When I think of famous adventures and expeditions, it usually comes down to the triumph of a single name – Rannulph Fiennes, Robert Falcon Scott, Ernest Shackleton, John McDouall Stuart, Ludwich Leichardt, Sir Richard Francis Burton, the list goes on. Yet behind each name, behind each impressive character, is almost always a collaboration of co-adventurers, cause-champions, colleagues, bit players and supporters who have worked to prepare the stage and ensured the props are all ready at the right time.
No one person’s an island
That’s in no way meaning to play down the role of the lead character (can you tell we’ve been resourcing to Netflix for sanity during lockdown?) But it does highlight the importance of accepting that no person is an island and succeeds alone. It further inserts itself right into the daily folds of an expedition through the attitude you will always show in being able to work as part of a team.
In the Transglobal Expedition, Rannulph Fiennes got together a pretty vast group of people and somehow persuaded them to go without pay, for four whole, and no doubt very long, years. Amazingly, they also cajoled many others to give the expedition a swag of equipment with no promise of returns for nearly four years. Certain elements of the journey had to be timed to perfection, with certain people, goods, services and comms required at the right location at the right time. All the ducks had to be ordered with every collaborating party so that they could undertake their activities when the going was good. Especially difficult, as I am sure you can imagine, when you’re operating in the Artic and Antarctic.
Collaboration is key
A lot of the success of the expedition was because of amazing communication, excellent sharing of knowledge and skills, individual specialisations and goodwill, and trust that the others can and will follow through and do what they needed to do exactly when they needed to do it. Ginny, Rannulph’s wife, was the communications extraordinaire, and was a central cog in the expeditions, overcoming so many comms problems throughout the course of the expedition. Without her doing her bit for the team, or if every person did not recognise that her bit was so vital, the whole thing absolutely could not have been pulled off at all. And the same may be argued for several of the team members.
Highlighted through Rannulph’s account are, of course, examples of teamwork and collaboration, but also the ”just suck it up” attitudes accompanying those, of recognising the importance of others for one’s own survival. Yes, even when you have the mentality that noone else could do a certain job better than you could. And of recognising the need for others through all the planning, preparation and execution stages. And finally, of acknowledging each individual’s unique and ongoing importance in ensuring the clockwork runs smoothly and the bell tolls at midnight.
That’s what collaboration is. It’s everyone pulling together despite differences and despite difficulties – often because of them – Coronavirus case in point! Everyone must do their bit and play their part as if everyone else’s lives could depend on it, as it often does.
