Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer

Citation

Mann, S. (2001), "Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 22 No. 6, pp. 301-303. https://doi.org/10.1108/lodj.2001.22.6.301.2

As Book Review Editor, I have read and examined hundreds of leadership texts and tend to get blasé about the lack of variety out there. Many texts seem to send the same tired messages wrapped up in new formulae. Shackleton’s Way, however, leapt out at me as being something innovative, exciting and refreshing amongst the sea of mediocrity that can sometimes appear (at least to jaded eyes) to dominate the market. This may seem an ironic comment given that this book is based on leadership lessons from a century ago, but the book really is a novel approach to that age‐old question – what makes a great leader?

Sir Ernest Shackleton was the Antarctic explorer who survived with his 27 men from 1914 to 1916 a shipwreck in the crushing Antarctic ice, stranded 1,200 miles from civilization in freezing temperatures. Shackleton saved them all and his success has been attributed to his amazing leadership qualities. It is the aim of this book to present these skills to a new generation of leaders today.

This is a unique book in that it presents a great historical adventure story intermingled with practical tips for leadership success. Divided into eight chapters, it relates the exciting tale whilst picking out the leadership skills that Shackleton used throughout his epic journey. So, for example, the text is broken into sections with headings such as “Shackleton always put the well‐being of his crew first”, “Shackleton recruited those who had the expertise he lacked”, or “Shackleton made sure every man he hired knew exactly what was expected of him”. Each of these leadership skills thus extracted is followed by a vivid recounting of that part of the story in which the great leader demonstrated this particular skill. Each chapter also ends with a “tip list” relating to an issue covered in that section (e.g. “Shackleton’s way of developing individual talent”).

The message of the book is that Shackleton faced many of the same problems encountered by managers today: bringing a diverse group together to work towards a common goal; handling the constant naysayer; bucking up the perpetual worrier; keeping the disgruntled from poisoning the atmosphere; battling boredom and fatigue; bringing order and success to a chaotic environment; working with limited resources. The changes to the world of work today, say the authors, demand new leadership skills – Shackleton‐style leadership, which is the antithesis of the old command‐and‐control model. His brand of leadership instead values flexibility, teamwork and individual triumph. It brings back some of the “gentlemanliness” and decorum of the past, but without the hidden agenda of an exclusionary inner circle. It’s business, say the authors, but “with a human face.”

Shackleton’s Way is a handbook for the new generation of leaders. It guides those who accept the new workplace sensibilities but are baffled by how to turn theory into policy. Readers will learn how to develop and unify staff despite varying backgrounds and abilities, how to organise successful teams and how to make individual workers feel appreciated and inspired. The book also demonstrates how to handle crises, particularly how to break bad news, to bolster morale and to quickly change the course in the face of the unexpected. Shackleton’s example also shows the importance of injecting humour and fun into work and how to bond with staff without losing status of the boss.

Overall this is a book that will intrigue and inspire and will especially suit readers who like to learn the lessons from great leaders rather than from theorists or “gurus”.