Show notes
In 1914, 28 men embarked on a dangerous expedition to the South Pole. Led by experienced Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, the men faced more peril that they could have ever imagined. In the middle of Antarctica their ship sunk. No one on the planet knew their situation. Shackleton was determined to get all the men home alive. Defying all odds, he succeeded. His unconventional leadership approach saved the men and even 100 years later there is much we can learn from Shackleton. This episode shares Shackleton’s story and the leadership principles relevant to leading any team.
What You’ll Learn
* Hear the story of Shackleton’s incredible journey to the South Pole
* Learn Shackleton’s leadership principles and why they are relevant today
Photo: Crew members cutting a path through the ice trying to make way for the ship
Photo: Launching the James Caird, the small lifeboat Shackleton and 5 men sailed to South Georgia Island, 800 miles across the Weddell Sea.
Resources
* Book: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
* Book: Leading at the Edge by Dennis Perkins
* Book: Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from a Great Explorer by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell
* Blog Post: Five Elements of Shackleton’s Leadership
The Weekly Challenge
Select one of the leadership principles. What can you do to make progress towards it? Take one step. Share below in the comments. I’d love to hear what you did and how it went.
Transcript
Feel like reading instead of listening? Download the free transcript or read it below. Enjoy!
Transcript for Episode #067: The Leadership of Shackleton
Amy Climer: Welcome to The Deliberate Creative Podcast Episode 67. Today’s episode is about an amazing hero; a man who was a polar explorer over 100 years ago. His name is Sir Ernest Shackleton. I want to share with you his story because his leadership philosophies and the decisions he made are very relevant to leaders today. I am going to share with you the story of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which happened from 1914 to 1916. Shackleton showed incredible leadership and his leadership was really quite different for the time.
Let me put some things in context to start; from the late 1800s until World War I started in 1914, that time period is considered the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration. During that time, countries all over the world were sending teams to the Arctic and the Antarctic to explore, what are these regions like? We knew very little about them at the time. It was not until 1911 when the first person reached the South Pole.
Sir Ernest Shackleton, as a young man, he was very interested in becoming a sailor and working at sea, much to his father’s disappointment. This was not his family’s profession. I am not sure how he got this bug in his hair that he wanted to go be a sailor, but his father decided, Ernest Shackleton was a young boy, a teenager, that he would let him go for the summer and said, “Fine, okay, you can go work on a ship.” His dad was thinking that this would just get out of his head and he would see how much hard work it was, but what happened was Shackleton fell in love with it and it just increased his excitement.
What You’ll Learn
* Hear the story of Shackleton’s incredible journey to the South Pole
* Learn Shackleton’s leadership principles and why they are relevant today
Photo: Crew members cutting a path through the ice trying to make way for the ship
Photo: Launching the James Caird, the small lifeboat Shackleton and 5 men sailed to South Georgia Island, 800 miles across the Weddell Sea.
Resources
* Book: Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing
* Book: Leading at the Edge by Dennis Perkins
* Book: Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from a Great Explorer by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell
* Blog Post: Five Elements of Shackleton’s Leadership
The Weekly Challenge
Select one of the leadership principles. What can you do to make progress towards it? Take one step. Share below in the comments. I’d love to hear what you did and how it went.
Transcript
Feel like reading instead of listening? Download the free transcript or read it below. Enjoy!
Transcript for Episode #067: The Leadership of Shackleton
Amy Climer: Welcome to The Deliberate Creative Podcast Episode 67. Today’s episode is about an amazing hero; a man who was a polar explorer over 100 years ago. His name is Sir Ernest Shackleton. I want to share with you his story because his leadership philosophies and the decisions he made are very relevant to leaders today. I am going to share with you the story of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, which happened from 1914 to 1916. Shackleton showed incredible leadership and his leadership was really quite different for the time.
Let me put some things in context to start; from the late 1800s until World War I started in 1914, that time period is considered the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration. During that time, countries all over the world were sending teams to the Arctic and the Antarctic to explore, what are these regions like? We knew very little about them at the time. It was not until 1911 when the first person reached the South Pole.
Sir Ernest Shackleton, as a young man, he was very interested in becoming a sailor and working at sea, much to his father’s disappointment. This was not his family’s profession. I am not sure how he got this bug in his hair that he wanted to go be a sailor, but his father decided, Ernest Shackleton was a young boy, a teenager, that he would let him go for the summer and said, “Fine, okay, you can go work on a ship.” His dad was thinking that this would just get out of his head and he would see how much hard work it was, but what happened was Shackleton fell in love with it and it just increased his excitement.