Leadership lessons from the great antarctic explorer

On August 30, 1916, Shackleton and Worsley and Crean arrived aboard the humble Chilean vessel, Yelcho to rescue the crew on Elephant Island. It was Shackleton's fourth attempt to rescue his crew. Shackleton wrote in South, "Food was very short, only two days' seal and penguin meat being left, and no prospect of any more arriving. ... From a fortnight after I had left, Wild would roll up his sleeping-bag each day with the remark, 'Get your things ready, boys, the Boss may com

Recently I watched a documentary on an executive in a high profile and stressful position. Curious about how his career progressed, I looked him up. He'd quit his super-glamorous position after three years. At the time, the press was mystified as to why he would resign from the prestigious position when he seemed to have everything - fame, fortune - and to be at the peak of his career. As I read the accounts, a statistic from a landmark Gallup survey came to mind - the #1 rea

Shackleton's Way... Again, Shackleton set the tone by his own example. “His unfailing cheeriness means a lot to a band of disappointed explorers like ourselves,” Orde-Lees wrote. “He is one of the greatest optimists I have ever know. He is not content with saying. ‘It will all come out right in the end.’ It is always otherwise with him. He merely says that this is but a little setback not altogether unforeseen and he immediately commences to modify his program to accord with

There are parts of Shackleton's Way that I have memorized by heart but I'd forgotten about this long riff from Orde-Lees in Chapter 4 - Getting the Best from Each Individual... Orde-Lees had sciatica and suffered a particularly bad bout in late July. Shackleton privately blamed Orde-Lees’ carelessness. He had gone out in frigid temperatures “in just the ordinary things one would wear on a mild cold day in England,” as Orde-Lees admitted. Shackleton also suffered recurring bou

When Stephanie and I were working on Shackleton's Way, Stephanie would often muse about "whether Chapter 4 is my favorite or Chapter 5." Well, this riff from early in Chapter 4 is hard to beat... Shackleton's Way: Ultimately, Shackleton won the crew's unwavering loyalty with his extraordinary ability to communicate and connect personally. His contact with his men was constant, friendly, instructive, and often fun. "He led mentally and physically and gave a sense to the indivi

Power Thinking: I work with my employees to establish clear expectations. From Shackleton's Way... The Boss was a stickler for structuring the day, setting clear parameters for both work and leisure. The comfortable daily routine helped each member of the crew feel that his work contributed to the smooth operation of the ship. Shortly after Shackleton boarded the ship, Orde-Lees wrote in his diary: “It is splendid having Sir Ernest on board; everything works like clockwork an

Do your part to help create an upbeat environment at work. A positive and cheerful workplace is important to productivity. #Leadership #LeadingByExample #CommunicatingEffectively #KeepingUpMorale #MaintainingAPositiveAttitude #Shackleton

Senior investment bank advisor Eric Miller said about Shackleton... "He had some weak members, but he blended them in so they were neutralized. [Shackleton] never showed them his personal disappointments or ever stooped to vindictiveness." Miller went on to comment, the Endurance tale is "a wonderful example and exhilarating story of the human capabilities" to overcome adversity. As a former marine officer in Korea, Mr. Miller admires Shackleton's concern for the safety of al

In this journal entry, Orde-Lees notes that Shackleton maintains a positive attitude in dire circumstances and his attitude affects, and transfer to, the entire crew. Orde-Lees' Journal Friday, 8 January, 1915 Sir Ernest is deserving of all praise. The man who should feel the greatest anxiety about our reaching our base exhibits by far the least and but for his cheery optimism we should all be despondently irritable. There is no doubt that it is far harder than anyone had exp

While working on a project recently, I was reminded of how often I put Shackleton lessons to use in my daily life. When Endurance sailed from London on August 1, 1914, Shackleton remained behind to tie up loose ends. The Boss arrived in Buenos Aires six weeks after Endurance and found the ship's departure plans were tied up in red tape. Shackleton sliced through the problem by going to see the Argentinian officials in person. From Shackleton's Way... [Shackleton] "biographer

Perhaps the most remarkable thing that may at once be said of him is that, unlike most people, there is no underside to his character. One could not be on more intimate terms with him than I have been and yet, to my surprise, I find that he is precisely the same in intimacy as he is in public, in fact his outstanding frankness is, to my mind, his most characteristic attribute. I have no hesitation is saying that whatever he says to his subordinates in approbation, in chiding

There was nothing in the nature of a set speech. He spoke to us in a group, telling us that he intended to march the party across the land to the west; that the distance was about 200 miles and that he thought we ought to manage 5 miles a day and that if we all worked together it could be done. The necessity seemed obvious. At heart we were probably glad that the time of anxiety as to whether or not we should save the ship was over, and that the job was not up to us. I can’t

Shackleton was no pushover as Dr. Macklin recounts in his 1956 interview with biographer James Fisher. In this section of the interview, Fisher and Macklin discuss what it was like to work for Shackleton. Macklin describes Shackleton's way of teaching his junior officers how to get results. Note: Endurance left London with most of the crew onboard but Shackleton stayed behind to tie up loose ends and sailed on another ship to Buenos Aires. Macklin didn’t have much contact wit