"Now is the time to lead"

Those of you who regularly read my blog (thank you, by the way!) know that I am a huge fan of the Antarctic explorer, Ernest Shackleton (see, for example, previous posts "The Last Voyage of the Endurance", "To the Edges of the Earth...", and most recently "A tale of two leaders").  Briefly, Shackleton was an Irish explorer who made several trips to the continent of Antarctica, including a trip with the British explorer, Robert Scott from 1901-1904 (the so-called Discovery Expedition), his own Nimrod Expedition of 1907-1909, at which time he and his three companions established a new "Farthest South" record at 88°S latitude (just 97 miles from the South Pole), and his ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition from 1914-1917, which he is perhaps most famous for now.

It was on Shackleton's last voyage that his ship, Endurance, became trapped in pack ice and was slowly crushed.  He and his crew camped and walked across sea ice and launched their three lifeboats to ultimately reach Elephant Island, at which time Shackleton and a few companions traveled in one of the remaining lifeboats to South Georgia Island to seek help.  The rest of the crew were rescued successfully.  It is one of the greatest tales of heroism from the Age of Exploration, and Shackleton is one of the best examples of the kind of leadership that is needed during a crisis.  Incidentally, Shackleton made one last trip to Antarctica in 1921, but he died of a heart attack while his ship was at South Georgia Island.

On one of his darkest days, on the morning of April 11, 1916, Shackleton was preparing to leave the pack ice with his men in their lifeboats (Dudley Docker, Sir James Caird, and Stancomb Wills) on their desperate attempt to reach Elephant Island.  Shackleton recalled, "It was a day that seemed likely to lead to no more days.  I do not think I had ever before felt the anxiety that belongs to leadership quite so keenly."  Simply put, Shackleton was scared and nervous.

Shackleton had personally recruited each and every man that was on the expedition.  Recall that the recruitment advertisement that he used before the voyage stated as follows (although, to be completely transparent, no such advertisement has ever been found):

"Men wanted for Hazardous journey.  Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger.  Safe return doubtful.  Honor and recognition in case of success."

Having personally recruited his men, Shackleton felt directly responsible for their well-being and for their survival.  In other words, he, as the leader, was taking full responsibility and accountability for what was about to happen.  That point, better than any other statement, truly explains the "anxiety that belongs to leadership" and the "loneliness of leadership" that so many leaders during crisis situations report and describe.  As the English playwright, William Shakespeare famously wrote in his play, Henry IV, "Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown."

Loneliness.  Anxiety.  All leaders feel them during the best of times and even more so during the worst of times.  Crisis leadership is especially prone to the anxiety and loneliness of leadership.

The question is what can leaders do to stave off some of the anxiety and loneliness of leadership?  Here are some important considerations.

1. Leaders aren't alone in their feelings of loneliness.  It happens to all leaders - for example, the Harvard Business Review reported in 2012 that more than half of CEO's report being lonely in their roles as leaders.  Just search "loneliness of leadership" on Google - I just did and there are about 17,400,000 results!  Recognizing that all leaders can feel lonely, anxious, or scared, particularly during a crisis, is important.

2.  Being lonely isn't the same as being alone.  With the obvious exception of leaders who find themselves in a similar situation as Ernest Shackleton's experience, most leaders, even in a crisis, will have individuals who they can talk to for guidance, mentorship, and support.  Even if it's a fellow CEO or leader at a competitor, there are always other individuals who leaders can go to for support.

3.  Acknowledge loneliness and anxiety.  We all succumb to these feelings.  Acknowledge and recognize that no one is perfect.  Acknowledge and recognize that even leaders will make mistakes.  It's all okay.

We can't all be leaders like Ernest Shackleton. But if we proactively acknowledge and recognize that fact, we will be okay.  As Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, said in a commencement address to New York University on May 16, 2018:

"In every generation, leaders emerge because they one day awake to the realization that it's not up to someone else to fix this problem, or take up that cause.  It's up to them.  So now is the time to lead."

"Now is the time to lead."  Even if you are anxious, feeling lonely, or scared.  Lead.