Epilogue: What Makes an Exceptional Leader? 191 They could not. One member died a month later after sinking into a coma.The next month, a second man--Titus Oates--stepped out into a blizzard never to return. Suffering from severe frostbite, Oates apparently sacrificed his life rather than continue to delay his comrades. On March 19, a blizzard again enveloped the surviving three mem- bers of the polar party. Imprisoned just over eleven miles from One Ton Depot, they had enough food for only two days. Scott's last entry on March 29 reads:"We shall stick it out to the end . . . and the end cannot be far . . . . For God's sake look after our people." 3 Eight months later, expedition survivors came upon the tent of the polar party.When Scott and his two companions were eventually found, their sledge had included thirty pounds of geological specimens. The weight of these specimens, confirming Scott's dedication to science, was not the principal cause of his tragic death. But the stones, although of scientific importance, symbolize the inherent contradiction of trying to finish a race while carrying rocks. Leadership Lessons from the Race to the Pole Fascination with the race continues to the present day. For most of the twentieth century, Scott was considered a heroic figure.Toward the end of the century, historians began to question his leadership. Instead of a hero, Scott was cast as a bungler whose errors in judgment had cost him not only the conquest of the Pole but also the lives of his men. Amund- sen, the winner of the race, has been criticized for his single-minded de- termination and perceived duplicity in "stealing the prize." And Shackleton, who had turned back on his 1909 attempt at the Pole, was at- tacked as being unpatriotic: His failure to sacrifice his life, and the lives of his men, enabled a foreigner to win the race.Yet he went on to dis- tinguish himself as an extraordinary leader, bringing every man home alive after 634 days of unbelievable hardship. Of the three, is there a single, best leader? And what, then, are the fundamental leadership lessons we can draw from their adventures of the Frozen Edge? American Management Association · www.amanet.org