Shackleton’s Call: How Honesty, Challenge, and Grit Inspire True Teams
“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.”
This is the advertisement that legendary explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton, purportedly posted in a London paper in 1914 to recruit a crew for his expedition to Antarctica.
Not exactly enticing – and yet Shackleton received over 5000 applications.
The advertisement proved later to be an understatement. Shackelton’s crew withstood extreme hardships, and the voyage today is considered one of the greatest survival stories in the history of exploration.
Three things to note:
- If you have a tough mission to accomplish, don’t sugarcoat it. Tell it as it is. Your team will self-select and that’s exactly what you want.
- Financial rewards are important, but when it comes to the toughest challenges, they are not the most powerful motivator.
- Humans have remarkable, untapped reservoirs of resourcefulness and endurance, and we love to rise to a challenge.
Never underestimate the potential of your team.