ARTICLES
How a Trip to Antarctica Became aReal-life Experiment in Decision-making (continued)
The following morning we cruised across Crystal Sound in
zodiac inflatable boats while pods of orcas criss-crossed the
bay in search of prey. Our disappointment at not having reached
Rothera evaporated as we laughed and scrambled with our
cameras among icebergs.
nerve would hold. The tension on the bridge was palpable. Whilst
our safety was never in question, we did come dangerously close
to becoming a stuck ship, and the object of a recovery operation.
Recognising the power of nature as we eventually broke free
of ice the following afternoon, we stood on the deck enjoying
metaphors about breaking glass ceilings. This was undoubtedly
the most adventurous moment of our voyage.
Lots of hands up in the voting with closed eyes. Oli Samson,
Author provided
The options re-route with risk of vomiting, or stay in calm
waters_ Rachelle Balez, Author provided
Leadership Lessons
Our journey offered many opportunities for reflection and learning.
Over the three days that our story unfolded, we talked over the
dinner table, in small groups, as a collective group and even
work-shopped the event, looking for meaning in the twists and
turns of what happened.
Upon returning to the ship, our captain and expedition leader let
us know that the swell had died down. Conditions were good to
head around the outside of Adelaide Island to Rothera after all,
and the ship was leaving imminently. We whooped for joy and
wound our way south.
Although the majority of women in the room had voted to continue
south to Rothera, enough people expressed discomfort with the
idea to trigger our organisational “faculty” team to change the
plan.
The visit to Rothera was a success. As we left the station a nearby
icebreaker reported that a change in wind direction meant The
Gullet was clearing of icebergs. It was now possible to use the
strengthened hull of our ship to cut a path back north for the
return voyage, revisiting the moving sheets of sea ice that had
prevented our passage from the other direction.
Informed versus participatory decision making
Our first lesson highlights the difference between informed and
participatory decision-making. While the former accounts for the
views of a group of people, the latter is far more like a typical
democracy, and it depends on those views.
The next 12 hours were spent slowly zig-zagging forward across
a mosaic of sea ice interspersed with slushy, fragmented “frazzle”
ice crystals. These crystals were a tell-tale sign that the ice was
on the verge of freezing solid.
Some decision-making tools, for example, the Myers
Z-tool, weigh the needs of individuals against those
collective group. Conventionally, if 35% of people are
about an action, their needs must be accounted for
moving forward.
With each small amount of headway made we saw the ice close in
quickly behind us, wondering for how much longer our captain’s
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 67 NO 3
Briggs
of the
unsure
before