Ernest Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

According to Biography.com, Ernest Shackleton once wrote, “Life to me is the greatest of all games. The danger lies in treating it as a trivial game, a game to be taken lightly, and a game in which the rules don't matter much. The rules matter a great deal. The game has to be played fairly or it is no game at all. And even to win the game is not the chief end. The chief end is to win it honorably and splendidly.” Ernest Shackleton, British explorer, set off on a voyage to be the first to successfully cross the continent of Antarctica over land from west to east. As fate would have it though, they would never make it to Antarctica. However, he successfully brought all 27 men of his expedition crew home alive after his ship sunk by crippling

According to Alfred Lansing, author of Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, was in late 1914, on his way to Antarctica, the Endurance landed in the fishing settlement of South Georgia island, the last bit of land they would encounter for the next 2 years. Several of the Norwegian whaling skippers had warned Shackleton that the ice conditions near his Antarctic destination were the worst they’d seen in years. Shackleton was faced with an “Ethical Dilemma,” and faced to “…choose between two alternatives (both alternatives can be unfavorable and/or less right or less wrong and more wrong),” as defined by Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education [BCEE] (2017). Having to abort his expedition would have meant quelling his “Drive for Success” and extinguishing the hopes of his crew. He utilized the “Universal Intellectual Standards” of “Clarity, Depth, and Precision” (BCEE), by consulting with one of the best polar ice navigators and Norwegian harpooners in the fleet. He weighed his option to turn around against the uncertainty of ice condition and decided to press forward. Alfred Lansing, author of Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage, also goes on to describe how to fund his expedition to cross Antarctica, Shackleton raised more than $175,000 through selling future rights to books, movies, and lectures as well as earning donations from governments,

Shackleton had the ability to remain positive and focused when faced with ever-changing circumstances. He made decisive ethical decisions, always with his men’s safety in mind. Even when it meant abandonment of his mission. I must improve on my attitude towards change while remaining focused on the mission. The time in now, to stop whining over changes and take ownership of the task at hand. I need to step-up as a leader who embraces change and encourages others to follow. I’m reminded of a time my ship was being tested for its firefighting capabilities. We had failed numerous attempts at our given scenario to which I grew very frustrated. I blamed the junior Petty Officers and Seaman for the way they had performed. However, it was me who was the root cause of the failures. Lack of experience and misguided direction caused my team to fail. Rather than embrace the situation and motivate them, I complained and pointed