Shackleton: Lessons from Nature

As mentioned in the previous post, the Shackleton expedition really forced me to review my leadership style, challenging me to directly confront the flaws in me that I have always pushed to the back of my mind (like feeling uncomfortable to speak my mind in fear of being 'wrong' or not having anyone agree with my opinion). Now, looking back with a slightly clearer mind, I've come to realize that during my past 3 years of being a (visible) leader in school (in the Senate and in LeAd) as well as a scholar, I had been under the impression that a person with such 'titles' was expected to always be right, without fail. I've always thought about these issues throughout the years, but I've never actually confronted them, and talked about my fears, flaws and weaknesses with other people (who, god forbid, might judge me), as I have done during Shackleton. 
This experience of thoroughly reviewing my notions of what it means to be a leader, to be an initiator, to be genuine and grounded, has made not only made me consciously change the way I lead, but also change how I am in class, taking the initiative to be in control of my own learning, where I am no longer so caught up about getting the "right answer". And I truly believe that one of the factors that helped me come to this realization was Nature. 

Image from patsiesmith.blogspot.com

For me, experiences whereby I immerse myself in nature have always left a deep impact on me, often bringing about the process of not just physical but self-discovery. While the natural worlds may at first seem very external to ourselves and detached from our lives, I've always felt that humans share an intimate relationship with nature, which is unfortunately not realized. 

Diverting a bit, I've had the greatest pleasure to hear my friend Becky share about her ceramics artworks, which were inspired by the natural environment. One of her lines that really caught my attention was when she said that; (in my own words)

so often, we talk about how human beings impact nature. 

But we rarely talk about the impact that nature has on us. 

I could not agree with her more. We always talk on and on about how humans are destroying the planet, how we are contributing to global warming , and how we must now save the planet because if we don’t come to her rescue, planet Earth will die. While I don’t say this as disrespect to the many various environmental groups that are doing genuine hard work with passion, I also strongly feel that we seem to have forgotten how our relationship with the natural environment is one that goes two ways, the most simple of relationships being how trees in nature serve provide us with the very oxygen that we need to survive. Just as we impact nature, nature impacts us – and in many positive ways too.

Relating this belief to my experience with our Shackleton expedition (as with similar experiences in other expeditions), I’ve found that expeditions, which seek to challenge us, not just in physically strenuous activity but also in terms of looking within ourselves and overcoming our fears (like fears of heights, like the 80metre rock we climbed), go hand in hand with the element of nature, be it the wilderness or the open sea, which also coaxes us to reflect upon the lives that we lead and the values, thoughts and ideologies that we live by. Expeditions and the Natural Environment go hand in hand and together, they really act as catalysts to reflect and review our lives, just as how I have examined and reviewed mine.

And this belief can be related to leadership too. I am a strong believer that in order to lead others, you have to first and foremost lead yourself. I remember having to pass by this primary school near my old HDB flat on my way to school when I was younger, and I looked up at their motto strung on banners and their walls that said “Putting others before yourself”, and everytime I walked past, I would shake my head and mutter to myself a response in disagreement. In a sense, I could say I live by the rules of every airplane safety video, when they instruct each passenger to put on their own oxygen mask first before helping their child. I’ve diverted a lot, but the point I would like to make is that while it is important for me to care for the wellbeing of other people, I first need to care for my own wellbeing. Once I can build a relationship with myself, can I then build relationships with other people.

Relating this point to nature, and how nature has the power to impact our lives, I believe, based on Shackleton and other past experiences, that connecting with nature helps me connect more with myself. In all these experiences, I always feel that I find myself when I am surrounded by nature. Maybe it’s because being surrounded by nothing but the open sea and sky gives me peace of mind, tranquility or just simply knowing that there are things bigger than myself, which as I always say, is a very humbling experience.  And I think that all these beliefs I have developed from my numerous expedition or nature experiences, from OSL/GPS Sumatra to Seribuat Kayaking to my ‘Green Beans’ CAS walks, and kayaking, sailing, snorkeling and scrambling during Shackleton, have shaped the kind of leader that I am now.

Being immersed in the natural environment has taught me that life is not linear, and there are no straight lines in nature. It has taught to how different types of living things are interconnected and share symbiotic relationships, and all these values from nature have slowly begun to shape the way I see leadership. I tend to be slightly more laid back as a leader, less controlling and perhaps more adaptable when new ideas and perspectives come in. I know that beyond the heavy workload of the IB and of being in the LeAd, or all the deadlines due, leadership to me at the end of the day, entails a system of (human) relationships, just like in nature, and I think that it is that belief of maintaining and nurturing my relationships with my peers and team members that makes me the kind of leader that I am today.