He had disputes with members of his crew. McNish challenged his authority during the drift, asserting that the ship’s articles — the legal terms of their employment — no longer applied once the ship was abandoned. Shackleton did not lose his temper but he did not forget: when the Polar Medals were distributed after the expedition, McNish, along with several others, did not receive one. The dispute over the medals is itself evidence that the expedition was not a harmonious community but a group of people under enormous stress, with real conflicts, real grievances, and real grudges.
What Shackleton did consistently and well was make decisions. In a situation where indecision was itself lethal — where the wrong choice and no choice were equally dangerous — he assessed the available information, chose a course, and pursued it. When the crossing of the pack ice failed, he chose to abandon it and wait for drift. When the floe began to break up, he chose to launch the boats. When the boats reached Elephant Island and the situation was clearly unsustainable, he chose to attempt South Georgia. When the first attempt at rescue failed, he tried again. And again. And again.
The expedition accounts, assembled from diaries and later memoirs, show something else as well: he managed the psychological interior of the group with as much attention as he gave to the physical logistics. He reassigned men who were feuding. He made sure that the most pessimistic men — and there were some — were surrounded by others whose morale was steadier. He moved himself through the camp and talked to everyone, not in the performative way of a leader who wants to be seen, but in the genuine way of a person who was assessing and managing the well-being of his group as a primary duty.