Extreme (and I mean EXTREME) Leadership
Posted By Rob Millard - 0 Comments -
None of his expeditions achieved their objective, yet he is recognized as one the greatest leaders ever. In 1914, he set sail in the Endurance, intent on being first to reach the South Pole. What followed was utterly astounding...
Sir Ernest Shacketon never made it to the frozen continent. The Endurance was trapped by pack ice just forty miles from the mainland. He and his crew watched helplessly in horror, as their ship was slowly crushed and finally sunk. More than 1000 miles from the nearest human habitation, without any of the modern communication devices that we take for granted, they may as well have been on the moon.
Three flimsy lifeboats were salvaged from the wreck, and carefully selected supplies. For nineteen months, Shackleton led his men to safety. Living on seals, penguin and even dog, they dragged the lifeboats until they reached open water, launched them and sailed through the roughest seas on earth for the nearest landfall, Elephant Island. There, Shackleton left the bulk of his crew and sailed on for South Georgia, where there was a whaling station. They landed on the opposite side of the island to the station, and had to trek over treacherous mountain peaks, glaciers and crevasses to reach it. Amazingly, Shackleton did not lose a single man during the entire ordeal. Years later, his first officer attributed their survival soley to his remarkable leadership.
In the past decade or so, there has been a resurgence of interest in Shackleton, and in lessons that modern business leaders can learn and apply from the way that he managed his crew through unbelievable hardships.
Click here to find a Fast Company article on this topic, and here for a link to Amazon.com and Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell's book Shackleton's Way : Leadership Lessons from The Great Antarctic Explorer. The latter is also available on DVD, which makes far better use of time spent driving in one's car, than listening to the radio or music. Dennis Perkins' book Leading at the Edge (click here) is also excellent reading on this topic.