Leading at The Edge: Chapters 6 and 7

I understand that Shackleton was a great leader who had everybody's trust but I was not convinced as to the reason why everyone followed him until I read chapter 6. He was from the very beginning, insistent on having mutual respect and courtesy which explains his caring temperament and acts of self-sacrifice. If I was one of the crew members, I would not have believed in Shackleton just by hearing his reassuring words or looking at his decision making abilities. Rather, his personality to treat all members equally while being attentive to each person, and his devotion to the team through self-sacrifice would have convinced me that Shackleton was indeed a leader whom you could put your confidence in. What was really touching about this chapter was how everybody adopted his manner. The part where Greenstreet spilt his milk and the others poured some of theirs in his cup made me realise that even in desperate conditions you can still be considerate of others. Rank does not matter and it is really through respect and courtesy that a team can be held together.

The topic we have been discussing in class is conflict so it was good to be able to read how Shackleton dealt with it in his expedition. Chapter 7 states that anger should be let out in small doses so that it will not build up. If there is a problem, it is best to say it then than to wait for the stress to accumulate. Endurance is sometimes necessary but when you are working in a team, especially for a long period of time, you do not want explosions of anger. In order to minimise the level of anger, it is important not to keep negative emotions to yourself and Shackleton knew this. It says, 'Shackleton also encouraged his men to keep him informed of any disagreements,' showing that he had the situation under control. Another strategy he used to resolve conflict was to keep the troublemakers close by so that Shackleton could deal with them and the others would not become victims. Although we tend to avoid people who cause trouble, sometimes it is better to talk to them so that a solution can be sought.

Personally, I do not have a lot of experience in dealing with conflict but once I became involved in mending a broken friendship and that was difficult. These two girls from high school were friends but something happened and they just stopped talking to each other completely. I was friends with both of them so I listened to both of their stories but to me it just did not seem like such a big deal. Later on I realised that they had both been getting tired of each other for some time and that this one incident triggered the bomb. If they had been able to say what the problem was in the early stages, they might still be friends. In the end, time healed their relationship and they were able to talk to each other once again but they never got back to being like how they were before.