Amazing Lessons from an Antarctic Explorer
Sitting outside in an unimaginably warm and beautiful January, completely devoid of snow, ice or windchill, I started thinking about Ernest Shackleton and the miracle he pulled off in frigid weather, in a wild and inhospitable environment. Could any of us do today what he did years ago and live to brag about it?
Few of us have to endure and overcome the constantly changing circumstances that explorer Ernest Shackleton did, and very few of us could have handled what started as a mission of exploration and became a mission of survival. Hailed as an example of what leadership is all about, I became interested in Shackleton’s almost mystical ability to survive, inspire and motivate others, and have listed here a few of the strategies he used to keep his men alive and focused.
Shackleton set sail on his ship the Endurance in August 1914 with the possibility of making history; he and his team of 28 men would be the first to walk across the continent of Antarctica, starting from the coast of the Weddell Sea, traversing the South Pole and ending up at the Ross Sea. He almost made it, but in January 1915 disaster struck; he and his crew got stranded in pack ice and trapped. His ship couldn’t move.
Not only were they stuck on the ship in cramped quarters until the summer thaw, but the ice weakened the ship, which began to leak. They had to abandon ship and camp on an ice floe.
Survival was built first on attitude, and everything else followed, once his men were in the right frame of mind. “Ship and stores have gone,” he said, “so now we’ll go home.”
Strategies Shackleton used to inspire his men:
He convinced himself first that they really would survive. If we aren’t totally committed to the effort, then we need to stop and regroup; our commitment is the key to success. “A man must shape himself to a new mark directly the old one goes to ground,” Shackleton wrote. “I pray God, I can manage to get the whole party to civilization.”
He changed the goals and rallied everyone around the new goals: He gave them a future-oriented focus and kept their attention on what was possible and doable despite the obstacles.
He had an ability to respond to constantly changing circumstances. When his expedition encountered serious trouble, he had to continually reinvent strategies and keep his men believing in survival.
He paid attention to the men’s emotional intelligence, insisting they socialize with each other after dinner. He required that each man maintain his ordinary duties as closely as possible and kept assigning new tasks, all in order to keep the men mentally active. Inevitably there were skirmishes and depression, and he quickly assessed how to handle each situation so negativity couldn’t spread.
Many years later men tried to replicate his journey and came up short. What he did was nearly impossible. He pulled it off not because he was an incredible athlete or sailor, but because he knew the power of building rapport and camaraderie among his men despite the circumstances. We do the same things today when we help people survive disappointment and challenges by refocusing attention and inspiring them to see a different and attainable vision. What worked for Shackleton is just as effective in 2020.
