Earnest Shackleton's Expedition Through Antarctica

Introduction: Earnest Shackleton possessed many high-quality leadership skills while on his expedition through Antarctica. With little knowledge of frozen backgrounds and ice in general, Shackleton found out quickly that sailing through the Antarctic ocean was not any easy task to fulfill. Throughout his childhood, Shackleton was raised under the impression that he would become a doctor but his love for the ocean and English Poetry quickly diminished his parent’s desires. Shackleton knew he was going to lead a crew on an expedition later on in his life but it was a long and tough road before he was able to accomplish this task. He started by scrubbing decks and polishing brass railing but while he was doing this, he was always learning from
the crew members above him in rank. Eventually after long years working as a low-ranked crew member, he was able to obtain the rank of “full master” by age 24. Throughout this paper, I will be identifying what went right and wrong in the Epic Voyage of the Endurance and if Shackleton was overall an effective leader. I will be using figure 1-2 in the textbook Leadership Research Findings, Practice, and Skills by Andrew J. Dubrin to help outline and define leadership effectiveness.