Seven Leadership Lessons From Shackleton’s Voyage
By Tim Elmore
In March of 2022, an underwater drone was used to discover the ship, Endurance, down on the ocean floor. It had been there a century. The lead expeditioner was Ernest Shackleton, famous for voyaging to the South Pole a century ago on this ship. Shackleton became a leadership legend, beginning with his recruitment ad in the London Times:
“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success.”
Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington Street
Turns out, Shackleton was brutally accurate about the venture. The journey was difficult, but every one of his twenty-seven men returned home safely even though the ship sunk. His team encountered a series of challenges that jeopardized their survival and threatened to dismantle their unity. Shackleton kept his team together during the multi-year-long journey by focusing on confidence, courtesy, collaboration, and hope. And because leaders today also find themselves leading in tumultuous times, I felt it wise to learn how Shackleton was able to inspire and retain his crew in such adverse conditions. Here are tips I discovered after studying his leadership:
1. Identify reasons to celebrate.
His men called him “the boss.” While Shackleton ran point on the dangerous mission, he crafted moments of levity. He knew that during difficult times, it’s easy to see the glass as half empty. He believed in his mission and in his team. His optimism was contagious. He intentionally found ways to inspire optimism in his crew. They celebrated birthdays and milestones. Any small advance was a reason to stop and notice. He encouraged singing, games, fun antics, and other merriment along the expedition. He daily updated his crew on progress knowing that people are down on what they’re not up on. He reminded them of reasons to stay encouraged.
2. Create a culture of “sharing your stuff.”
Shackleton created a sense of shared identity by keeping men dependent upon each other.
During sled marches, the group advanced in relays to ensure that the party would remain together if cracks appeared in the ice. Their sense of unity was remarkable. Crew members often performed acts of caring and self-sacrifice for each other, showing a concern that rarely occurred in other expeditions. At one point, food and drink supplies were dangerously low. After a long, wet sleepless night, an argument broke out and Greenstreet, one of the officers, spilled his tiny ration of powdered milk. Accounts say he came close to tears. Quietly, each of the other men poured some of their milk into Greenstreet’s mug. The argument ended.
3. Model your commitment to the team.
Shackleton valued hard-work and loyalty above all else. Yet, he didn’t expect it automatically; he intentionally fostered it by his own example. The team’s well-being was his top priority, higher than his mission. Although crossing Antarctica would bring him fame, he knew a final push to the Pole would put their lives in grave danger. He turned back. A sense of responsibility for his men was stronger. When teammates witnessed him making sacrifices on their behalf, without saying a word about it, they emulated their leader. People do what people see. Shackleton certainly preached commitment to his men, but the sermon they saw was more powerful than the one they heard. He put his people first, which helped them reciprocate.
4. Find ways to divert attention.
Shackleton would watch and listen to his crew. He would read them, then lead them, doing what was necessary to keep their spirits alive. “The Boss” kept the group engaged, for example, with a lively discussion about—remarkably—the prospect of an expedition to Alaska! He knew this future focus not only distracted his crew from current hardships, it created a positive hope in them. No one talks seriously about the future unless you plan to get there. There are photos of his team playing a game of football on the ice, which was a relatively new game at the time. When Shackleton noticed a man’s negatively sapping morale, he’d have them stay in his own tent preventing their attitude from becoming contagious. He managed their morale.
5. Develop backup plans during your mission.
He was enthusiastic and clear in his vision. When the team got stuck, they set up “Patience Camp.” Once the team left Patience Camp, they traveled in three lifeboats searching for land, which they hadn’t seen in 15 months. During the two-week journey, Shackleton changed the plan four times. The change was always because new information emerged and he adjusted in order to meet the end goal. He avoided getting emotionally attached to a particular plan, no matter how much time he had spent devising it. He married the mission, not his methods.
6. Leverage courtesy to diffuse conflict.
Dennis Perkins notes this in his writings. “Another important method for creating mutual respect came from insisting on common courtesy, even under the extreme conditions when it might have seemed unnecessary. There were conflicts, of course, but the crew managed to maintain a sense of civility. Shackleton reminded the crew on more than one occasion that ‘a little thanks will go a long way.’ And so will ‘please, ‘excuse me,’ and the other familiar phrases that lubricate social interaction. Courtesy maintains and deepens mutual respect.” It also revives hope and sustains our more noble “self.” It keeps us from becoming animals.
7. Make the tough calls along the way.
Shackleton continually made difficult decisions throughout the expedition. He would have been terribly unpopular among the crew had he not built relationships and loyalty. Yet he always made choices with his crew’s best interest in mind. For instance, when the ship arrived in Argentina after crossing the Atlantic, the cook got drunk and disorderly one night. He was fired. Shackleton found him a new job on a ship heading to England though. He knew that man was not a good fit for his team. He then hired a new cook who proved to be an excellent addition. He understood the truth Peter Drucker summarized decades later: “Any time you see a successful enterprise, someone at some point made a courageous decision.”
Shackleton was decorated as Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, British War Medal, Victory Medal, and was later knighted for his leadership.
Apsley Cherry-Garrard wrote a 1922 memoir, praising sea captains for their leadership gifts. He wrote that if you were a sailor, you wanted "Scott for his scientific method, Amundsen for speed and efficiency but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton."
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