Ernest Shackleton Exploring Leadership

Broadly speaking, polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was not successful; he never achieved any of the goals he originally set for himself. But when confronted with crushing adversity, he inspired his crew to work together to survive against incredible odds. While stranded on an ice floe 1,200 miles from civilization, Shackleton's discipline, fortitude, and heroism overcame months of hardship and peril to get all his men to safety. Here, in this brief eBook, Harvard Business School professor Nancy F. Koehn writes that his is an example from which every leader in today's unstoppable turbulence can learn.

Lead your business to survival and success by following the example of legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Shackleton has been called "the greatest leader that ever came on God's earth, bar none" for saving the lives of the twenty-seven men stranded with him in the Antarctic for almost two years. Because of his courageous actions, he remains to this day a model for great leadership and masterful crisis management. Now, through anecdotes, the diaries of the men in his crew, and Shackleton's own writing, Shackleton's leadership style and time-honored principles are translated for the modern business world. Written by two veteran business observers and illustrated with ship photographer Frank Hurley's masterpieces and other rarely seen photos, this practical book helps today's leaders follow Shackleton's triumphant example. "An important addition to any leader's library." -Seattle Times

Drawing on the amazing story of Shackleton and his polar exploration team’s survival against all odds, author Dennis N. T. Perkins demonstrates the importance of a strong leader in times of adversity, uncertainty, and change. Part adventure tale and part leadership guide, Leading at the Edge uncovers what the legendary Antarctic adventure of Sir Ernest Shackleton, his ship Endurance, and his team of twenty-seven polar explorers can teach us about bringing order to chaos through true leadership. Among other skills, you’ll learn how to: instill optimism while staying grounded in reality, step up to risks worth taking, consistently reinforce your team message, set a personal example, find things to celebrate, laugh small things off, and--even in the face of extreme temperatures, hazardous ice, scarce food, and complete isolation--never give up. This second edition of Leading at the Edge features additional lessons, new case studies of the strategies in action, tools to uncover and resolve conflicts, and expanded resources. An updated epilogue compares the leadership styles of the famous polar explorers Shackleton, Amundsen, and Scott, which transcend the one-hundred-plus years since their historic race to the South Pole to help today’s leaders learn valuable lessons about the meaning of true success.

The more I read about Shackleton, the more I realized how truly heroic leadership is almost impossible to find in todays businesses. Despite all the research and programs devoted to motivating employees, most workers admit they feel disenfranchised in their daily work life. In reading the Shackleton story, it became clear to me that Shackletons leadership lessons could benefit these very same people. This book is my attempt to bring an extraordinary explorers leadership lessons to those business leaders who, on a daily basis, must guide their workforce towards a common goal. Because Shackletons story is more than just one man fighting for survival in the Arctic region it is about coordinating teamwork under the most strenuous conditions. Even in the fast-paced and often unpredictable business world, leaders can use Shackletons strategies to make every team effort a successful one. In this book are inspirational lessons from one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century lessons that can enrich both the way we work and the lives of those we lead.

Discover the exhilarating true story of Ernest Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition Told through the words of the world's greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes - one of the only men to understand his experience first-hand . . . 'For anyone with a passion for polar exploration, this is a must read' NEW YORK TIMES 'THE definitive book on Shackleton and no one could have done it better . . . an authentic account by one of the few men who truly knows what it's like to challenge Antarctica' LORRAINE KELLY _________ In 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton's attempt to be the first to traverse the Antarctic was cut short when his ship, Endurance, became trapped in ice. He and his crew should have died. Instead, through a long, dark winter, Shackleton fought back: enduring sub-zero temperatures, a perilous lifeboat journey across icy seas, and a murderous march over glaciers to seek help. Shackleton's epic trek is one of history's most enthralling adventures. But who was he? How did previous Antarctic expeditions and his rivalry with Captain Scott forge him? And what happened afterwards to the man many believed was invincible? In this astonishing account, Fiennes brings the story vividly to life in a book that is part celebration, part vindication and all adventure. _________ 'Fiennes makes a fine guide on voyage into Shackleton's world . . . What makes this book so engaging is the author's own storytelling skills' Irish Independent 'Fiennes relates these tales of exploration and survival, adding insight to Shackleton's journeys unlike any other biographer' Radio Times Praise for Sir Ranulph Fiennes: 'The World's Greatest Living Explorer' Guinness Book of Records 'Full of awe-inspiring details of hardship, resolve and weather that defies belief, told by someone of unique authority. No one is more tailor-made to tell [this] story than Sir Ranulph Fiennes' Newsday 'Fiennes' own experiences certainly allow him to write vividly and with empathy of the hell that the men went through' Sunday Times 'Fiennes brings the promised perspective of one who has been there, illuminating Shackleton's actions by comparing them with his own. Beginners to the Heroic Age will enjoy this volume, as will serious polar adventurers seeking advice. For all readers, it's a tremendous story' Sara Wheeler, The Wall Street Journal

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2008 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,0, Heilbronn Business School (HBS), 12 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Characteristics of today's business world and selection of a appropriate leader The literature is full of theories and explanations, why and how leader behave in certain situation, and what a perfect leader must have to perform outstanding. With the concepts and the definition it became clearer that leadership appears in groups with the result of changes. A closer look inside the business world today shows, that a lot of crisis takes place in various companies every day. Inherent with the globalization and the information availability and transparency is also that business cycles become faster and faster. Thereby only companies which are organized and structured very flexible, and are able to adapt themselves on new situations are successful. So the task for a manager is to be prepared on new changing situation, to foresee situations and to solve upcoming crisis successfully. Due to that the following paper is based on a personality and a successful leader of the past: Eric Shackleton. As he was able to master his extreme crisis situations very successful, he is also today a very respected and admired person and a architype for todays manager. To learn from theories is more effective by applying them to an existing situation. Due to that in this paper a short description of Shackleton, his live and personality takes place in order to give and insight in his actions. Thereby special characteristics and actions of Shackletons are pointed out. Based on that, the analytical steps are made, with the use of charismatic as well as transformational leadership theories. Thereby a justification of those theories is made as well as the differences of those is highlighted. In the end a transformation into today ́s buisness life is made.

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER “Five gritty leaders whose extraordinary passion and perseverance changed history…a gripping read on a timeless and timely topic” —Angela Duckworth, #1 bestselling author of Grit An enthralling historical narrative filled with critical leadership insights, Forged in Crisis, by celebrated Harvard Business School historian Nancy Koehn, spotlights five masters of crisis: polar explorer Ernest Shackleton; President Abraham Lincoln; legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass; Nazi-resisting clergyman Dietrich Bonhoeffer; and environmental crusader Rachel Carson. What do such disparate figures have in common? Why do their extraordinary stories continue to amaze and inspire? In delivering the answers to those questions, Nancy Koehn offers a remarkable template by which to judge those in our own time to whom the public has given its trust. She begins each of the book’s five sections by showing her protagonist on the precipice of a great crisis: Shackleton marooned on an Antarctic ice floe; Lincoln on the verge of seeing the Union collapse; escaped slave Douglass facing possible capture; Bonhoeffer agonizing over how to counter absolute evil with faith; Carson racing against the cancer ravaging her in a bid to save the planet. The narrative then reaches back to each person’s childhood and shows the individual growing—step by step—into the person he or she will ultimately become. Significantly, as we follow each leader’s against-all-odds journey, we begin to glean an essential truth: leaders are not born but made. In a book dense with epiphanies, the most galvanizing one may be that the power to lead courageously resides in each of us. Whether it’s read as a repository of great insight or as exceptionally rendered human drama, Forged in Crisis stands as a towering achievement.