Ernest Shackleton Qualities

Ernest Shackleton demonstrated great qualities of a leader during the trying time of the voyage. Even though, Shackleton is considered the core problem of the case study there were some moments where he did showcase himself as a leader. There are three leadership qualities that Shackleton seemed to use on the expedition, and those three are: delegation, commitment, and keeping a positive attitude. Each of these had a role in the outcome of Shackleton’s leadership skills, and these three skills were used throughout the time on the ship all the way to the rescue of his crew. The first leadership quality that Shackleton showcased was the ability to delegate. Delegate means that a leader entrust a task to a subordinate, in order to create a finished
These included swabbing the decks and hulls, organizing and rationing supplies, keeping the anchor chains free of rust, and watching for navigable breaks in the ice. Shackleton also appointed individuals to hunt for seal and penguin whenever supplies of fresh meat ran low. He ordered Henry “Chippy” McNeish, the ship’s carpenter, to start making furniture for his cabin and for a hut to be located at a future base camp. The scientists were to begin collecting specimens from the ice and taking meteorological observations” (Koehn, 2010, p.10).
Shackleton continued this routine throughout his journey on the ice as well by sending crew members back to the Endurance before it sank, on the walks to the islands, and even once they reached the
To delay the relief effort until the fall would surely threaten their lives, for they could not subsist indefinitely on that harsh, frozen slip of land. He appealed to several South American governments for a ship strong enough to travel through ice… On August 30, 1916, four months after the departure of the Caird, and more than two years after the original departure of the Endurance from London, the Yelcho pulled within view of Elephant Island” (Koehn, 2010, pp.