The Shackleton Saga

Over the course of the last three years we have been conducting a leadership university for The Parr Company based in Portland, Oregon. Parr is a leading supplier of building materials to the home construction and remodeling industry in the Northwest. One module is lead by senior management representatives who have a passion for developing leadership talent. Nate Bond, Parr’s Senior Sales Executive, delivers a stirring speech to each class, sharing key insights into Sir Ernest Shackleton, the man who has been called the greatest leader of the 20^th Century. Nate has graciously allowed us to share his speech with you. Enjoy.

Leadership Lessons from Sir Ernest Shackleton by Nate Bond

“On August 3, 1913 a Canadian expedition led by Vilhjalmur Stefansson set out to explore the frozen Arctic, between the northernmost shores of Canada and the North Pole. On December 5, 1914, the British Imperial Tran-Antarctic Expedition, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, sailed from the island of South Georgia in the Southern Ocean. Its goal was the first overland crossing of Antarctica.

Both ships, the Karluk in the north and the Endurance in the south, soon found themselves beset in solid ice pack. Trapped by the ice, each crew was soon engaged in a fight for survival. But the outcomes of these two adventures - and the ways in which the two leaders dealt with obstacles they faced - were as far apart as the poles each leader set out to explore.

In the north, the crew of the Karluk found themselves transformed in the months that followed into a band of self-interested, disparate individuals. Lying, cheating, and stealing became common behaviors. The disintegration of the team had tragic consequences for its eleven members; every one of them died in the Arctic wasteland.

In the frozen south, the story of the Endurance could not have been more different. Shackleton’s expedition faced the same problems of ice, cold, and shortages of food and supplies. The response of his crew to these hellish conditions, however, was in almost every respect the reverse of the Karluk’s crew. Teamwork, self-sacrifice, and astonishing good cheer replaced lying, cheating and rapacious self-interest. It was as if the Endurance existed not just in a different polar region, but in a different, contrary, parallel universe.

Anyone here been in the military? I have not, but I have heard of and known military leaders who were able to inspire exhausted, wet, tired and discouraged Marines under the most grueling conditions. They were able to exercise leadership in a way that called on deep reserves of endurance and comradeship. They did things that motivated scared, anxious troops to saddle up and move into the dark- to venture beyond the relative safety of the concertina-wire perimeter into the face of death.  It is more than the discipline of the Marine Corps. It is something else.

I am convinced that by understanding the things that work when survival is at stake -- when financial incentives or promotions become irrelevant, and when fear and self-interest surface - we can understand how to lead under such conditions.

Our organizational challenges are not, of course, exactly the same as the life-and-death situations in combat. I have, however, often observed people reacting to everyday events as if they were life-and-death matters. 

The challenges you face as a leader may not involve physical survival, but you will need to deal with the human reactions that are common to any stressful situation.  By understanding the leadership practices that work in extreme situations - conditions in which normal or even above-average performance means failure and even death - you will increase your ability to lead and flourish in the face of adversity. 

The Shackleton expedition’s tale is one of the most exciting adventure stories of polar explorations. It is a story about a leader and a group of explorers who endured conditions of hardship and deprivation more extreme than most of us can even imagine.

Shackleton gathered a group of men by taking an ad in the newspaper. It read: “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.” Some of us feel this is already our job description.

Their mission was the first overland crossing of the Antarctic Continent. Their plan was to sail from London to Buenos Aires and then to the island of South Georgia. From South Georgia, they would enter the Weddell Sea, cross Antarctica, and exit on the other side where a ship would be waiting. It’s like walking from Idaho to Texas only it’s all ice.  Ice masses, ice terranes, ice bergs, glacier bergs, ice islands, brash ice, white ice, blue ice, green ice, dirty ice, pack ice, ice floes, ice rinds, ice hummocks, coastal ice, fast ice, ice piedmonts, ice wedges, ice veins, ice caps, ice domes, ice crystals, pencil ice, plate ice, bullet ice…you get the idea. In some places the ice is ten stories tall.

Shackleton was a leader with a forceful personality. But many individuals exercised leadership. One of the keys to great leadership is mobilizing leadership from multiple sources. He selected twenty-five men for the expedition. Complex and diverse, the group was composed of men with a range of temperaments, personalities, and technical skills, including medicine, navigation, carpentry, and photography. They were diverse in social class, ranging from university professors to fishermen, and in age. The oldest was 57.

As I said setting out from South Georgia on December 5, 1914 the ice steadily thickened and on January 19, 1915, disaster struck and the ice of the Weddell Sea closed around the Endurance like a vice. They were stuck sixty miles from the continent. The ship ultimately broke apart. They took their life boats, a few precious possessions, and their dogs, which they ate, and tried to cross the open ice, failed, and so drifted on an ice floe until they reached Elephant Island. From there Shackleton took part of the crew, rigged the life boat for travel in the most treacherous part of the world’s oceans, the Scotia Sea, and sailed to South Georgia Island for help to come back and rescue the rest of the men. He made it to South Georgia, but on the wrong side of the island - and had to cross its massive mountains and glaciers and somehow made it to the whaling station at Grytviken where he got help. Shackleton had to make four different attempts on four different ships but on August 30, 1916 - 19 months after setting out - he made it to the rest of his crew and got every last one of them out of there alive and reasonably well. They all survived, they all cared about each other and there was always a high level of camaraderie. Sir Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Mt. Everest and to cross Antarctica successfully, later wrote, “When disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton.”

What made Shackleton such a great leader? What was it that enabled him and his team to overcome such insurmountable obstacles? In his book. Leading at The Edge, Leadership Lessons from the Extraordinary Saga of Shackleton’s Expedition, Dennis Perkins details key leadership principles that have emerged as critical factors that distinguish groups that triumph from those that fail. 

1. Never lose sight of the ultimate goal, focus energy on short-term objectives

Do something!
Throughout their ordeal, the crew’s anxiety might have been overwhelming. But though many of their activities did not produce positive results, Shackleton knew the need to establish clearly defined tasks, to keep the crew busy, to keep anxiety at bay.

Look beyond your own needs for action
In the failed expedition to the North Pole, Stefansson focused his own anxiety by going on a caribou hunt, leaving all his men to wonder what was happening. Leaders need to maintain a balance between their own needs and the needs of the team, and they must concentrate on engaging the whole organization. By doing so, they will channel their own anxiety and kept their momentum and focus.

Overcome Uncertainty with Structure
There are times when it is simply not possible to take proactive, decisive action. But there are other ways of focusing team energy. Shackleton’s ability to create structure and order was effective even when there was little to do but wait. Routines provide a sense of stability, and they help quell anxiety about the future. When leaders move into unexplored terrain, ambiguity and uncertainty are inevitable. Establishing critical organizational structures - a matter of fact groove - can give people the sense of order they need to be productive.

Create engaging distractions
One of the crewmembers from the expedition became so downhearted that he literally wanted to lie down and die. Shackleton fixed the problem by giving him the job of cook. He became so preoccupied with his new role that he snapped out of his depression.

2. Set a personal example with visible, memorable symbols and behaviors.

Give the right speech
The explorers were standing on an ice floe, in the middle of the southern ocean, listening to the beams of their ship snapping in two, knowing they could never get to their supplies, and wondering what would happen next. At this point Shackleton made a speech. Simply and in brief sentences he told the men not to be alarmed at the loss of the vessel, and assured them that by hard effort, clean work, and loyal cooperation, they could make their way to land. This speech had an immediate effect. The crew’s spirits rose, and they were inclined to take a more cheerful view of a situation that had nothing in it to warrant the change. It is axiomatic that people who do not believe they can influence their destiny become anxious and fearful. Shackleton’s words gave them the belief that they could influence their own survival and that of the expedition.

Many of us are uncomfortable speaking in large group settings. As a result, we exercise leadership in our most natural style, emphasizing one-on-one or small group interactions. This is important but there are times when the role demands something different, when the energy of the entire group or organization needs to be mobilized. On these occasions, the leader needs to face his or her team and communicate a message to the team as a whole—to make a speech.

Use Vivid Symbols
When the ship was crushed by ice Shackleton acted symbolically. He was convinced that to accomplish their sled march, dragging three one-thousand-pound life boats behind them, every non-essential item had to be left behind. After issuing the order that each man could carry only two pounds of personal gear, he reached inside his parka, took out a handful of gold sovereigns and threw them to the ground. Again he reached into his parka and found a gold cigarette case. This too he threw to the ground. By this dramatic gesture, he provided a focus for the expedition that was unmistakable and unambiguous: Jettison anything that will not directly enable us to accomplish our goal.

Be visible: Let people see you leading
While crossing the Scotia Sea, the temperature was minus 4 degrees, the men were all but frozen, it was snowing, killer whales were spouting around them, they were seasick from rolling in the little boat in the huge seas. They didn’t think they were going to last through the night. Understanding the importance of his role, Shackleton stood erect in the stern of the boat, conning the course, showing that he was keeping vigil and inspiring the men. Their photographer lost his mittens overboard. Shackleton immediately gave him his own in spite of the fact that he was standing in the most exposed position in the boat. The man refused and Shackleton was on the verge of throwing them overboard rather than wear them when one of his crew had to go without - he had severe frostbite on one finger as a result.

3. Instill optimism and self-confidence, but stay grounded in reality

Cultivate Optimism in Yourself
Before you can instill optimism in others, you need to find it in yourself. Shackleton was naturally optimistic.  He believed he would succeed and his belief spread to others.

Spread the spirit of optimism
Shackleton had an ebullient personality. He communicated his positive outlook in a way that had a profound influence on everyone - even the cynics. It was contagious. He believed so completely in success that it was difficult not to subscribe to his cheerful outlook. He established the attitude that “you’ve damn well got to be optimistic.”

Build the right team “Optimism Quotient”
Choose people who can keep your team’s spirits up. Shackleton filled one of his positions with Timothy McCarthy, an “able seaman” whose good-natured personality endeared him to everyone on board. He contributed physical strength but his most important contribution was probably his ability to maintain a positive outlook under the worst sea and weather any of them had ever experienced.

4. Be able to reframe a tough situation

Stay grounded in reality
In trying times, denial is more popular than ever. But it’s deadly. Resist the temptation to exclude contrary ideas; stay in touch with reality. Find people who will tell you the truth and reward them for doing so.

Take care of yourself: Maintain your stamina and let go of guilt
Look out for yourself as well as your crew. Great leaders are often individuals gifted with high energy and drive. There is an inherent tension between taking care of yourself and accomplishing the mission at any cost. Shackleton neglected his own needs and indeed suffered from poor health but kept it a secret. In terms of his crew, he placed tremendous importance on the physical and psychological needs of his men.

Beware of Summit Fever
In a relentless drive to reach the top or a goal you completely lose sight of your physical and psychological limits. Build in safeguards to recognize when its time to take a break, extend timelines or change course.

Find Outlets for your own feelings
Shackleton confided in his partner, Frank Wilde, in whom he had complete trust. He also confided in the ship’s captain, Frank Worsley. Leaders need not be completely stoic, solitary figures. They can, and should, enlist the support and guidance of those around them to assist them in taking the right next steps for the team.

Let go of guilt
Or, learn from mistakes. All leaders make mistakes. Good ones never make the same mistakes twice. The key is to learn from your mistakes and don’t make them again.

5. Reinforce the team message constantly: “We are one -  we live or die together

Establish a shared identity
Working with a diverse group of personalities, Shackleton had everyone do things together to promote a shared vision and identity. They ate together. They would have meetings after dinner. He even had everyone have a ceremonial haircut to, as he said “cure us, where necessary, of conceit.”

Maintain bonds of communication
Keep everyone informed, involved and thinking about solutions: A unified team is one in which every member understands the task to be done and feels a sense of deep personal responsibility for the success of the group’s efforts. For this to happen, each person must have a clear picture of the challenges faced by the team. Information really is power. It can be shared openly or it can be closely held and doled out reluctantly. But I have never seen a cohesive team when vital information is hoarded or restricted to a few key decision makers.

6. Minimize status differences and insist on courtesy and mutual respect

Minimize status differences
There is no quicker way to create anger, resentment and depression among a team than to take a hierarchal, autocratic approach. Shackleton, lacking a formal military education, learned seamanship and exploration from the ground up and so developed a great empathy for the jobs his team performed. He made friends among all factions - officers, engineers and apprentices alike.

Insist on mutual respect and courtesy
It is not possible to force one human being to have genuine feelings of concern about another. But it is possible to create an environment in which taking care of others becomes a normal behavior and over time these caring behaviors help forge emotional bonds. 

7. Master conflict - deal with anger in small doses, engage dissidents, and avoid needless power struggles

Deal with anger in small doses
Shackleton knew how destructive conflict could be, and so do we. He believed that the men needed to release on a daily, if not hourly, basis the stress and negative feelings they felt. Small arguments took place throughout the day; “shut the tent flap; don’t knock snow in my shoes, do your chores right”! Shackleton and his team-members would allow them all to let off steam and then, just when they appeared on the verge of blows, they would defuse the situation with arbitration of some kind.

Engage dissidents
Close working quarters can breed discontent. If Shackleton had to be a bit ruthless in his leadership at times, he also had a way of undoing any bad effect by having little private talks with men he had ruffled. Additionally he identified individuals whose attitudes or behavior could either adversely affect morale or be seen as a challenge to his leadership. Instead of limiting his contact with these men, he brought them closer into his fold.

Avoid needless power struggles
At one point the ship’s carpenter refused to march across the ice saying they would never be able to cover the distance to reach their destination. Shackleton stood quietly by while the carpenter lashed out. The carpenter said he didn’t have to obey any orders because the ship’s articles were unenforceable. With all his men watching the first real challenge to the Boss’s authority, Shackleton turned his back on the carpenter and walked away. He knew he could not reason with him and did not want to waste energy on a pointless argument. He simply left him standing in the snow, and weighing his options, the carpenter took his place at the rear of the sled when the expedition set out again. The one-man mutiny had been put down without further conflict.

While we may never face the kind of challenges that confronted Shackleton and his crew, as leaders we are called upon daily to march forward and overcome adversity and challenging business situations. The next time you are in a tight spot and uncertain what to do you may want to reflect back on Shackleton’s example for insights. Perhaps Apsley Cherry-Garrard, British Antarctic Explorer, said it best, “For a joint scientific and geographical piece of organization give me Scott; for a winter journey, give me Wilson; for a dash to the Pole and nothing else, Amundsen; and if I am in the devil of a hole and want to get out, give me Shackleton every time.”