Shackleton Essay Example

Shackleton Leadership

Chapter 2

Leadership traits

There are several discussed leadership traits that Ernest Shackleton possessed. They include creating team spirit and morale. Every leader must have the ability to build teamwork by bringing the members to work together towards achieving the same idea. Shackleton was a type of a leader who believed in setting objectives and goals (Bernard M, 30). Due to his desire in achieving these dreams that he had built, the only tool he knew could help him achieve this was unity among his team members. In his quote, he said, “there are a lot of good things in the world, but I am sure that comradeship is the best of them all” (Naomi, n.p). There are various ways through which leaders can build team spirit one of them is involving team members on every progress and failures of the group (Bernard M, 22).

Another leadership trait that this leader showed was the ability to develop personal strength. Shackleton had the capacity to distribute his growth among the people who were serving under his command. Combining his interpersonal skills with his organizational abilities allowed him to bring the best out of his people. Other leadership traits that Shackleton possessed include being optimistic and having the capacity to lead decisively. There are some leadership traits that Shackleton lacked, for instance, he had poor decision-making skills, and poor planning and lastly he was not honest (Bernard M, 28).

He was a charismatic leader in that most of the time he would involve himself in private conversation with his crew enquiring on they were fairing with the escapade. During the conversation, he would lower his voice to eases the leadership tension that usually exists between leaders and their followers. Another thing about Shackleton was the confidence he had in himself and his team. Following the nature of the war he believed there were a lot of people who could risk leading such war, but due to his confidence, he had faith that he could man up and take the role (Bernard M, 25).

According to the research, one of the definitive leadership traits that Shackleton possessed was being influential. Being influential gave him easy time when controlling his crew. They could go anywhere and do anything he said without questioning. This type of leadership trait is very useful especially to those people serving in the forces. Questioning an order from the leader is something that is out of the question (Lynn, et al, 10).

Both nature and nurture played a significance role in Shackleton leadership. The fact that Shackleton was a soldier leading an army there were some traits that he undoubtedly acquired from the training he had received, but the important aspect that helped him together with his team was nature. Most of the leadership traits that he possessed were inborn, and the only thing he did during his leadership was to improve on them and to add some command aspects on them (Bernard M, 30).

Further Questions

Having twenty-seven people with different traits and educational background to follow your orders and instructions without questioning is not an easy thing; it takes more than commanding position to fulfill the goals of the project the team is working on. When analyzing the leadership skill of Ernest Shackleton, as he led a team of twenty-seven people, there are several leadership traits that this guy possessed that attributed to his success.

The team consisted of doctors, sailors, the educated and non-educated (Alfred, n.p). Under normal circumstances, people develop traits following the environment that they were raised or better still on the facts of what they had learned. It was likely that this team would prove difficult to lead since some of them could be pessimistic having less knowledge concerning sea and the jungle. There are those members who would panic and develop fear as soon as they were informed on the tasks ahead (Naomi, n.p).

To prove that he was a good leader, there are some traits that he applied to make sure that the Odyssey was a success. Dealing with people from different backgrounds and ideology needs assurance and honesty. Hence this leader decided to be honest with his team members and prepared them psychologically for the coming hardship ahead of them. He built a team spirit that would make them operate as a family (Bernard M, 30).Having people with different traits is tactical especially when seeking opinion and making decisions. After bringing them together as a team, he thought that it would be wise to use the different skills and abilities he had on board throughout the escapade. It called for another trait that he had to use that is he had to delegate duties among the members depending on the skills and experience they had (Bernard M, 30).

Ernest Shackleton used different types of leadership styles. One of the styles that this leader is known as the pacesetting leader, the pacesetting type of leader is one type of leader who gives directions to his followers and expects them to follow. This could work with him because his team consisted of skilled personnel and motivated individuals. Another type of leadership style that he applied is known as the affiliative leadership style. This type of leadership style works towards building the team spirit and bonding thus making the members feel like they are family. In most occasions, Shackleton would involve his crew activities that would bring them close and at some point he involved himself in personal conversations with them (Alfred, n.p).

Ernest Shackleton relied on both position and personal power to be able to carry out his role appropriately. Under his power, he had the skills of bringing the team together and follows his orders without question. On the other hand, his position also gave him powers to be followed since the crew needed him in making critical and final decisions. Despite having leadership traits, his success was also as a result of the personal traits that he had, and they include, faith, compassion, optimism, moral courage, and selflessness (Naomi, n.p).

A good leader must be able to listen to his teammates; Shackleton in most occasions would seek opinions from his team members and make decisions based on the ideas he received from the members. The leadership skills that he had would probably work in the modern organizations (Lynn, et al, 10). Most employees need someone who believes in them no matter the position they occupy within the firm. At some point in every organization, there are interns who are being guided by the seniors; these people must be brought together to work as a team to achieve a common objective.

Works cited

Bass, Bernard M. «From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision.» Organizational dynamics 18.3 (1990): 19-31.

Harland, Lynn, et al. «Leadership behaviors and subordinate resilience.» Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies 11.2 (2005): 2-14.

Lansing, Alfred. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage. , 2014. Print.

Zack, Naomi. Ethics for Disaster. , 2011. Print.