Lessons In Leadership: Shackleton's Way (7 June 2002)

What type of leader does it take to ensure the contribution of all of the people under their authority to survive being stranded in below freezing temperatures for 18 months on the polar ice flow without outside assistance. What cold, hard lessons on leadership do we find in Shackleton's heroic Antarctic expedition?

Those seeking to lead any group know the impossibility of the task of keeping both morale and productivity at a sustainably high level. Some of those under your care thrive, others fall by the way. So how would you cope with being responsible for the lives of 29 people under your command with your leadership skills as their only source of hope? How did Sir Ernest Shackleton succeed where others would fail?

The facts of Shackleton's story are as remarkable as the insights that arise from it. These are set out in a newly published account 'Shackleton's Way'.1. In August 1914 the aptly named 'Endurance' set sail from London to Antarctica. On becoming trapped in pack ice in January 1915 the 29 member crew spent an entire winter on board. When the ship began to break up in October 1915, Shackleton led the expedition across the pack ice to wait four months for the autumn thaw.

However, the crew of the Endurance, now lost on a frozen sea, were no closer to being rescued. Using the three lifeboats that they had dragged across the pack ice from the ship, they rowed to Elephant Island, 100 miles away. Shackleton then took 5 crew and traveled 800 miles through the Antarctic ocean for help.

Navigating successfully to a desolate landfall, he and two of his men then made a 36 hour trek over the 4000m high mountain ranges of South Georgia Island to finally locate help on 19 May 1916. He then returned to Elephant Is., despite harsh weather, to rescue the remaining crew on August 30 1916. No lives were lost in the 18 month ordeal.

As the chapters of the story unfold so do 7 major lessons of what makes an effective leader. The leadership attributes that are embodied in Shackleton's story can be described as follows:

1. Core Leadership Values
2. Recruiting the Right Character
3. Creating Team Spirit and Morale
4. Developing Individual Strengths
5. Knowing Your People
6. Leading Decisively
7. An Optimistic Mindset in Adversity

1. Core Leadership Values

Shackleton was a unique leader - unique from the perspective of his upbringing which instilled within him a particular set of core values and belief systems that led to his leadership style. The experiences of his early childhood of a practising Quaker family, the influence of his large but predominantly female family (he had eight sisters) and his years as a maltreated apprentice in the merchant navy, all had profound influence on his philosophies for treating people in later life.

Leadership starts with strength of character. Shackleton's core values were his faith, compassion, optimism, moral courage, enthusiasm, selflessness, resilience, continual learning and self- knowledge. But Shackleton's defining leadership trait that made all the difference was his compassion and devotion to his men. This insight is even more interesting when it is considered that at the time these events occurred this style of 'soft' management was unknown.

2. Recruiting the Right People

The composition of the crew also seemed of paramount importance to the outcome of the journey. Shackleton's philosophy on selecting the right people proved critical to the effectiveness of the team and the extreme tests of character and endurance that lay ahead. His recruiting techniques were highly subjective, practically intuitive. and described as "capricious and eccentric". Shackleton had an ability to appraise a man by his interpersonal skills. Shackleton intuitively knew that personality was more critical than skill, saying "their science or their seamanship weighs little [with me] against the kind of chaps they are".

3. Creating a Team Spirit and Morale

Shackleton also believed in "a spirit of camaraderie". He was convinced that the one thing gave him the best chance of reaching his goals was unity. In fact, he was quoted by one of the crew as saying, "There are lots of good things in the world, but I am not sure that comradeship is not the best of them all." Also, the daily work routines Shackleton established on board the Endurance were not simply about workloads, but also extended to include holidays, anniversaries and events of personal significance. He believed in celebration and entertainment and the Captain of the Endurance once wrote, "[Shackleton] is the life and soul of half the skylarking and fooling in the ship."

Shackleton made sure he was always accessible and that he kept everyone informed. He was fair and impartial as to compensation, workload and discipline, but also built personal relationships. He broke down cliques by multi-skilling and rotating roles, partnering employees on tasks to build relationships and trust. He represented that unique blend of the consistent, fair and personable leader.

4. Developing Individual Strengths

Shackleton also had the ability to promote personal growth in the people serving under his command. Shackleton's high degree of interpersonal skills combined with his organisational strategies enabled him to simultaneously develop the skill levels in the team while improving the esteem of individuals through recognition and acknowledgement.

Shackleton's approach to developing his people to bring out their best included creating a work environment conducive to getting everyone to want to work, promoting individual personal wellbeing, ensuring everyone had challenging work, giving consistent feedback on performance and rewarding the individual and the group at every opportunity. Essentially, he was tolerant, knowing his crews' strengths and weaknesses and setting reasonable expectations.

5. Knowing Your People

Surviving an Antarctic winter on the pack ice was a real opportunity for the crew to get to know each other and for Shackleton to fully understand their personalities. Shackleton did not waste this time, with his insight proving correct during the real test of the entire expedition, the sea journey to Elephant Island 100 miles distant.

Shackleton knew that the composition of the crews on each of the three lifeboats was critical from a number of perspectives. He selected the crews based on both their abilities and the mindsets of each person in the crew, with the optimists clearly identified. Interestingly, Shackleton selected the crews with the best skills and qualities for the worst boats - and he chose the malcontents, and those difficult to manage, to accompany himself in the best boat. Shackleton did this because he relied on his ability to know his people to assess their limits - using the sturdiness of the craft to make up for any deficiencies in the crew members themselves.

6. Leading Decisively

The situation the Endurance crew found themselves in was in itself an opportunity for the expression of Shackleton's natural leadership abilities. Had there been no hardship experienced on the journey, then the leadership required would have been unremarkable and been recorded as such. Biographers Morrell and Caparell summarize Shackleton's rules for crisis leadership as follows: "Immediately address your staff, take charge of the situation, offer a plan, enlist support and show confidence in the positive outcome. Remove middle layers of decision making as direct leadership is the more efficient in emergencies. Plan several options in detail and keep focused on the big picture. Give the occasional reality check to prevent the team losing focus. Draw your information from a range of sources when decision making. Let all involved in the crisis participate in the solution Be patient and give staff plenty of time to get used to an unpopular idea. Keep malcontents close to you. Defuse tension with humour. Don't waste time or energy regretting the past or what you can't change."

7. Being Optimistic in Adversity

Optimism was an essential quality of the personality of the crew Shackleton selected for the expedition. In his observations on the physiological links between the attitude of the crew and their health he marveled that, on the final boat journey to South Georgia Island undertaken by he and five crew, at the end of the 16-day 800 mile journey across the sub-Antarctic ocean, the two crew lying prostrate in the bottom of the boat were the two greatest pessimists in the Endurance crew2.. Optimism was the key to survival.

Leadership Insights - Shackleton's Way

This final trait of optimism leads to the secret which binds together the elements of Shackleton's success. This historical account provides a profound insight, with deep implications for modern leadership. Consider the questions, "Why would Shackleton insist on each crew member carrying one of the classic literary works from the library of the Endurance? Why also would Shackleton insist on the recovery of the banjo from the sinking Endurance and its accompaniment with the crew for the remainder of the expedition?" The answer to these questions and their importance becomes evident when we identify Shackleton's defining strength, being his ability to manage the business of physical survival together with the business of survival of the spirit. The distinction for Shackleton was clear, so clear that he managed both with equal importance.

The 'business of survival' is concerned with all the economic indicators that we know well - profit revenues, logistics, planning - and with providing the "means to live". But what made the difference to the crew of the Endurance was Shackleton's focus on the 'business of spirit'. This was about maintaining joy, hope, pride, inspiration, celebration, recognition, personal fulfillment and purpose. It is all about the "will to live". Previous expeditions had perished with supplies still available - possibly because of the absence of spirit.

Shackleton's expedition is an inspiring tale of triumph of the human spirit - with profound lessons that we can apply to our own leadership challenges. When your crew are making their way to their workplace on Monday morning, what sort of anticipation are they experiencing? What sort of joy, hope, fulfillment and celebration can they expect through their day and week? Is business survival and survival of the spirit equally important to them? Herein lies the insight as to how Shackleton achieved both zero turnover and high morale, even when faced with great adversity.

1. Morrell and Capparell (2001) Shackleton's Way, Viking, New York
2. Shackleton E. (1919) South: The Story of Shackleton's Last Expedition 1914-1917, Heinemann, London

by Jeff Pow

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