Originally published in the December 2002 Issue of Link & Learn.

Introduction

The story of legendary Antarctic Explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, has recently received renewed popularity. Suddenly Shackleton is re-surfacing in venues previously unimagined: children's books, biographies, art exhibits, a new wing of a Cambridge University library, documentaries, auctioned items at Christie's of London, big-budget motion pictures, and even business and leadership seminars.

Linkage Training Group member, Muriel Jones, sat down with Shackleton's Way author and Shackleton enthusiast, Margot Morrell, to discuss Morrell's passion for "group dynamics" and "leadership of small, isolated groups" and how this led to her breakthrough, in-depth research into the life and journey of famed Antarctic Explorer, Ernest Shackleton.


"Talking with the Author: A Discussion with Shackleton's Way Author and Shackleton Enthusiast, Margot Morrell"

Think back to a situation - personal or professional - in which you found that a group, of which you were a part, was suddenly stranded. Try to recall a time when you worked on a team who was forced to make collective decisions to move toward a solution. Looking back, you probably realize that the efforts of each member of the group were just as important to the outcome as the contribution of the group's leader

The related themes of "group dynamics" and "leadership of small, isolated groups" have been lifelong interests of Margot Morrell, co-author of Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer (Penguin, 2002). Morrell's best-selling book focuses on Sir Ernest Shackleton's extraordinary Endurance expedition of 1914 to 1916. Shackleton and his crew of 27 men were stranded hundreds of miles off of Antarctica when massive blocks of ice crushed their ship, Endurance. Following seven months of staggering through the Antarctic alone, the determined leader reached civilization and subsequently managed to bring each and every one of his men home, alive.

"I was interested in leadership from the time I was in seventh grade," says Morrell. "I remember watching a teacher lose control of a class over the course of the school year. I wondered what mistakes she had made. At the beginning of the year she had been very popular. By the end of the school year, she was unable to maintain discipline. Years later, through studying Shackleton's leadership strategies, I realized that she had been too friendly towards the class."

When Morrell, a researcher-at-heart, came across a book called Shackleton's Boat Journey at the Boston Public Library in 1984, she knew she had found the perfect case study for her chosen themes. "I was fascinated by how Shackleton successfully managed his crew through a life-threatening ordeal for over a year and a half," Morrell said; "and wanted to know more about what concrete steps he had taken to this end. It wasn't enough to know that he did it. I wanted to get down to the heart of the matter and find out how he did it."

In Shackleton's Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer, Morrell presents a detailed account of Shackleton's Endurance expedition and the leadership lessons to be learned from it. "The book is based on primary sources - on comments of the actual men who were led by Shackleton, and focuses on his leadership skills and what we can learn from Shackleton," says Morrell. The author obtained access to remarkable resources while writing her book. She transcribed the diaries of two of Shackleton's crewmen: the ship's storekeeper (Thomas Orde-Lees) and photographer (Frank Hurley). She studied letters dating back to 1922 written by Shackleton's men to his first biographer, H. R. Mill, as well as transcripts of interviews conducted in the 1950s with the surviving members of Shackleton's expedition. Morrell was able to study the fascinating correspondence between the Endurance's onboard surgeon (Dr. Macklin) and author Alfred Lansing, who wrote a book called Endurance in the 1950s. Since then, this treasure trove of information has been sold at auction in England, making it impossible for it ever again to be reviewed in its entirety.

What Margot Morrell gained from her research, and subsequently included in her work, is how aware his men were of Shackleton's outstanding leadership skills - at the time. "I had not necessarily expected that the men were going to comment on his leadership in their diaries," Morrell says; "in fact, they were highly aware of Shackleton's leadership and frequently commented on it - this group was remarkably happy throughout their ordeal."

Morrell points out that Shackleton was always very focused on how he was going to reach his goal; he constantly asked himself questions like:
"What are my options going forward?"
"What concrete steps do I have to take next to meet this goal?"
"If I do that, will it enhance my chances of succeeding or will it hold me back from succeeding?"

Shackleton's actions and accomplishments during his life and the Endurance expedition were very obviously guided by his values, including:

"Optimism is true moral courage."
"Difficulties are just things to overcome."
"I have often marveled at the thin line that separates success from failure."

Morrell believes that even today, we can look to Shackleton's values as a source of inspiration in the current times of economic and universal uncertainty. Morrell distills what we can learn from Shackleton's extraordinary story into four critical leadership skills - "The Four Cornerstones of Shackleton's Leadership:"

1) Leading by example
2) Communicating
3) Keeping up morale
4) Maintaining a positive attitude

Morrell concludes from her research of Shackleton and leadership, "If you look closely at any successful leader, you will find they are executing on these four points."

Morrell enjoys hearing from people who have not only read Shackleton's Way but are learning from it and applying the lessons to their own situations. She shares that there are millions of stories of people effectively applying the Shackleton message, such as Jim Cramer from CNBC, who came across the story a few years ago and posted inspiring thoughts from Shackleton around his office during the tumultuous years when he was starting TheStreet.com.

Morrell hopes that her work - both her book and the new Linkage leadership training program, The Crisis Leadership Certification Program (which is based on her book), will contribute to the practical application of Shackleton's leadership lessons in today's business world. "While people may be inspired by the Shackleton story, it is my hope that they take it to the next level - that they will connect with Shackleton's values, using them to address real leadership challenges and put these values into action"

This article was written by Muriel Jones of Linkage's Training Group, based on an interview conducted with Margot Morrell.

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