The first words of the case study are, “For scientific discovery give me Scott; for speed and efficiency of travel give me Amundsen; but when disaster strikes and all hope is gone, get down on your knees and pray for Shackleton” (Koehn, 2010, p.1). While Shackleton was known for being great during disasters, his leadership skills were the core problem of the case study. The case study explains that ever since Shackleton was young, he wanted to excel at being an explorer. Shackleton’s father wanted to prove that his son was not cut out for maritime life, but that just made Shackleton prove that he was. Shackleton thrived on defying expectations. Although he may have been a great explorer, that does not make him a great leader. He is the core
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That is why it is such a competitive occupation. On Shackleton’s second trip he made it within one hundred miles of the South Pole, at the expense of the health of his men. The only reason they could not continue further is because his men would not live if they moved on. Shackleton was always willing to give his life to exploration, but that did not mean his men were as willing. A lot of Shackleton’s decisions were based on possibilities. First, Shackleton was not sure if it would be possible to cross sea to sea. Second, he continued with his trip after he heard the ice floes were the farthest they had ever seen. According to the text, “local seamen warned that his ship might get trapped and advised him to postpone his mission until the following year. Shackleton decided to hole up in South Georgia for several weeks, watching for any change in the ice. A month later, with conditions unchanged, the Endurance departed the whaling outpost for Antarctica” (Koehn, 2010, p.9). He knowingly left port with weather conditions worse than he had seen in previous expeditions. Finally, Shackleton’s choice of crew was not well thought out. One …show more content…
According to the Harvard Business Review the ability to anticipate, ability to challenge oneself and others, interpret, the ability to decide, learn, and align (Schoemaker, Krupp, Howland, 2013). Shackleton should have been able to anticipate that problems that would occur over the journey. Instead, Shackleton seemed to looking for ideas a little too late. He was not ready to lose his ship, and he was always waiting for things to fix themselves. Shackleton never challenged himself or his crew’s decisions. He was the only one to make the decisions for the crew, and if he was not present he appointed someone else to make the decisions. Interpret means using the information a person has to use as a guide. Shackleton knew of the normal weather conditions in the Arctic, but he did seem to take that into consideration before leaving on the ship. Shackleton’s ability to decide was a little hard to understand. After the left the ship, the crew was going to walk Paulet Island, but that changed to stay where they were. Shackleton then decided to use the boats to travel to Deception Island, but that decision change to travel to Elephant Island. It is obvious Shackleton did not learn anything from his previous expeditions. He continued going on missions that could essentially kill him, and he was never prepared for them properly. Even after the voyage on the Endurance, Shackleton tried to keep going on expeditions.
That is why it is such a competitive occupation. On Shackleton’s second trip he made it within one hundred miles of the South Pole, at the expense of the health of his men. The only reason they could not continue further is because his men would not live if they moved on. Shackleton was always willing to give his life to exploration, but that did not mean his men were as willing. A lot of Shackleton’s decisions were based on possibilities. First, Shackleton was not sure if it would be possible to cross sea to sea. Second, he continued with his trip after he heard the ice floes were the farthest they had ever seen. According to the text, “local seamen warned that his ship might get trapped and advised him to postpone his mission until the following year. Shackleton decided to hole up in South Georgia for several weeks, watching for any change in the ice. A month later, with conditions unchanged, the Endurance departed the whaling outpost for Antarctica” (Koehn, 2010, p.9). He knowingly left port with weather conditions worse than he had seen in previous expeditions. Finally, Shackleton’s choice of crew was not well thought out. One …show more content…
According to the Harvard Business Review the ability to anticipate, ability to challenge oneself and others, interpret, the ability to decide, learn, and align (Schoemaker, Krupp, Howland, 2013). Shackleton should have been able to anticipate that problems that would occur over the journey. Instead, Shackleton seemed to looking for ideas a little too late. He was not ready to lose his ship, and he was always waiting for things to fix themselves. Shackleton never challenged himself or his crew’s decisions. He was the only one to make the decisions for the crew, and if he was not present he appointed someone else to make the decisions. Interpret means using the information a person has to use as a guide. Shackleton knew of the normal weather conditions in the Arctic, but he did seem to take that into consideration before leaving on the ship. Shackleton’s ability to decide was a little hard to understand. After the left the ship, the crew was going to walk Paulet Island, but that changed to stay where they were. Shackleton then decided to use the boats to travel to Deception Island, but that decision change to travel to Elephant Island. It is obvious Shackleton did not learn anything from his previous expeditions. He continued going on missions that could essentially kill him, and he was never prepared for them properly. Even after the voyage on the Endurance, Shackleton tried to keep going on expeditions.