Leadership in Crisis

1. In what context should the Endurance expedition be analyzed? As a scientific endeavor? An entrepreneurial venture? An exercise in imperial opportunity? By what criteria should the expedition be evaluated? Given your answer to the preceding questions, was it a success or a failure?

The Endurance expedition should be analyzed as an entrepreneurial venture and an excellent example of how ingenious leadership can successfully get a team through any tough situation.  Although at first sight the Voyage of the Endurance might seem like a scientific endeavor, the realization of the venture took some ingenious leadership.  Their leader Sir Ernest Shackleton conceived and led the expedition from the initial fundraising, to the complex task of finding men, supplies and gear for the voyage, to solving problems during hard times and finally the conclusion of the expedition when he got all this crew out to safety.

Sir Ernest Shackleton in the year 1912, approached fund raising with the creativity of a determined entrepreneur.  He reached out to the wealthiest and most likely donors in Britain and with his determination convinced them to donate for his expedition.  He was able to quickly raise the required money for the voyage with a combination of grants and loans.  He then turned to the complex task of finding men, supplies and gear for the voyage.  Shackleton also handled this step as an educated leader.  He researched for his particular requirements and he made smart decisions based on his needs.  He obtained the best equipment he could afford at that time to give them the best chance for success and he also worried about securing the proper food for proper nourishment.  He made smart choices in reference to the selection of his crew based on a combination of character, skills, experience and perseverance.  

One 1914 the voyage departed for Antarctica with 2 ships and a total crew of 28.  Shackleton continued to show excellent leadership skills from the first time they sailed until the very last moment of the endeavor.  He interacted with the crew and showed them he genuinely cared about them.  Once they started encountering the numerous obstacles at sea, Shackleton made every decision always with his crew’s best interest at heart and with the ultimately goal to keep everyone safe and as comfortable as possible.  He made some tough decisions but his crew had complete faith in him as a leader and they never questioned him.  The kept the morale of his crew high with the sheer for of his personality and his good example as a leader.  He observed and studied every situation no matter how hard it was and made adjustments as necessary.  The crew said they would have gone anywhere or done anything without a question, just on his order.  As a group they accomplished nearly impossible tasks, they defeated all the odds against mother-nature, and at the end their leader led the complete crew to safety.