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Organisation & Management Assignment
Section 1 Question 1: After reading more about the details of Shackleton’s journey, I have found the following three characteristics to be excellent leadership skills:
Effective use of power: Shackleton heavily relied on expert and referent power, instead of legitimate power gained simply through being the expedition leader. He relied on his crew to trust in him and his expertise and in turn empowered and created internal motivation instead of compliance through control. He heavily focussed on the individuals in his crew and cared for their wellbeing, and listened to the individuals problems (Hoult, 2000).
“Shackleton assembled a crew of diverse individuals with the capacity to work together, but then had to make sure that it happened. Much of his time was spent in the minutiae of making the crew feel part of a common undertaking and ensuring that each was as valued a member of the team as the other” (Perkins et al, 2000, p. 3). This resulted in a highly independent team and can be seen as one of the reasons the 22 men survived 4 months of bitter cold without major conflicts.
Realistic Goals: Another important characteristic of Shackleton is to “Never insist on achieving a goal or objective at any cost. It must be achieved at a reasonable expense, without undue hardship on your staff” (Farrington, 2006, para. 17). Shackleton’s decision to abort his mission and focus on returning home safely meant he put the safety of his crew before his own prestige and goals, which is a an important quality of a leader. Knowing when to stop and changing strategy and prioritizing the people the leader is leading is an important skill for any leader.
Commitment an ...