Wharton Journal

Issue date: 1/22/07 Section: News

Antarctica is one of the world's harshest regions and has tested the mettle of some of the bravest of men in history, including Ernest Shackleton and Roald Amundsen. These men went in search of fame, fortune, and adventure and in the process left us with fantastic tales of survival, glory, and perhaps most important for the thirty Wharton
students heading to King George Island just off the Antarctic continent, leadership. Unlike Shackleton's men, we were all willing
participants in an expedition designed to invoke leadership through uncertainty. He needed to find his team and placed the following advertisement in an English paper while recruiting for his expedition:
"Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in the case of success."

Fortunately for us Wharton students, we all expected to return safe and sound and because our trip took place during the summer
months, we were anticipating nothing but sunlight. However I think a small part of each of us was secretly hoping for some danger and hazard and of course honor and recognition - I mean how many people can say they've been to Antarctica and slept on the same beach as penguins and seals. In point of fact, we did encounter, if even in our own small personal way, challenges that made some days seem bitter cold or as though we had embarked on a dangerous journey. But it is these experiences and obstacles overcome that will allow us all to gain acknowledgment, sometimes as internal recognition and sometimes as recognition from others.

I think all of the participants learned something personal about themselves on this venture but I hope to convey some of the broader lessons learned through our adventure. The first of these is that followership is often as important as, if not more so than, leadership. On many occasions during the trip, the leaders of the day had to rely on those around them to complete the mission of the day, whether summiting the glacier or finding our way to four random GPS coordinates or getting all 30 people back to the airfield to catch our flight home. In each of these situations, effective followers emerged. According to Robert Kelly, professor at Carnegie Mellon's Graduate School of Industrial Administration, an effective follower is an independent thinker who completes tasks with energy and assertiveness.

This dynamic allowed the leaders of the day to focus on changing weather conditions, progress of the team, and think more strategically about next steps. Being an effective follower is more than saying yes and following orders; it's about committing to the goal and developing a trust with the rest of the group. Too often, everyone wants to be the leader, to be in charge, but often a team of followers can accomplish more than a team of leaders.

Continued...

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