LHRD 3723 Leadership Profile Paper

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Louisiana State University *

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Arts Humanities

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Jan 9, 2024

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An Analysis of Ernest Shackleton's Leadership Tendencies Grant Stansbury March 31, 2022 Louisiana State University LHRD 3723 Dr. Edward Gibbons 1

Abstract Five historical leaders are profiled in Nancy Koen's book Forged in Crisis along with their responses to adversity. Abraham Lincoln, Rachel Carson, Frederick Douglass, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Ernest Shackleton were some of these brave leaders. Beginning with the early years of Ernest Shackleton's life, Koehn goes into detail about the progression of his life and how each experience built upon the one before it. She includes passages from the crew members' diaries that provide firsthand accounts of Shackleton's leadership style as she describes his incredible acts of bravery and courage while facing life-threatening hardship in the frozen continent of Antarctica. Shackleton is the best illustration of how real leaders adjust to their environment and develop in accordance with it when it comes to the debate over whether leaders are born or made. 2

Describe in detail the crisis that this historic leader faced. When his team of 27 men got "trapped on an iceberg off the coast of Antarctica," Ernest Shackleton was faced with the terrifying and impossible task of saving himself (Koehn, page 1). The ship they were on, the Endeavor, sank through the ice and into the icy depths below, trapping the men. In the months that followed, Shackleton and his crew experienced hardship on numerous occasions in the form of mental and physical suffering. The text illustrates how, at a particular stage of their physical exhaustion, "Their faces were covered in salt, and their cracked lips and reddened eyes and eyelids were noticeable. Many people had diarrhea from eating frozen dogpemmican, which is a mixture of meat and fat, and some people were seasick." (Koehn, page 55). Throughout their expedition, the crew was never given the chance to leave Antarctica's bitter cold and harsh weather. All of the men were physically exhausted, but they persisted and maintained their optimism. Shackleton was the driving force behind the crew's unwavering optimism. He consistently prioritized the needs of those around him over his own, frequently running away from them when he was particularly stressed out or anxious. As described in the text, "The commander tried his best to keep his own stress and frustration from affecting his men. This had a significant cost." (Koehn, p. 47). The men felt hopeless, terrified, and pessimistic that they would be able to survive, proving that the emotional toll of the expedition was no less important than the physical toll. Despite his negative feelings, Shackleton persisted and never stopped motivating those around him. What early childhood experiences influenced this leader? What early life experiences influence their decisions during their respective crisis? 3

Ernest Shackleton's leadership style was significantly influenced by his early experiences. Shackleton had consistently performed below average in school, but after discovering true passion at sea, he excelled in his work, as noted in the text. "...supervisors praised his intelligence and skills throughout the early years of Shackleton’s career, noting 'his brother officers considered him to be a very good fellow'." (Koehn, page 19). He had consistently presented the best version of himself to everyone he encountered, as evidenced by his fellow officers' observations of his pleasant and likable demeanor. Later in his life, this tendency would recur in his capacity to remain upbeat and motivating in the face of adversity that seemed insurmountable. In the text, the author describes how, as another instance of Shackleton's leadership style being prevalent in his early years "Shackleton frequently felt out of breath, lightheaded, and occasionally on the verge of giving up. However, he remained committed to the group's survival and paid close attention to each of his friends' safety." (Koehn, p. 23) Despite his deteriorating physical condition, Shackleton chose to concentrate on those around him and his duty to them. This selflessness is demonstrated once more by the numerous times he endured physically debilitating pain while leading the expedition and, despite this, spent his most agonizing moments planning how to lighten his crew's loads and get everyone home quickly and safely. What obstacles did this historic leader face during their crisis? How did they respond? 4

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