Organisational Change and Leadership: Lessons from Shackleton's Leadership Style

This article discusses the importance of organizational change and leadership in contemporary business organizations. It covers Shackleton's leadership style and the lessons that can be learned from it. It also analyzes an organizational situation by school of leadership theory and provides recommendations for improving performance and enhancing value.

Organizational change
and leadership

Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
How would you characterise Shackleton’s leadership style? What are the important lessons that can be
learned from the article in the context of contemporary business organisations in a crisis......................3
In context of business example, analyze an organizational situation by school of leadership theory.
Also, make recommendations for improving performance and enhancing value.....................................5
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................8
References...................................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
Organizational change has become an important part of each and every company. In
current time, the business environment has been changes hence it is imperative to modify the
organizational practice in order to ensure long term survival in the market place. Through
organizational change, it is possible to modify the business functions so that an entity can grow
in the future period of time. Here, leadership also plays an integral role in order to enhance the
skills and capabilities of individuals to cope up with the organizational changes (Farrell, 2018).
The present study aims to understand the view point of well-known leaders in context of
organizational changes. It will cover characterstics of Shackleton leadership style and important
lesson can be learned from such article. Further, it will cover an example of evaluation of
organizational situation through school of leadership.
How would you characterise Shackleton’s leadership style? What are the important lessons that
can be learned from the article in the context of contemporary business organisations in a crisis
Shackle ton was a well-known leader who like to do all his work by own. In addition, the
person was really good at improvisation. The person was not afraid from abandon plans, if they
were not working. He has great sprit to face the hardships. In addition to this, Shackle used to
celebrate each and every day success. At the time of crisis, the man used to keep his team
together and encourage them to fight with daily issues with utmost confidence, collaboration and
more. In this context characteristics of the respective theory are mentioned below:
Model and inspire Optimistic: Shackleton used to believe in his team that they will help
in attaining the pre-defined mission. He has great optimistic nature which made his decision
rightful and effective for the entire team (Neuman, 2021). In addition, the person was optimistic
and had clarity about his vision. During the expedition, he used to encourage people to enjoy
singing, dancing, games and more. He used to emphasis on enjoying each and every single day.
Develop a clear and shared purpose: Everyone who joined the journey along was very
clear regarding the vision. The reason of their selection was their interest as well as excitement
about the purpose. Numerous times it does happen that teams are formulated and every member
of team work for a different purpose. Here, clarity is the most important component that also
affects the success of a team in a profound way.

Build Unity and commitment within team: Honesty and hard-work were priorized by
the Shackle ton above all other elements. For this purpose, he used to instigate the team members
to work hard so that they put efforts in terms of attainment of pre-defined goal. He was very
clear that without team efforts, it is quite difficult to reach at final goal (Duignan, 2020). In this
context, he put efforts to know each and every team member personally with an aim to
understand their style and strengths. In addition to this, he make sure every team member visit to
him regarding their concern and issues. Basically, there was an open door policy for every
member.
Create a plan, an alternate and be flexible: Shackleton believes in having a plan and
also there is requirement to have an alternative plan. In addition, one needs to maintain necessary
flexibility. It is analyzed that he used to avoid to attach with a plan emotionally regardless
considering the time he has been devoted to the particular plan.
Make the tough decisions: Throughout the expedition, Shackleton used to take tough
decisions. For this purpose, he has been unpopular among the team members. Also, he failed to
make relationships based on trust and loyalty. The decisions taken by the respective leader were
influenced by interest in mind (Harrowfield and Alp, 2019). He believe in taking quick
decisions. During a situation, when ship reach as Argentina, the cook got drunk for a night. Due
to this, Shackleton fired him and hired a new cook instantly.
Team of Shackleton used to say that he is a great leader on the earth. By implementing only a
single element of his leadership style one can become an efficient leader in future period of time.
The article is about the entrepreneurial and leadership activities of shakelton. He used to
guide team members during the crisis in an efficient manner. The story of shakelton is popular
among people. Also, this story is used as act of inspiration for ample of people. He was an
optimistic person who used to put significant efforts to attain success. In addition, the respective
individual was a great leader and provided several leadership qualities to his team members. The
most important lesson learned through the article are mentioned below:
Pursue engaging distractions: Here, the boss used to keep the team engaged. In
addition, the distraction needs to be engaging so that the people get involve in work. During the
crisis, Shackelton, provided an engaging alternative to the team members in terms of dwelling on

their predicament regarding the potential danger in future. During expedition, planning was a
way to entertain the people during the long empty time of crisis. By this was, this was an
engaging distraction along with the promise of victory and adventure in future (Spires and
Shackleton, 2018). With this, the expedition culture facilitated confidence and hope among team
members. In context of contemporary business organizations, there is requirement to provide
engaging distraction to the employees in order to enhance their productivity.
Find things to celebrate: Along with the optimistic sprit, shackleton also established the
sense of shared identity from the beginning. Here, the sense of units, team up enhanced with
enhancement in adventurous activities. During marches, they decided to continue the party even
if, cracks occur in the ICE. Additionally, the life boats were together during the open boat
journey. With this, it can be said that he used to enjoy each and every moment. In contemporary
business, it is highly important to celebrate each and every moment to keep the team members
encouraged to perform the assigned duties effectively.
Diffuse conflicts immediately: As per Shackleton, it is important to have common
courtesy in order to create mutual respect. Here, maintaining courtesy is important event during
extreme conditions. While working together, it is common to raise the conflicts but it is
important to maintain basic courtesy in order to minimize the conflicts in significant manner
(Okumbor, Sithole and Kirk, 2018). By following this learning, business organizations can easily
maintain a productive environment at workplace.
In context of business example, analyze an organizational situation by school of leadership
theory. Also, make recommendations for improving performance and enhancing value
Leadership is an activity where a leader used to guide, encourage and motivate
individuals in order to attain the pre-defined goals. It is a quality of individual to influence the
followers. Here, leadership is offered by the leaders where they guide, motivate the followers to
work towards attainment of set goals (Clark and Harrison, 2018). Nowadays, leadership has
become an important element of every company. Without having an efficient leader, it is quite
difficult to accomplish the set objectives. In this context, there are numerous theories of
leadership are followed by the leaders which are mentioned below:

Great man theory: As per the great man theory, leaders are born along with such traits
& abilities to guide other people effectively. They have necessary skills by born such as
communication skills, confidence, intelligence and more. Here, it so stated that the ability to lead
others is inherent (Andersen, 2018). Also, best leaders are nor made rather they born. In this
context, the examples of great man theory are Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Hitler and
more. These people had inherent qualities which helped them in leading & guiding team of
different individuals significantly.
Trait theory: It is also a highly used theory that is based on the traits and characteristics
of leaders. It is based on characterstics of leaders whether they are successful or not. It is also
used in order to make prediction regarding effective leadership. Here, traits are leaders are
identified from different point of views. In this, major focus is on physiological attributes like
weight, height, appearance and more (Khaola and Coldwell, 2018). Also, there is focus on
demographic elements such as intelligence, family background, judgment & so on. In
organizational context, the example of trait leadership is steve jobs. He is the founder and CEO
of apple. He has a clear vision, passion for its business and also an ability to trust as well as
inspire other people. These personality traits make steve jobs enable to inspire and lead the team
members in an efficient manner.
Situational leadership: In this, leadership, there is no particular way to guide as well as
motivate individuals. Here, leaders do not identify & follow pre-defined practices of leadership
rather they act as per the situation. In context of situational leadership, the activities of leaders
are majorly influenced by the situation. It refers to those leaders who opt different style of
leadership as per the situation. In addition, it is considered as an effective style of leadership as it
adapts the team needs and set a perfect balance between team’s need and organizational goals
( Wiewiora and Kowalkiewicz, 2019). In organizational context, the founder of Apple, Steve
jobs follows the situational leadership style. Rather determining the action earlier, he believes in
taking suitable action as per situation. His actions, behaviors depend on the situation and
individuals he is dealing at a particular time.
Recommendations

 It is suggested that there is requirement to arrange such an environment where employees
and leaders can easily communicate with each-other. To make better relationship, there is
requirement to maintain open communication within the organization. Here, it is required
to maintain proper flow of information so that individuals working at different levels can
easily communicate with each-other. This will strengthen the relationship of employees
and leaders stronger for further betterment.
 Leaders need to provide training so that they can modify their leadership style to work in
the contemporary environment. Here, the training is helpful in enhancing the knowledge
base of leaders which will allow them to motivate as well as guide leaders in significant
manner.
 Apart from effective leadership, it is also important to offer rewards, recognition to the
employees in order to make them a significant part of the company. It will motivate them
to improve their performance for the future betterment & growth of the company.

Conclusion
From the above-discussion, it is analyzed that organizational change is about implementing
updated and advance practices within the company. It is monitored that through organizational
change, it is possible to modify the business functions so that an entity can grow in the future
period of time. Here, leadership also plays an integral role in order to enhance the skills and
capabilities of individuals to cope up with the organizational changes. Further, it is found that
shackleton was a great leader and has potential to guide the team appropriately. Discussion has
been carried out regarding lesson learnt from shackelton’s leadership style. It is monitored that
leadership theory can be used in organization to maintain good relationship between leaders and
individuals.

References
Books and journals
Andersen, J.A., 2018. Servant leadership and transformational leadership: From comparisons to
farewells. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.
Clark, C.M. and Harrison, C., 2018. Leadership: the complexities and state of the
field. European Business Review.
Duignan, P.A., 2020. Successful Leadership within Technologically Smart Environments.
In Leading Educational Systems and Schools in Times of Disruption and Exponential
Change: A Call for Courage, Commitment and Collaboration. Emerald Publishing
Limited.
Farrell, M., 2018. Leadership reflections: Organizational culture. Journal of Library
Administration, 58(8), pp.861-872.
Harrowfield, D.L. and Alp, B., 2019. The diet and incidence of scurvy and adopted preventative
measures in the two branches of Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1914–
1917. Polar Record, 55(2), pp.82-92.
Khaola, P. and Coldwell, D., 2018. Explaining how leadership and justice influence employee
innovative behaviours. European Journal of Innovation Management.
Neuman, Y., 2021. The Weakest Link in the Chain: From the Colossal Failure of Brazil’s
Football Team to Sir Earnest Shackleton’s Endurance. In How Small Social Systems
Work (pp. 151-164). Springer, Cham.
Okumbor, J.C., Sithole, S.L. and Kirk, N.C., 2018. Sustainable rural livelihood and agri-food
system: lessons from Manavhela and restitution. Journal of Public Administration, 53(2-
1), pp.446-473.
Spires, M. and Shackleton, S.E., 2018. A synthesis of barriers to and enablers of pro-poor
climate change adaptation in four South African municipalities. Climate and
Development, 10(5), pp.432-447.

Wiewiora, A. and Kowalkiewicz, A., 2019. The role of authentic assessment in developing
authentic leadership identity and competencies. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher
Education, 44(3), pp.415-430.