10 Reasons We’re Excited About the Future

Sometimes, leading a creative team can feel a lot like navigating uncharted waters—constantly adapting, keeping morale high, and steering through unexpected challenges. Few people understood this better than Sir Ernest Shackleton, the legendary Antarctic explorer who led his crew through one of history’s most harrowing survival stories.

Trapped in Antarctic ice for nearly two years after their ship, Endurance, was crushed, Shackleton kept his team motivated, cohesive, and ultimately alive against impossible odds. His leadership wasn’t just about survival—it was about resilience, vision, and an unshakable commitment to his people—qualities every creative leader needs when navigating deadlines, client demands, and the ever-shifting industry landscape.

In Shackleton’s Way, authors Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell break down the legendary explorer’s leadership style, revealing timeless strategies for resilience, team building, and crisis management. In the conversation ahead, Michelle Berryman, Hero’s Executive Creative Director, and David Molanphy, Group Creative Director for Design, swap insights on how Shackleton’s leadership style can help creative leaders navigate the everyday chaos of agency life.

1). Shackleton was basically the ultimate creative director—guiding a team of wildly different personalities through the world’s worst offsite, with zero briefs and a whole lot of ice. How would you sum up his leadership style?

Michelle: I appreciate how measured Shackleton was in his hiring decisions, looking for expertise, diversity of perspectives, personality, and strength of character. Even if everything went exactly to plan, this journey would have been long and difficult, but Antarctic exploration was never predictable. He needed a team able to rally around challenges, solve problems, and be flexible in critical moments. He didn’t staff Endurance based on the super precise roles needed for the mission—he built a high-functioning team.

David: What strikes me about Shackleton’s approach to leadership is that he leads with empathy and trust. Rather than asserting himself as an authoritarian figure, he earns his team’s respect by giving them the autonomy to make decisions (and mistakes), while making his expectations clear on the outcomes he is hoping to achieve.

2). Shackleton knew how to inspire loyalty—his crew stuck with him through a literal shipwreck. What do you think today’s creative leaders get wrong about earning that kind of trust from their teams?

Michelle: Shackleton was radically accountable to everyone for everything. He didn’t deflect or side-step responsibility, nor did he make excuses. He also didn’t panic. Once Endurance was crushed by the ice, he changed the mission and its focus, but he continued to lead by working side by side with his men and getting his own hands dirty. This type of leading by example inspires respect and appreciation.

Too often, creative directors let themselves get pulled in too many directions and they lose focus on the work. They fail to see when the team is in pain, and they miss the opportunity to cheer in the right moments. When we don’t share in the sweat equity, it’s a loss for us and our teams.

David: On more than one occasion, I have received feedback from other CDs and superiors that I should “assert more authority” or “be meaner” during critiques, but that always felt wrong to me. I would rather earn people’s respect than demand it. I think Shackleton was the same way.

Leading by example and modeling the right behavior is more important than anything I could possibly say.

3). Every creative leader has to deal with a “ship stuck in the ice” moment, when a project goes completely sideways and you need to rally the team together. What’s one lesson you learned from Shackleton that you’ll apply to the next creative crisis?

David: Get to work. Shackleton’s crew always remarked that he was right next to them when the work needed to be done. He would scrub the deck right alongside the rest of them. When something’s going wrong and we’re “stuck in the ice” with creative work, there’s nothing more important (in my opinion), than rolling up my sleeves and working right alongside my team to find a solution.

Michelle: I think David really nails it with his response. The one thing I’ll add is that Shackleton was very intentional about isolating negative attitudes before they could impact the larger group. He gave the negative attitudes a way to express themselves without causing more harm. That’s a key insight.

4). Shackleton selected his crew as much for their personalities as their skills. If you had to assemble your own “Creative Endurance Team,” what three qualities are must-haves?

Michelle: I always look for people who are inherently curious, industrious, and open-minded. These are qualities that allow solutions to come from anywhere. I want people who embrace the art of the possible and are willing to consider unorthodox answers.

David: Attitude, work ethic, and a willingness to embrace the uncomfortable. It doesn’t matter if you’re the most talented designer or have the most experience doing this or that—if your attitude sucks, and you can’t be bothered to work with the team, then I don’t need you. The team will do great work, and it may take us longer to get there without you, but we’ll be better off in the end.

5). Part of Shackleton’s leadership style was making people believe in something bigger than themselves. What’s the equivalent in our industry? Is there a “greater mission” you use to keep your teams focused?

Michelle: We all want our work to matter. We’re designers, not fine artists. Our passion and creativity come from a similar place, but our outcomes are purposefully different. For our work to matter, we have to be laser focused on how our work will impact the people who engage with it. Will we make their lives better, easier, more comfortable, more fulfilling? If we aren’t thinking about our work in that way, we’ve already failed.

David: I don’t know that there’s a “greater mission” that I’m chasing beyond doing great work for great brands and good people. We always want to push ourselves to do the best work, but “the best” may look different depending on the context. The best work doesn’t have to be “sexy” or “cool”—sometimes the best work just has to work hard to accomplish a need. If I can make my team believe in something bigger, I would encourage them to believe in themselves and push to deliver something they’re genuinely proud of.