It was the summer of 2000 and I vividly remember watching the documentary, “Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Arctic Expedition.” From there, I became obsessed with this incredible story of Sir Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance Expedition which he led. In the years following, I started to devour every bit of information I could find about Shackleton, the expedition, and his leadership. My Shackleton obsession ended when I watched the exceptional Kenneth Branagh miniseries in 2002 and since then, this information has rarely entered my mind. However, today, even more than in 2002 — I am compelled by this story and what we can learn from it. For those of you who may not be familiar with Shackleton or the Endurance Expedition, here is a five-second summary. In 1914, Shackelton led 27 men on an expedition to cross the Antarctic and the ship they commissioned was named " The Endurance". The ship sailed from Plymouth in August 1914 and in October of that year, it had sailed into a polar ice pack where it would remain until it sank in November 1915. Shackleton and his crew were not saved until August 1916, over two years after they had left on this journey. |
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Remarkably, all 28 sailors survived.
At the time, I remember wondering:
How did they get themselves into that mess?
What drove them to push farther than anyone had before?
What sustained them as they waited to be rescued or to free their ship?
How did Shakelton manage to inspire his crew to “stay connected, stay positive and stay learning”? (Okay, I admit I did not have this question then, but I sure do now.)
Shackleton’s leadership is now studied at places such as the United States Navy and Harvard Leadership programs. Even though it is 100 years since he sailed, was stranded and then saved, I believe we can take a lot from his journey and use it today to help our community pull through these incredibly challenging times. At the risk of oversimplifying the lessons learned from Shackelton, here are three of the leadership principles he has taught us.
Don’t forget to sing and dance.
Although times were terribly tough Shackleton and his crew never forgot to enjoy themselves. They routinely sang, danced, played cards and games. This recreation, although it was a far cry from their regular existence, staved off near-inevitable group malaise.
“I have not abandoned hope.”
In one of Shackleton’s journal entries, he simply wrote the words, “I have not abandoned hope.” Without this internal will to go on, he, and his entire crew would have been lost forever.
Routines are important.
Everyday Shackleton and his crew set to keeping a schedule. They made sure they remained active, engaged and productive towards the overall goal of eventually being saved. This sense of purpose sustained them. In addition to purpose, the routines gave them great structure and boundaries on their days. They knew when they would get up, when they would eat, when they would recreate and when they would sleep.
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To close, I view all of our roles as though we are Shackleton and our crew is our students. Let’s all learn from Shackleton's experience and give our students the routine they crave, sing, and dance with our friends, family, colleagues, pupils, and their parents and finally, do not abandon hope. As with all leadership, remember to lead by example and give yourself the structure and joy you need to endure.
This "new reality" is with us for a while and we owe it to ourselves and to those we lead to see this crisis for what it is. This is truly an expedition into the unknown, but together we are going to see ourselves and our followers safely through to the other side. Together, let’s commit to getting every one of our teams safely to the other side! Our REEDS expedition is a journey that will require hope, joy, leadership, and, lastly, endurance.
I hope you all find time to rest and relax this weekend and are ready to come back and bring our ship one week closer to a safe harbour.
Stay well,
Jason Rogers
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