Shackleton’s Successful Failure: Lessons for the Academy

Abstract

Leadership is many things. It is fun, exciting, rewarding, and oftentimes, it can be challenging. Those challenges, especially within higher education and pharmacy, have been well documented and the turbulent times are likely to continue. It is therefore important to consider how leaders learn to lead. Within this article, the authors explore learning leadership and applying the leadership principles of a leader who led what can best be defined as a successful failure, Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance expedition to the South Pole. The well-documented journey of the Endurance did not meet its goals but instead endured a nearly 2-year odyssey during which survival was the goal. The success was measured in that not a soul was lost during this 2-year period. The success of the Endurance measured by the return of the entire crew has been linked to the leadership of Ernest Shackleton and his approaches to leadership as relates to his attributes, work with individuals, and work on the culture of the crew. The leadership lessons from Shackleton can provide useful insights toward successful leadership in contemporary higher and pharmacy education.