The 1914 Trans-Antarctic Expedition: The World's Most Successful Failure

A doomed Antarctic expedition became one of history’s greatest successful failures. What profound principles can we learn on leadership, resilience and the definition of success?  

In 1914, Ernest Shackleton set out to achieve one of the outrageous goals of his time: a land crossing of Antarctica. (A continent larger than the United States or Australia!)

He failed spectacularly.

The ship, Endurance, never made it to the continent proper. It was trapped, crushed, and lost to the ice. The crew abord the Endurance barely made it home alive.

And yet, more than a century later, this expedition is revered as one of the greatest crisis leadership, teamwork and resilience under pressure stories in recorded history.

That paradox forces an important question for modern organizations: 

What if our definition of failure (or success) is incomplete?

Failure Is Not Something to Be Sought—But It Is Inevitable

To be clear, failure is not something to be celebrated.

It is costly, disruptive, and often painful.

In high-stakes environments — cybersecurity, finance, health care, critical infrastructure — failure should be avoided whenever possible.

But avoidance becomes dangerous when it turns into denial.

Shackleton did not plan to fail. But when failure arrived, he recognized it quickly and adapted decisively.

What mattered was not that the original plan collapsed — but how the team responded when it did.

Why Growth Is Often Shaped by Failure

In my home office, I keep a Post-it with the following message to myself: There is no growth in the comfort zone.

Therein lies the paradox at the heart of sustained growth: Success is measured in how we manage failure.

Failure is the scaffold upon which success can be built.  Nature proves this.

Muscles grow by tearing and rebuilding.
Bones strengthen under stress.
Ecosystems evolve and are shaped by failed adaptations.

Organizations are no different.

Sustained success rarely comes from uninterrupted wins. It comes from:

·         learning faster than your competition

·         adaptability under pressure

·         adjusting your course without losing sight of the goal

Failure, when confronted honestly and productively, becomes a source of resilience rather than fragility. 

The Danger of Making Failure Taboo

We often see that organizations send mixed signals.

They say “innovate” — but punish mistakes.

They say “speak up” — but reward silence.

They say “be risk-sensitive” — but grade performance solely on low risk scores

In such an environment, the unintended results are unclear accountability, delayed decisions, and buried risks.

These are the fissures that will eventually reveal themselves when under presssure. 

Pressure always finds the cracks.

The truth is: Fear paralyzes teams. Psychological safety liberates creativity and promotes growth.

What Does a “Successful” Organization Really Look Like?

Revenue matters.

Client satisfaction matters.

Operational performance matters.

But the Endurance story challenges us to ask a deeper question:

What happens when all of that is suddenly threatened?

A truly successful organization is not one that never experiences failure or that even thrives in calm conditions — but one that:

·         absorbs shock without fracturing

·         adapts without losing direction

·         and preserves trust under stress

The enduring legacy of Endurance expedition is that success isn’t defined by avoiding failure, but by how an organization responds when failure arrives — which is exactly what we’ll explore next.

Next: We’ll look at how these lessons translate into a practical leadership framework — The Endurance Protocol — for teams facing disruption today.