What Shakespeare might call the fatal flaw of Fischer’s expedition seemed to be a collective lack of humility amongst his team, stemming of course from the top with Fischer himself, the “face” of the organization. Fischer was an ambitious man who was desperate to earn the respect of his peers, and came across as nothing short of overconfident when he was quoted in Krakauer's Into Thin Air as saying, "Experience is overrated. […] We've got the big E figured out, we've got it totally wired. […] (W)e've built a yellow brick road to the summit." (pp. 85-86) Even Fischer's experienced guide, Anatoli Boukreev, was not immune from pride, opting to make the climb without the use of supplemental oxygen, a decision that was not only completely unnecessary, but arguably ended up costing the lives of members of his team at the summit. Indeed, as Krakauer noted, there was a palpable lack of a team dynamic, a result of the Attraction-Selection-Attrition Theory; the team felt more like a bunch of individuals, all "in it for himself or herself." (Krakauer, p. 213) In a life or death situation, having a strong team dynamic is more important than ever. But Fischer was more interested in the parts, than the whole. As part of Fischer's ambition, he had made an effort to recruit high-profile clients, including a New York socialite who wrote for Allure magazine, and Krakauer himself, who could lend the expedition some heavy publicity, but brought very little by way of experience when it came to summiting a mountain as extreme as Everest. Teams were composed of a leader, two guides, the eight clients, a lead Sherpa, and seven climbing Sherpas. Corporations are increasingly trading in their typical hierarchical dynamic for a team-oriented one, as th... ... middle of paper ... ...eader, Fischer failed to protect one of the most precious resources of his organization: energy - more specifically, in this instance, his own energy. He should have delegated these duties to others, spreading the burden amongst many, instead of assuming responsibility for all of it. In essence, Fischer was performing more of a managerial role than one of leadership. Given the recent Everest tragedy over the weekend with the biggest loss of lives to date, this case study rings particularly poignant. It’s hard to think of a higher-staked situation than making a summit bid for Mount Everest. The responsibility in such a trek weighs heavy on the leader, but does not need to fall on his shoulders alone. Had Fischer been more willing to share credit, fostering a team-oriented environment, he might still be around today to bask in the glory of his ambitious undertaking.
How Shackleton had planned his Expedition couldn’t have been any more different than how it turned out. Not only did he not cross the Antarctic continent nor did he reach the South Pole. Shackleton, from previous experiences could have expected that. The fact that he didn’t reach the South Pole was something else. The trans-Antarctic expedition making him famous because of his absolute failure was something he would have never expected. Nor the fact that his successful leadership style, that saved his whole crew, would be studied over a 100 years later. This article is about The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and the reasons and influences that drove him to attempt this significant task. Although he failed his legacy will live.
In the story “Sharon Wood: No Limits,” by Sharon Wood, the author describes Woods experience on Mount Everest. In the story Wood overcomes many obstacles to achieve her goal. She had to handle the extreme cold weather along with the heavy bags they had to carry. Due to lack of oxygen they also needed to carry oxygen tanks with themselves. It requires a lot of strength and determination to climb one of the tallest mountains in the world. Sharon Wood was an inspirational, and discipline woman. Finally, only Wood and her climbing partner, Dwayne Congdon, made it to the top. Rest of the team did not have enough ability to make it to the top. After all the struggle Wood went through; she had finally reached the top of Mount Everest. This was
Have you ever wanted to prove to everyone that you are a hard worker that is willing to give up everything to go on an adventure? If this is you than Everest is the perfect place for you. A great deal of Everest’s dangers are expressed in his book which should either inspire you to try this journey or sway you away from the treacherous mountain. In the story, “ Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer a true story is told of a dangerous voyage up and down Everest. The climb up was arduous and long according to Jon, but the climbers sacrificed everything to get to the top, which most of the climbers achieved. However, emotions shifted when a storm swooped in and killed many of the climbers that were stuck on the summit, around 12-19 in total. The devices
. On March 1996, Outside magazine hired journalist and seasoned climber Jon Krakauer to write an about the commercialism on Mount Everest. Krakauer decides he would climb the mountain and get a firsthand experience, he set out on an expedition led by celebrated Everest guide Rob Hall. Despite the expertise of Hall and the other leaders, by the end of summit day eight people were dead. This proves that this is not an easy expedition, it is one that people risk their lives to do. With a lot of hard work and dedication Jon Krakauer successfully finished the climb and decided he wanted to write more than the article that he was assigned to. This is where Into Thin Air became. It is a book telling the story of the ill-fated adventure and a breakdown of the factors leading up to its tragic end. Written within months of the various events that occurred. As the journey up the mountain progresses, Krakauer puts it in context by recalling the triumphs and perils of other Everest trips throughout history. The author's own anguish over what happened on the mountain is intense and also points out how extremely sorry he was for the ones that los...
Kellerman, B. (2004). Bad Leadership: What it is, How it Happens, Why it Matters. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business Press.
Climbing Mt. Everest is an accomplishment that only a limited number of people can say they have accomplished. Despite statistics that illustrate most fail or die trying, numerous people are drawn to the mountain each year and truly believe they can be among that elite group. In the spring of 1996, Jon Krakauer, a journalist for the adventure magazine Outside and a passionate climber himself, was offered the opportunity to climb Mt. Everest. The original offer was to join an Adventure Consultants team led by Rob Hall, a respected and well known guide, climb to base camp and then write a story on the commercialism that had penetrated this incredibly risky but addicting sport. Without much hesitation Krakauer accepted the offer but not to just go to base camp; he wanted the top. The expedition started out as predicted but an unexpected storm the day of the summit push turned this expedition into the most devastating expedition of all time. Krakauer was changed for life; an article on the commercialism surrounding the mountain would no longer suffice. Into Th...
The saga of the Endurance has relevant lessons for today?s leaders concerning the vital nature of team unity and interdependence, risk taking, optimism, and selfless leadership. Shackleton, known as ?The Boss? to his men, was at all times responsible for fostering and developing these dynamics, and thus provides an example of the remarkable achievements that are possible in even the direst of situations. The expedition failed in its attempt to be the first to transverse the Antarctic, yet the ultimate success is judged by the safe return of all the crewmembers.
The novel "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, he writes about an experience that changes his life when Outside magazine asks him to write an article about the commercialism of Mount Everest, he knew from that moment that he needed to climb the mountain. But of course his expedition does not go as expected. On May 10th Krakauer reaches the summit after a extremely stressful and treacherous trek up, but only to have to scale down the mountain with his team in one of the most dangerous seasons in the history of Everest. Many things went wrong when they came down the mountain and throughout this book, Jon attempts to evaluate what exactly happened and how things went wrong. He researches and figures out every person actions on that mountain. He has speculations about the failures of the expedition, and blames the catastrophe due to a series of little
Climbing makes for a difficult expedition, you need to give up the wrappers when you was ascending. You need to give up the heavy things, you need to give up your wrappers, and you need to give yourselves. Sometimes we need to give up our lives to climb the mount Everest. According to snow storm, the energy, the oxygen and the people who desired prove themselves the spring’s 96s expedition to mountain Everest was destined to be the most tragic.
Everest is an unbelievable mountain that has taken the lives of a number of the greatest climbers in history. It was my job to ensure that clients make it up that treacherous mountain safely. My name is Rob Hall. I was the main guide and cofounder of a climbing company called Adventure Consultants. My friend, Gary Ball, and I used to be professional climbers. Together we succeeded in climbing to the highest summit on each of the seven continents in seven months. This was our greatest achievement. After this, we decided to start our own company guiding clients up large mountains. In May 1992, we successfully led six clients to the summit of Everest. Unfortunately, Gary died of cerebral edema in October 1993 during an attempt on the world’s sixth-tallest mountain. He died in my arms and the next day I buried him in a crevasse. Despite the pain that his death had caused me, I continued guiding for our company and eventually led thirty-nine climbers to the summit of Everest.
A prominent difference between Rob Hall and Scott Fischer is their leadership styles. In particular, Hall’s leadership style compares to be considerably more stringent the Fischer’s. As Krakauer emphasizes, “. . . he poured over reams of computer print outs detailing logistical minutiae: menus, spare parts, tools, medicine . . . yak availability” (95). This evidence shows how planned out and particular Rob’s group is portrayed. Shown again here, “Hall ran the tightest, safest operation on the mountain. Bar none.” (353). His company is referred to as the safest on the mountain which cannot be obtained without many regulations that are strictly enforced. In much opposition, Fischer has dynamic and easy going leadership style. A basic representation of this is, “Fischer believed in giving his clients free reign to go up and down the mountain independently during the acclimatization period.” (141). I believe Fischer has good intentions, but when dealing with climbers of callow experience, more control should be necessary. A situation in which his lax leadership causes problems is how he never even vaguely establishes a turnaround time. It’s a surmise idea but if everyone on the mountain has been given a correct turnaround time, many lives may have been saved. Granted, Rob Hall never establishes a concrete turnaround time either. Rob’s uptight and Scott’s relaxed leadership styles is a noted difference between the two men.
In hiking, as in life, there are choices between success and pain, pride and safety; this is the story of one such choice. Last summer I participated in the Rayado program at Philmont Scout Ranch. The eighth day of the trek was my crew’s greatest challenge: Super Black Death, a hike of seven peaks in one day.
The Everest group simulation was an exercise that required five students to immerse themselves into a team of hikers. Each role is unique and vital to the survival of the team in the attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest. The simulation effectively encapsulated the concepts and theories learnt in the course.
When we think of the word team, individually many different ideas may come to mind about what a team really is. Some may think of an NFL team (Tennessee Titans), an NBA team (Sacramento Kings), or a NASA astronaut team with such pioneers as Edwin Aldrin, Jr. and Neil Armstrong as members. You might even think of the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, or Marines as teams. In fact they all are, and they have a great deal in common as teams. However, for the purposes of this paper I will examine the characteristics of work teams, as they apply to organizations and I will supply answers to the following questions: What is a team? Where did the team concept come from? What are the types of teams? What are the advantages and disadvantages of having teams in organizations? What does it take to make a team effective?
Organizations use teamwork because it increases productivity. This concept was used in corporations as early as the 1920s, but it has become increasingly important in recent years as employ...