Leadership and Management

We generally think of leadership and management as being important in business or government activities. But leadership and management are both relevant in other contexts as well. In the 19th century, for example, much time, money, and effort was spent by English, Norwegians, and Americans as they explored the polar regions of the world. Two high-profile goals motivated these explorers: to be the first to reach the North and South Poles of the earth. In commenting on the race to the South Pole between Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen, author Roland Huntford observed that:

"For the privilege of being the first to tread this useless yet so desirable spot, both men were prepared to . . . face any extremity of suffering and danger. The poles of the earth had become an obsession of Western man. . . Since the obsession was there, it had to be exorcised, and the sooner the better."(p. 18)

To achieve their goals, explorers first had to secure financial support to pay for their expeditions. But that was only the beginning. Ships and personnel had to be acquired, and tonnes of supplies and animals had to be taken across the ocean to the starting point for the expedition. All of this required a great deal of planning and organizing, both of which are key functions of management. But leadership was also crucial because these expeditions were attempting to achieve goals that were at the very edge of human capability. They were also very dangerous, and many men died on these expeditions. Leaders who could generate high motivation and commitment among their followers were therefore critical to the success of their expeditions.

Polar explorers were a colorful group. Following are brief summaries of some of the most notable ones.

John Franklin (1786-1847)

John Franklin was an English explorer who hungered for fame and promotion through the ranks of the English navy. When he led his first expedition in northern Canada in 1819, he had no experience in the Arctic in important tasks such as canoeing, hunting, or back-packing. He almost died of starvation due to poor planning. In 1845, he led a group of 129 men in an attempt to discover the Northwest Passage. He had learned a few things from his first expedition. For example, he took along waterproof clothing, used stronger sailing vessels, and made sure that supplies were in place. But critics of Franklin's approach to exploration noted that he ignored the harsh environment he was entering and simply tried to transport the "civilized" English environment with him rather than adapting to the Arctic environment as the Inuit did. His expedition was last seen by a whaling ship in Baffin Bay in June 1845. His group was never seen again by white men, but his expedition may have encountered Inuit hunters somewhere in their travels. His ships were crushed by the ice and all 129 members of the expedition died as they tried to get back to civilization. Franklin has been described as recklessly ambitious, humourless, sensitive, unimaginative, dogged, brave, indecisive, calm when danger threatened, courageous, charming, humble, and easygoing. He was a run-of-the-mill naval officer but he was able to get appointed to some very high-profile expeditions because he had lots of friends in important positions.

Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922)

Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish explorer who became famous for his dramatic expeditions to the Antarctic as he tried to reach the South Pole. He served under Robert Scott on one unsuccessful expedition, then later mounted his own expedition (also unsuccessful). Shackleton later decided to trek across the entire Antarctic continent, but his ship, the Endurance, became locked in the ice and he never even reached the continent. After the ship was crushed and sank, his party camped on the ice for some weeks until the ice broke up. They then took to small boats and made their way to nearby Elephant Island, a desolate, isolated, and windswept speck of land in the South Atlantic Ocean. Knowing that rescue would never come there, Shackleton and a small group of men then sailed a tiny open boat across 800 miles of ocean to South Georgia where they organized a relief party for the men back on Elephant Island. In the end, not a man was lost and Shackleton's leadership reputation became legendary. His men affectionately called him "The Boss."

Shackleton has been described as quick-tempered, impatient, self-confident, ruthless, egotistical, moody, optimistic, persuasive, restless, and ambitious. But he was a strong leader who made things happen. His followers did whatever he ordered because they had complete faith in him. He was not only in command, but was seen to be in command. But Shackleton did not treat his followers as lesser men. Rather, he showed great concern for the men under his command, and he delegated well. His followers saw that he put them ahead of himself, and he willingly took responsibility when things went wrong. He made everyone feel that they were important. His men said that they made it through incredible hardships because of his leadership. His inspirational leadership motivated his men to give that extra ounce of effort in life-and-death situations.

Like many other polar explorers, Shackleton was sometimes uninformed about important facts about the polar regions, and this lack of knowledge got him into trouble on various occasions. He was also inexperienced when he embarked on his early expeditions and learned some hard lessons about traveling in cold climates. He was also ill-prepared at times and this, too, created unnecessary hardships for him and his men.

Adolphus Greeley (1844-1935)

Adolphus Greeley was a U.S. Army officer who led an expedition to reach a new "furthest north" in the race to the North Pole. In 1881, Greeley's expedition was dropped off on the shores of Ellesmere Island. Things went fairly well for the first six months, but when a re-supply ship failed to get through in 1882, morale plummeted. When Greeley concluded that a second re-supply ship was not going to make it either, he started to sail south in August 1883 in some small boats in the hope of being rescued. On his way, he discovered that no supply depots had been set out for him. Suddenly starvation was a real possibility. By October 1883 winter had come and men began to die from starvation and exposure. As things got worse, Greeley became a father-figure to his men and cared for them, even denying himself rations. By May 1884, 19 of his 25 men had died, and the surviving members were near death. They were miraculously rescued by a search party. In spite of the terrible toll of human life, there were significant scientific discoveries as a result of the expedition. He triumphed over scurvy by feeding his men fresh meat and lemon juice, and he amassed scientific and geographical records that were used by future Arctic expeditions.

Greeley has been described as ambitious, irritable, and suspicious of some of his men. Greeley was a commissioned officer, and was very conscious of the status differences between himself and his non-commissioned enlisted men. He therefore maintained a psychological gap between himself and his followers. He was also a strict commander and a stickler for military discipline. Problems were compounded because Greeley did not get along with one of his lieutenants, and two of his subordinates were actively trying to undermine Greeley's leadership. To make matters worse, Greeley was insensitive to conflicts between his men and forced people to work together who did not get along with each other. He had no experience in the Arctic, and knew nothing about sailing, so he didn't have much legitimacy in the eyes of his men. He tried to run things himself and didn't listen to anyone else's ideas.

Robert Scott (1868-1912) and Roald Amundsen (1872-1928)

In 1911-1912, the Englishman Robert Scott and the Norwegian Roald Amundsen became involved in a race to see who would be the first human being to reach the South Pole. The trip to the Pole was made in conditions that are hard to imagine. On foot or on skis, the explorers made their way across 1200 kilometres of ice and snow, through â€"40 C temperatures and over mountains nearly 3000 metres high. Once at the Pole, they had to turn around and fight their way back to the coast through the same conditions. As a boy, Roald Amundsen was inspired by Franklin's exploits in the Arctic. But unlike Franklin, Amundsen became highly successful because he learned to adapt his behaviour to the environment in which he was working. He avoided almost all of the mistakes that other explorers made. For example, he learned that most expeditions actually had two leaders: the commander (who typically had no navigation experience) and the ship's captain. This could lead to dissension. He also learned that there was typically conflict between the scientific staff and the sailors on the expedition. Amundsen therefore studied science and navigation and became an expert at both, so there was no divided command on his expeditions. He also took only small numbers of men so there were less people to feed. In sharp contrast to most other explorers, he adopted the successful strategies of the Inuit to survive in polar climates.

Amundsen was a meticulous planner because he realized that planning was absolutely essential for a successful expedition to the Pole. In the crucial areas of food and fuel, Amundsen developed a system for laying out supply depots so that they could be found even in a raging blizzard. This ensured that the Norwegians had enough supplies to make it safely back to their base camp after they reached the Pole. By studying polar conditions, he knew that sled dogs were the best animals to haul supplies. He also knew that going to the Pole on skis was far superior to walking. Amundsen carefully selected the four men who would accompany him and who would live in very close quarters during the 3-month trip to the Pole and back. Amundsen's men had complete confidence in his abilities, and he, in turn, allowed them to participate in many of the important decisions that had to be made during the expedition. Robert Scott was a sharp contrast to Amundsen. Because he left the planning of important details of the expedition to the last minute, major mistakes were made in decisions about animals and equipment. For example, Scott decided to rely on ponies for hauling supplies, but this decision ignored the obvious fact that ponies were inferior to huskies for hauling supplies in bitter cold weather. Scott did take skis along, but few people in his party knew how to use them properly. They therefore wasted precious energy and covered fewer kilometres each day than they might have. Scott's planning of supply depots was also haphazard, and insufficient care was taken in the storage of fuel. In the extreme cold of the Antarctic, much of the fuel that Scott had stored in supply depots evaporated. On his return trip, therefore, he consistently ran short of fuel. (Amundsen had no such problems because he had designed an airtight seal for his fuel containers.) Scott's leadership ability was also questionable. There was dissension in the ranks because of poor communication, conflicting orders, and interpersonal disagreements. Scott did not inspire confidence in his men, and he did not allow them to participate in important decisions.

Who won the race? Although both men managed to reach the South Pole, Amundsen beat Scott to the prize by a full month. In the end, Scott's men paid dearly for their leader's shortcomings: they all died of starvation and exposure as they attempted to get back to their base camp on the coast.

Questions for Discussion

1. What is the difference between leaders and managers? Were the explorers described above leaders? Were they managers?
2. Compare the leadership ability of each of the polar explorers in terms of the five traits which are thought to predict effective leadership.
3. What is emotional intelligence? To what extent do the polar explorers exhibit emotional intelligence?
4. Use any one of the contingency leadership theories discussed in the chapter to analyze the appropriateness of the leadership styles used by Scott and Amundsen. Were they using the right style? Explain.
5. What makes a leader charismatic? Which of the polar explorers do you think was the most charismatic? Explain.

Sources: Roland Huntford, The Last Place on Earth. New York: Atheneum, 1985; Pierre Berton, The Arctic Grail. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1988 (esp. pp. 125-196, 435-486, and 531-548); Roland Huntford, Shackleton. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985.