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Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage on the Endurance
Six key elements of leadership
Six key elements of leadership
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Being an effective leader can be one of the most difficult jobs in the world. Whether you are new to this task, or have plenty of experience, it can be very frustrating at times. In order to be a successful leader, many characteristics and traits must be used. The three that I find are the most effective in order to be successful are positive attitude, having the ability to manage failure, and being able to focus on the task at hand. To start things off, let's talk about why having a positive attitude is crucial in order to be an exceptional leader. Positive attitude is like the foundation of a house. If it is done poorly, than the rest of the job won't work as planned. The definition of positive attitude is thinking of the good things that could happen rather than the bad …show more content…
This characteristic has many benefits towards yourself and your crew members. One of the best benefits is that it helps keeps your team pushing towards your goal. If you start pointing out all of the negative things, than your crew members will feel down on themselves, and start to believe that they will never accomplish their goal. Another key benefit of having a positive attitude is way others around you will become positive as well. Positivity is known to be contagious, so thinking positive around your group will give you positive results. One main example of a leader that demonstrated this characteristic is Sir Ernest Shackleton. On August 1, 1914, Shackleton and his crew departed London on the ship Endurance. He was hoping to become the first man to travel across the Antarctic. On his journey, he went through a variety of failures and struggles. Shackleton was very determined to accomplish his goal,
It’s easy to be the one in charge; to be a leader, is the hardest skill to master. Shackleton’s actions of selflessness, obsessiveness and planning ability, demonstrates he was in a rare class of ‘leaders’. The ideals of leadership was one area which Shackleton had mastered; accomplishing one’s ambitions was an area in which Shackleton was never able to master. Although completing ambitions can be an exciting story, sometimes failures are a far superior story. “We knew you’d come back”–quoted an unidentified sailor–was the highest compliment ever paid to Sir Ernest Shackleton–an exemplary leader.
Having a positive outlook can be very important when being involved in a conflict or trying to solve one. This is how Anne Frank and Louise Ogawa from First Read: Dear Miss Breed got through the roughest times of their lives. They kept a positive outlook on things and tried to make the best of the worst. Just looking on the bright side, even if it feels like there isn’t one can make a huge difference. As a great thinker, such as Joyce Meyer, once said, ‘’A positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances instead of your circumstances, having power over you’’. If they did not maintain a positive outlook, then who knows how they would have survived. Having a positive outlook gives you the strength to keeping going
This characteristic stands out the most for nursing, because of its nature of stressful work environment with heavy accountability. It is unavoidable to observe general stress, role strain, and burnout from some nurses at the clinical sites. Cabrera states that the research shows that positive employees are directly related to greater productivity and better decision making (Cabrera, 2012). The positive nurses at the clinical sites focused on professionally achieving their daily goals yet managing to stay in positive mood. Many times, those nurses’ positive vibe aided in encouraging the other nurses and staff to be more like them, resulting in a better work environment. Cabrera also talks about the mental benefits of positivity, which is mindfulness of the surroundings (Cabrera, 2012). Being mindful of the surroundings helps with the ability to take in more information. This may benefit the nurses who always have to collect as many information in order to provide effective patient
To be a great leader there are many qualities you must have. The hard part is actually knowing what qualities you need, because their are different types of leaders. For example you might be a business leader. These leaders do everything they can to motivate their co-workers, make sure the business stays firm, and also are well prepared for any crises that may occur. Anne Mulcahy the CEO of Xerox surely didn’t know her business was going to undertake many financial barriers, but instead of letting it get her and filing for bankruptcy, she took full responsibility and lead the business towards success by reducing the company’s workforce and eliminating the entire desktop portion of Xeron. According to U.S. News &
Kouzes and Posner remark that leadership experiences are ?voyages of discovery and adventures of a lifetime?[and] they are challenging explorations under rigorous conditions? (174). While this may be true, it is often in an extreme crisis situation that leadership is ultimately tested. This is the circumstance that Shackleton faced with his crew of twenty-seven, while stranded in the ice floes off the Antarctic Continent. Credit is due to the leadership of Ernest Shackleton; every member aboard the Endurance survived, and was finally rescued after six hundred and thirty-four days. Shackleton said of leadership, ?If you?re a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you?ve got to keep going? (qtd. in Morrell and Capparell 215).
What does it mean to be positive? Being positive is displaying affirmation, acceptance, or certainty toward an object, idea, or person. “Trauma is used when describing emotionally painful and distressing experiences or situations that can overwhelm a person’s ability to cope” (John A. Rich, Theodore Corbin, & Sandra Bloom, 2008. Trauma could include death, violence, verbal and nonverbal words and actions, discrimination, racism, etc. Trauma can have serious long-term effects on a person’s health, mental stability, and physical body.
Sir Ernest Shackleton was an extraordinary leader, because he led his crew with equality, compassion and kept calm even in the direst situations. He never expected anything from his men that he wouldn’t do himself, and did his fair share of work. Shackleton never showed any signs of stress, nor did he exhibit any of his anxieties. More importantly, he showed a deep trust and caring for his crew. All three of the traits combine to create the ultimate leader, which Sir Ernest Shackleton truly was.
Positivity is an important quality to develop because it is used everyday. The best way for me to turn my talent of positivity into a strength will be to practice it daily. When a situation doesn’t go as planned or something bad happens I should be able to look past that and not let it affect my entire day. The best way for me to practice this would to deal with situations that are stressful and learn how to see the positive side in the situation. I believe I can accomplish this in almost any daily activity because life is always about expecting the unexpected and learning to deal with it. Some examples StrengthsQuest gave would be to make learning fun, throwing study parties, and expressing positive attitudes about life to others. Having positivity as a strength will help me a lot in life, because I believe in order to be happy about life you must learn to think positive even when things aren’t going great. Avoid negative people who bring you down. Explain how enthusiasm is not simple naivety. I know bad things happen; choose to look past
Leaders posses a variety of personality traits, but there are only a few traits that define a great leader.
A positive attitude is, after all, absolutely necessary to achieve success since it influences the outcome of a task more than any other factor (Jacobs 2016). Jane Satrom definitely fits the bill when it comes to having a positive attitude. During her first year as a teacher, Mrs. Satrom recounts having two students who tested her patience and good heart. The two African-American students “accused [her] of being racist” and were constantly going to any possible extent to “get [her] off topic so they [did not] have to work” (J. Satrom, personal communication, September 27, 2016). This was barely the beginning of Mrs. Satrom’s career and she was already facing difficult situations on the job. However, although she “drove home, crying, many a day, over those two” she kept her positive attitude and moved on. This is a prime example of the correct way for someone to handle an obstacle they
Perhaps the most important qualities of a leader are passion and motivation. Especially when leading a group for a particular cause, a leader must be personally attached to that cause. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., for example, is a legendary leader because he fought for a cause that directly affected him. had he not been pushing for a personal reason, his actions would not have been as passionate. This would have caused a lack in motivation, another essential leadership quality. A leader faces many roadblocks and opposition and thus, must be motivated to continue fighting and leading. A leader’s attitude and opinions are valued by the group and therefore, if a leader is motivated, the group will be, too. The continued actions and successes, no matter how small, which move the group closer to its goal also help its motivation and drive.
Attitude can be a positive motivator in your life or it can do the exact opposite and crush your dreams and be negative. As a leader your attitude affects the entire team. If you react poorly to things and always have a Eeyore attitude everyone under you will start to act the same way. On the other hand if you are being positive and motivating people to accomplish the task they will feed off your attitude and energy to finish the task at hand.
There are so many aspects to being an effective leader, yet they are so easy to achieve but some leaders do not care to. Effective leaders must motivate, value their employees, solve problems, and be accountable. An effective leader is said to know the organization, the purpose,
When dealing with stresses on the job, or coming up with creative solutions to situations, and even creating relationships with co-workers, having a positive outgoing intention is a plus in many different aspects. People tend to be more productive and want to do our best when we have a positive attitude, even when the fast is one that is not the most exciting. Whether a nurses profession is centered in a nursing home or the top hospital in America, maintaining an optimistic eggier to succeed, positive attitude will push you further into the world of medicine and increase likely hood of promotion. It can help to increase consistent performance. When performing the best, the ability increases to reach the ultimate goals one might have, which should include helping patients find healing and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Earning and keeping a good reputation to advance in your career is important to keep in mind when getting a reputation in the health field. People with good attitudes are better able to handle job stress and are more constructive in approaching abnormal situations. These are basic characteristics employers look for when considering employees for promotions and advancements. It is also a sure way to get an exceptional reference if you decide to change
Another aspect of leadership includes leadership traits such as being influential and inspirational. There also different contexts of leadership, e.g, leading oneself, leading other individuals, leading groups, leading organizations. Some traits that are often associated with being an effective leader include a measure of intelligence, high energy, self confidence, dominance, and a need for achievement. An effective, charismatic leader must lead by example. That leader must be able to know what is going on, the job or task that is being accomplished, and be able to lead the group into performing the task at hand successfully.