All well boss”.

Lessons Learned
Over 500 CEO’s to supervisors, from large organizations, small businesses and community based associations identified the following categories from each of Seven Core Competenciesⁱⁱ of leadership as being the most important lessons they learned from Shackleton’s real life example of leadership.

1. Developing Leadership Skills
Be bold in creating your vision and careful in planning.  Dare to try something new, but be meticulous enough in your proposal to give your ideas a good chance of succeeding.

Cultivate a sense of compassion and responsibility for others.  You have a bigger impact on the lives of those under you than you can imagine.

Find a way to turn setbacks and failures to your advantage.  This would be a good time to step forward on your own.

Do your part to help create an upbeat environment at work.  A positive and cheerful crew is important to productivity.

2. Selecting and Organizing Your Crew
Hire those with the talents and expertise you lack.  Don’t feel threatened by them.  They will help you stay on the cutting edge and bring distinction to your organization.

Your No. 2 is your most important hire.  Pick one who complements your management style, shows loyalty without being a yes-person, and has a talent for working with others.

Be a creative, unconventional interviewer if you seek creative, unconventional people.  Go deeper than job experience and expertise.  Ask questions that reveal a candidate’s personality, values, and perspective on work and life.

To weed out potential slackers, choose people who show a willingness to tackle any job, and will take a turn at the unpopular tasks.

3. Forging a United and Loyal Team
Lead by example.  Chip in sometimes to help with the work you’re having others do.  It gives you the opportunity to set a high standard and shows your respect for the job.

Always keep the door open to your people, and be generous with information that affects them. A well-informed crew is more eager and better prepared to participate.

Establish order and discipline so that all your people know where they stand and what is expected of them. The discipline makes the crew feel they’re in capable hands.

Where possible, have crew work together on certain tasks.  It builds trust and respect and even friendship.

4. Developing Individual Talent
Make sure each person has challenging and important work.  Even the lowest-ranking people must feel they are making a valuable and appreciated contribution to the goal and organization.

Give consistent feedback on performance.  Most people feel they don’t get nearly enough words of praise and encouragement.

Strive for relationships that have a human as well as professional element.  No matter how large your organization, get to know as many people as possible. 

5. Getting the Group Through a Crisis
When crisis strikes, immediately address your people.  Take charge of the situation, offer a plan of action, ask for support, and show absolute confidence in a positive outcome.

Defuse tension. In high-stress situations use humour to put people at ease.

Plan several options in detail.  Get a grasp of the possible consequences of each, always keeping your eye on the big picture.

6. Forming Groups for the Toughest Tasks
Empower the team leaders so they have the authority to handle their own group, but keep an eye on the details.  Never let yourself be surprised by problems down the road.

Give a show of confidence in those acting on your behalf.  It’s important that your support people maintain in your absence the same level of competency you set.

Don’t be afraid to change your mind when you see your plan isn’t working.  You won’t look indecisive if you show the logic of your changes.

7. Finding the Determination to Move Forward
Encourage your people to be independent.  If you have been a good leader, they will have the determination to succeed on their own.

Seek inspiration in enduring wisdom that has comforted or motivated you or others in times of crisis.  It will get you through the most physically and emotionally draining times and helps you to keep your perspective.

Go-for-broke risks become more acceptable as options narrow.  Sometimes the potential rewards at the end of a daring venture justify the risk of suffering a spectacular failure.

Make sure the whole job is done.  Your people may be able to call it quits after the heavy lifting is over, but you are responsible for seeing the work through to its successful completion.

Leadership in Practice
Whether you are the Executive Director of a community organization or a CEO in the corporate world, anyone can learn from these lessons.  Shackleton’s thinking and leadership style was not mainstream in 1914, he had many critics and doubters but he had the courage, endurance and faith to ‘conceive and dare’, learning from his past mistakes. He used humour, generosity, intelligence, physical and mental strength and compassion to reach beyond expectations.

Shackleton’s legacy is a life of success over unbelievable challenges and adversity. His thoughts about leadership can be summed up in his own words: “Optimism is the true moral courage.”  “If you are a leader, a person that other people look to, you have to keep going.”   

About Brian Zeiner
Brian maintains an organizational effectiveness and management consulting practice based on a 20-year corporate and private client based experience.  A life long learner, Brian also has extensive experience in strategic human resources – aligning people talent with business goals and plans, management training programs, in such areas as: performance management, management boot camps, increasing organization efficiency and productivity, creating positive work environments and employee engagement.

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