Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Why leaders need integrity
The relationship between leadership and integrity
Why leaders need integrity
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The topic of this leadership case study is Ernest Shackleton. This paper will identify the development of Shackleton's leadership skills, provide examples and reflections of his abilities, and relate how he played an essential role in one of history's greatest survival stories. This study of Shackleton's leadership is set loosely within the framework of the five practices of exemplary leadership set forth in The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, and will focus on the benefits produced by his management of team morale and unity (13).
Kouzes and Posner remark that leadership experiences are ?voyages of discovery and adventures of a lifetime?[and] they are challenging explorations under rigorous conditions? (174). While this may be true, it is often in an extreme crisis situation that leadership is ultimately tested. This is the circumstance that Shackleton faced with his crew of twenty-seven, while stranded in the ice floes off the Antarctic Continent. Credit is due to the leadership of Ernest Shackleton; every member aboard the Endurance survived, and was finally rescued after six hundred and thirty-four days. Shackleton said of leadership, ?If you?re a leader, a fellow that other fellows look to, you?ve got to keep going? (qtd. in Morrell and Capparell 215).
Synopsis of the Endurance Expedition?See Appendix (Pages 19-21)
The Endurance, the vessel carrying the men and the title of the expedition, was named by Shackleton after his family motto?Fortitudine Vincimus (By endurance we conquer) (Perkins 41). To relate the significant factors of Shackleton?s leadership during the Endurance expedition, it is necessary to summarize the timeline of the events. A chronological timeline of the expedition is included at the end of this paper.
The saga of the Endurance has relevant lessons for today?s leaders concerning the vital nature of team unity and interdependence, risk taking, optimism, and selfless leadership. Shackleton, known as ?The Boss? to his men, was at all times responsible for fostering and developing these dynamics, and thus provides an example of the remarkable achievements that are possible in even the direst of situations. The expedition failed in its attempt to be the first to transverse the Antarctic, yet the ultimate success is judged by the safe return of all the crewmembers.
The events of the Endurance expedition wer...
... middle of paper ...
... all his leadership strategies for the purpose of getting every man home alive.
The loyalty and trust that Shackleton inspired in his men is undeniable. In 1921, five years after the rescue, Shackleton set out again on his last expedition aboard the Quest. Remarkably, his eighteen-member crew was comprised of eight Endurance colleagues, including Wild and Worsley (Morrell and Capparell 208). Following Shackleton?s death, Wild summed up the feelings he had for his leader:
I have served with Scott, Shackleton, and Mawson, and have met Nansen, Amundsen, Peary, Cook, and other explorers, and in my considered opinion, for all the best points of leadership, coolness in the face of danger, resource under difficulties, quickness in decisions, never-failing optimism, and the faculty of instilling the same into others, remarkable genius for organization, consideration for those under him, and obliteration of self, the palm must be given to Shackleton, a hero and a gentleman in very truth.
--Frank Wild, crew member, Nimrod;
second in command, Endurance and Quest.
(qtd. in Morrell and Capparell 205)
In Simon Wiesenthal’s The Sunflower, he recounts his incidence of meeting a dying Nazi soldier who tells Simon that he was responsible for the death of his family. Upon telling Simon the details, Karl asks for his forgiveness for what he helped accomplish. Simon leaves Karl without giving him an answer. This paper will argue that, even though Karl admits to killing Simon’s family in the house, Simon is morally forbidden to forgive Karl because Karl does not seem to show genuine remorse for his committed crime and it is not up to Simon to be able to forgive Karl for his sins. This stand will be supported by the meaning of forgiveness, evidence from the memoir, quotes from the published responses to Simon’s moral question, and arguments from Thomas Brudholm, Charles Griswold, and Trudy Govier. The possibly raised objection, for this particular modified situation, of forgiveness being necessary to move on from Desmond Tutu will be countered with the logic of needing to eventually find an end somewhere.
Ms. Gardizi has suffered persecution on account of not only being a woman, but also for her membership in the social group as an educated woman and for trying to teach other young girls the fundamentals of reading and writing. She bravely refused to let the Taliban keep women in the stone age. For this, the Taliban subjected her to an escalating campaign of violence. She has lost her entire family. Her brother Amir was killed in a Taliban prison camp. Ms. Gardizi will suffer future persecution, and most certainly death if and when the Taliban finds her. The Taliban has spies everywhere. The Afghanistan government is unable to protect her. For the reasons stated above, we pray that this court grants Ms. Meena Gardizi asylum in the United States.
In deed on June 6, 1944, the little town of Bedford, VA, suffered a tragedy that would never be forgotten. But through the pain and hardship some of officers who leaded the Bedford boys displayed remarkable leadership’s principles. One of the basic functions of leadership is to unite people: bring people together to achieve common objectives. There is truth in the statement, where there is unity there is strength. This essay will offer a working definition of effective leadership principles and discuss the function of leadership as it relates to followers, motivation and power.
After Talibans lost control of Kabul, there was a survey done in Afghanistan. About 42 percent of Afghans suffered from Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder (PTSD) (Badkhen, 2012). Amir is a wealthy Pashtun child that lived in Kabul, Afghanistan. He had servants Hassan and Ali. Hassan and Ali were Hazaras. Hassan and Amir were close, but were not “friends”. There was once a kite fighting tournament that Amir won and Hassan was the kite runner. Hassan went after the last kite and while returning to Amir from capturing the kite, Hassan ran into a known bully, Assef. Amir was looking for Hassan. When Amir found Hassan, he sees Assef with him. Assef asks for the kite but Hassan denies giving Assef the kite. Assef then rapes Hassan while
Leadership at the tactical level is built on personal interaction. This type of leadership is face to face and encourages adherence to policy and procedures. This leadership also takes into account the human element of command. In the LW course, we studied numerous leaders that exhibited this type of leadership style. Robin Olds was a leader that transformed the squadron they led. Three keys to their leadership were mission success, people focus, and espirt de corps.
After the first two expeditions failed due to unknown circumstances, in “April 2000: The Third Expedition,” a new crew o...
In the story “In Camera, Saadawi illustrated how women were treated by the legal system in Arabic country when they did something against the system. The protagonist, Leila Al-Fargani, who was a young woman on trial for calling the “mighty one”, which is a respective title for the President of their country, a stupid man. Moreover, during the time she was waiting for the court date, she was brutally beaten and raped by ten men who seem to be the guards. At the time she was in the court, she was still suffering from the pain both in physical and mental way, but she did not collapse. When the time the judge and those with him declared that ten men raped Leila and also her father’s honor got trampled. (This is the way we torture you women- by depriving you of the most valuable thing you possess”). For the response she said: “You fool! The most valuable thing I possess is not between my legs. You are all stupid. And the most stupid among you is the one who leads you.” In one hand, this quote completely showed that the man thought this sexual violence was totally right when the woman had committed a crime. In anther hand, it also showed that in the very deep of Leila, the...
alimony in the amount of $350 per week, and payments of her counsel fees (Exhibit A).
Life for Fariba Nawa after 18 years was an eye opener and a very tragic experience. Nawa coined a way to narrate a story of an Afghan society, she once knew. The multibillion drug trade now ruled her country. In 1999 they made between $25 million and $75 million just from taxing opium farmers and traffickers (106). It was surrounded with opium, crime, smugglers and opium brides. Opium brides were sold to traffickers to pay off a pervious opium debt. The opium have taken over and damaged the lives of many Afghanistan residents.
"Life as an Afghan Woman." Trust in Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
There have been countless books, lectures, and and trainings, and retreats constructed around the idea of cultivating leadership in an individual. However, cultivating individuals’ ability to follow great leadership has received far less attention. Who are these people leading if each person within an organization is being trained to be a leader? The word follower has negative connotations, evoking the images of a weak, uncreative, milquetoast personality. However, Jimmy Collins, in his book, “Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness”, suggests that the ability to be led brings as much creativity, consciousness, and indeed leadership to an organization or team as the leader himself. Great followership is a reflection of great leadership. In this, the follower is just as important as the leader in the relationship. Many great leaders have asserted that a leader with even a modicum of understanding of what drives their subordinates can take their organization to previously undreamt-of heights in creativity and productivity. Collins does not disabuse us of this notion, he does however add that the follower is indispensable agent in this interplay between leader and follower.
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
This discussion will focus on leadership as described by Robert Dees in The Resilience Trilogy, Resilient Leaders text. The points made in the book can be personally related. The three most important concepts learned from chapter 1 and 2 are tribulation, risk management, and selflessness. It is crucial for anyone is seeking to delve into leadership that everything will not happen as planned all the time. After a leader experience failure, knowing the avenues to take to regain a solid footing is also key to successful leadership. Often leaders who are unaware of available resources fold and give up. In the military profession, when someone gets knock down they get up brush themselves off and get back in the fight.
Twain, Mark. “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Concise Anthology of American Literature. Ed. George McMichael, James Leonard, 7th ed. New York City: Pearson, 2011. 1187- 1365. Print
... a method of escape, but instead chose to explore and exploit the reaches of the jungle abyss. They came away with fame and recognition, even wealth--everything they were after and more. The whole purpose of the expedition was for Professor Challenger to save face and prove his story to be true; the three others were along for the ride but were soon caught up in the action as well. Science took the back seat to Lord Roxton and his adventurous spirit. With courage and bravery the men proved themselves to each other and experienced true "male bonding" in its purest form. They brought back evidence of this zoological and scientific breakthrough, but more importantly, it seems, they bolstered their egos and self-assurances of their own worth and capability.