How have Antarctic explorers from the heroic age shaped our understanding of leadership, and what links can be drawn between the historical accounts relating to Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen and more recent Antarctic exploration, and the literature focused on strategies to develop our leaders today?

Abstract

In his 1977 critique of the heroic role of Scott in the British consciousness and character, David Thomson highlighted how late Edwardian values and education were a poor preparation for Antarctic adventure. In comparison Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian who virtually grew up on skis, trained for the mission in conditions similar to the Antarctic environment, and employed an unsentimental approach to using dog teams to reach the pole (Thompson, 2002). Accounts of Ernest Shackleton's unsuccessful attempt to cross the continent also provided fascinating insights into the values and approach to leadership in the Antarctic at the time (Alexander, 1998). The highly practical and scientific approach to preparing and leading groups used by Amundsen and Shackleton are still relevant today (Perkins, Holtman & Murphy, 2012)