RIGHT Blogs                                                              

Who is your mentor?

My mentor is Ernest Shackleton.  His story always inspires me.  Here is a quick recount (from SAS Airline's August, 2001 Highlife Magazine):

In August 1914, Shackleton and his 27 member crew set sail aboard the Endurance, bound for Antarctica. But in the treacherous waters of the Weddell Sea, their ship became trapped in the ice pack. For the next ten months they waited for the ice to break. It didn't. Instead, it crushed the ship in its floes, leaving the men shipwrecked 1,200 miles from civilization.

Stranded on the ice, the men endured the worse conditions. Temperatures so cold, they could hear the water freeze. The cold was so severe it froze their clothes and their sleeping bags solid. Their tents were so frail, they weren't even waterproof. They suffered frostbite, even having to perform an operation to cut off one crew member's toes. The winters were perpetually dark, while the summer months the men awoke every morning in pools of cold water as the ice melted around them. They existed on a daily diet of penguin - so long as they were able to catch them - which left them weak and malnourished.

Eventually, when the ice began to break up beneath them, they were forced to take to their three small lifeboats and survive on the sea - which they did for four months. They ran into a frightening storm and had to fight for their lives for almost a week, close to death with 50ft waves crashing onto the boats. They finally reached the promised land of Elephant Island only to find it completely inhospitable. The crew spent the next few months living under two upturned lifeboats.

Finally, Shackleton and five of his men set off in one of the patched-up lifeboats and sailed 800 miles over impossibly stormy seas in an attempt to reach a whaling station in South Georgia. By some miracle they made it, only to find they still had to cross a mountain range before arriving at the station. Incredibly, they managed that, too. Shackleton then returned to Elephant Island and rescued the rest of the crew. Amazingly, every one of them survived.

What made Shackleton such an effective leader?  There is a tremendous list of characteristics I could list off, but here are my top three:

1)   Shackleton was a role model.  He led by example and created trust among his team.  He treated them as equals, and if there was any demonstration of hierarchy, it was that Shackleton and the officers took second fiddle to the crew when it came to making sure there were enough sleeping bags.  He never asked a man to do work that he would not have.

2) Shackleton was transparent in his leadership.  How else do you explain the following recruitment strategy?

A note on Shackleton's hiring: He knew that his crew had to be chosen not only for ability, but for their character, especially positive attitude. When he interviewed Reginald James, who became the expedition's physicist, he asked whether James could sing.

Shackleton has been quoted as saying, "When crisis strikes, immediately address your staff. Take charge of the situation, offer a plan of action, ask for support, and show absolute confidence in a positive outcome."

3)   Shackleton was optimistic.  Even when his boat was sunk at the bottom of the Antarctic and had the lives of 27 men in his hands, he was able to focus on finding the solution and also on encouraging positive morale to others.  He always encouraged cameradie through social activities.  When work was done everyone, including Shackleton, participated in card games, sing-alongs, soccer matches and dogsled races.  He was realistic about the gravity of the situation, but was able to believe he could overcome it.

At Alliance we strive to be champions of the same characteristics. Our fundamental core principles, called the Alliance RIGHTWay, includes recognition that what we do and how we do it are equally important.  To that end, we are at all times respectful, humble, caring, supportive and professional with our clients, partners and colleagues.  Since there is little that any one of us can accomplish alone, it is critical that we embrace team work.  In our teams, we act transparently; we value diversity of opinion, culture and talents; and we demand the highest ethical and professional standards of ourselves and our colleagues.  Our 'Caught Doing Right!' program rewards team members for anticipating and proactively working on customer needs, maximizing efficiency in the software development process, and providing excellent service.