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1. What motivational forces and factors can you see in this case study?

The biggest motivation factor for the protagonist and his friends to undertake The Hellespont
swim was its reputation of being a difficult, rare and almost impossible act. The whole swim
thing had great mythological stories attached to it and the belief that it was swimmable by
Gods only added to their conviction to do the same. The protagonist said about it on
numerous occasions and had a strong desire of doing it himself. The fact that Byron, who
was club footed due to a physical deficiency, was able to do it in his second attempt, pushed
them even more. Also they were not professional swimmers and by doing this they wanted
to enter this elite club of few people. They might have thought that being the amateur
swimmers, if they are able to do this, the achievement will be even more glorified.
Later in the case study, once they committed to it by depositing the amount, they never
looked back. They started giving it their best and practiced it to their capabilities. Once they
reached the Cannakale, their organiser Huseyin made it into a big event and informed it to
the media. The fact that media will be covering their swim and a lot of people will come to
know about their success or failure made them even more determined. His comment that
failure would not be private clearly reflects that they were committed to do it by all means.

2. What motivational theories and concepts are illustrated in the account - for
example, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, McGregor's X-Y Theory, Herzberg, any
other that you can think of . . . . etc.?
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Maslow divided the needs in a five level hierarchy being
Physiological Needs, Safety Needs, Social Needs, Esteem Needs & Needs for Selfactualization. Here in case study of protagonist, the first 3 needs seems to have been
already met and the whole purpose of taking the swim challenge is to satisfy their Esteem
need and Self-actualization need. The sole intent to undertake the swim was to fulfill their
need for status, fame, glory, recognition, attention, reputation, appreciation etc. They,
especially protagonist wanted to do something great for him-self and wanted to test him-self
to the maximum by doing something very difficult.
McGregor's X-Y Theory While analysing the case study, inferences can be drawn from
Theory Y of McGregors X-Y theory. The protagonist after setting the goal to swim Europe
Asia channel didnt dictate the method and preparation of Steve and David even though all
three were integrated towards one common goal and participated in the preparations
together. The fact that Steve practiced and implemented the Front crawl rather than Breast

stroke which was used by the Protagonist and David, clearly indicates the freedom they
enjoyed working on a common goal.
Lockes Goal-Setting Theory As stated in the Lockes goal setting theory, the protagonist
and his friends set a specific and particularly a difficult goal for themselves. They were selfmotivated and reputation of being a rare event drove them to its completion. They faced
several challenges related to the paperwork, their physical condition, shortage of time and
adverse weather and water conditions but the difficulty of the job motivated them.
The public knowledge of their goals also ensured that they were always focused on the
success and this increased their overall commitment.
Banduras Self-Efficacy Theory Similar to the goal setting theory, this theory is also
illustrated as the protagonist had a lot of confidence on himself and never thought twice once
he committed himself to the task. They also practiced hard and tried to prepare themselves
for the challenge.
3. What can you say about the story from the varied traits that Leaders are
purported to possess - perspectives of teamwork, team-building,
communications, planning and preparation, capability and potential, targets
and goals, inspiration and role-models, skills/knowledge/attitude factors,
humour and fun, project management, encouragement and coaching, project
support, achievement and recognition, evaluation and measurement?

Communications: Communication was not done in the best possible manner. The
mode and timing could have been better. In this case, there was only verbal
communication between the 3 characters that too under the influence of alcohol
where they all decided & agreed to swim the Hellespont.

Planning & Preparation: As they didnt have any experience of swimming, they took
trainings in the municipal pools, got the paperwork done for getting the entry to do
Hellespont swim. This involved a lot of planning & preparation for the swim. However,
the time spent on the overall planning and practice could have been better.

Capability & Potential: They were very much sure of their potential keeping in view
that if Lord Bryon can do it we can also make it. At the end they were able to do it by
keeping themselves motivated.

Inspiration & role model- Legend of Hero & Leander inspired Lord Bryon which in
turn was an inspiration for these 3 friends. Also, their quest for unmatched glory was
also a major contributor to their achievement.

Skills/knowledge & attitude factors: They had a very positive attitude towards
attainment of their goal & they took trainings & vitamin pills to keep them fit &
accomplish their goal. In my opinion, their determination was the biggest factor which
helped them overcome all struggles.

Humor & fun-There was a lot of humor involved as Steve who was extremely fat
with bad eating habits even managed the swim & 3 of them decided for the swim
while having bottle of wine. Fun after completing the race as they celebrated their
success having a brandy in the memory of Leander. Also, Davids foot-in-mouth
comment to the Turkish media was a humorous moment of the case.

Project management- From project management perspective, the entire project


from starting till the end was managed efficiently. Getting the paper work done,
mapping the route to the participants, arranging for Fitness vitamin pills, calling the
press for the event involved project management.

Encouragement & coaching-As already mentioned earlier they took coaching in


municipal pools to be ready to swim in the Hellespont. They also found an
unconventional coach & guide in Huseyin who took care of all the relevant details.

Achievement & recognition-After all 3 of them managed to complete the Hellespont swim
they became popular in the Turkish TV as they managed to complete the swim which was
supposed to completed by those who are supposed to be Gods. They felt proud on
themselves and basked in the glory together.
4. What aspects of the experience could have been improved or done differently
and why?
Training and Preparation These is one area where they could have done much better.
The time they spent on planning and training was way less than required.

First of all, they should have planned it with some time in hand. Any successful
project requires adequate planning and defined timelines instead they took the
decision under the impression of alcohol and rushed into everything

Secondly, since they were short on time they didnt practice well. For a swim in a
commercial sea lane they practiced in municipal pools which are by no means
comparable. Also their bodies were not in shape for such physical activity still they
ventured into it. They were unprepared and in a way endangered their lives to
complete this goal.

Thirdly, they could have researched some more. They were aware that Byron did
this in his second attempt but still did not try to find out why he failed for the first time.
Byron, as told, used breast stroke technique and that might be the reason for is first
time failure. If they had, they might have found this and might have practiced the
Front crawl throughout. This might have made their achievement even more glorified
as the time taken would have reduced substantially.

5. What other aspects of personal motivation and achievement can you see in the
story?

Having clear vision of goal is a great motivation Having clarity of goals, strategy
and vision helps in achieving the target more efficiently. In the story, when our
protagonist was swimming without anything in sight except water he felt dejected. He
was not aware, how much distance he has covered, whether he is going in right
direction or not, whether his team is fine or not, whether he will be able to complete it
or not etc. He started doubting his skill and strategy. He felt tired. But as soon as he
heard a shout from the boat, saw the hills and got the other hints that he is near the
target, he felt rejuvenated. His strength came back. He was able put even more
effort. When he saw Steve being welcomed like a star he got even more motivated
and completed the remaining stretch with great efficiency.

Never give up The biggest motivation in the story is having a Never Say Die
attitude. Despite facing lots of hardships and struggles they continued their quest for
glory. They were unprepared, they were not fit enough for such strength seeking
activity, the swim conditions, temperature were on adverse side, they felt exhausted
and tired during the swim but still somehow they managed to keep their head calm
and motivation level up to complete this achievement of lifetime.

Team work They displayed tremendous team spirit and team work while preparing
for the challenge. Once the protagonist decided and committed to do it, nobody from
the team backed out. Everybody supported each other during the whole activity.
During the swim also, they were appreciative of each other and our protagonist
praised the Steves decision to front crawl and also was immediate to admit his
mistake of not doing the same without any ego or false attitude.

Even followers can out-show the leaders Even though our protagonist was an
emergent leader and showed good managing & leadership skills but it was Steve
who was able to complete the swim first. He turned out to be the Dark horse. Despite

being the least fit for the swim he came out as a winner. This proves that it is not
necessary that the leader is always the best performer of the pack. It can be his
follower also. If that is the case, a good leader will always appreciate this and
motivate his follower to achieve even more.

6. How might lessons and examples within this story be transferred to yourself,
to employees and organizations?
There were many lessons to learn from this story which can be transferred to our
lives. Some of them are

Being determined is very important. If we are determined to achieve


something, we will be successful despite the struggles and problems.

Motivation to achieve something is key to any success. Without the right


motivation, even the capable will not be able to perform to its capabilities and
with right motivation even the average skill set can achieve great success.

Clearly defined goals and performance measuring milestones help a great


deal in conquering the targets.

Appreciation and support of others are critical for the motivation level of an
individual.

There are no targets which are unachievable. With right focus, planning,
execution and motivation, everything is possible.

Team work is a critical area. When a team works together and moves towards
a common goal, they give better results. Success and mistakes of each other
becomes great learnings for the entire team.

Fear of failure can also be a motivation if channelized properly.

Difficulty of goal is not a hindrance in achieving it. If taken positively it


motivates you to give your best.

Proper planning is very important for any goal setting. This helps in simulating
all possible scenarios and provides better efficiency in results.

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