Action Centered Leadership

Action Centered Leadership is a model developed by John Adair and focuses on the three responsibilities of a leader which are achieving the task, managing the team, and managing individuals. All these action elements are mutually dependent and important for any leader.

John Eric Adair is a British leadership theorist and author of more than forty books. His “Action Centered Leadership Model” is based on “Functional leadership theory” and used for many leadership learning courses. Adair's ideas became quite popular because they challenged the traits and great man theories of leadership and they were very practical and relevant for managers to experiment and implement across a variety of working environments.

Principles of Functional Theory

The functional theory addresses specific leader behaviors that are expected to contribute most to the organizational effectiveness by focusing on how the leadership process occurs. The leader should ensure that all needs of the group get addressed.

Functional leadership theory was given by Hackman & Walton, 1986; McGrath, 1962
Addresses specific leader behaviors that contribute to organizational effectiveness
Leadership rests on a set of behaviors by the group that gets things done
Believes that the leader's main job is to provide for group needs
The leader is effective if contributes to group effectiveness and cohesion
Any member of the group can perform these set of behaviors

Action-Centered Leadership Model

Model of Action-Centered Leadership is developed by focusing on what leaders do and is based on the following principles:

The task can only be performed by the team rather than any one person/leader
The team will excel only when all members are fully developed
The members must be motivated and need to challenge the task
Leadership can be taught; if one person can do something, then others can also learn to do it

Adair’s action model can be represented by Adair’s three circles diagram {Three circles are a trademark belonging to John Adair}, which illustrates his three core management responsibilities. Each of these three elements plays an important role in the leadership, and only when all three are balanced properly, the leader is going to be successful and effective:

1. Achieving the task: Task is the foundation that creates the need for leadership. Without the task, there is no need for any leadership. Every leadership role is developed because there is a goal in mind, and someone needs to be in charge of directing the team toward that goal.

2. Managing the team or group: To achieve tasks, the team is essential. The team is made up of individuals having different skills and experiences, and they collectively contribute to the business goal. A leader’s key responsibility is to motivate the team members to put in their best for the best possible performance towards completing the task.

3. Managing/Empowering individuals: The leader is responsible for each individual employee, his progress, and development. Forgetting about individuals as humans and treating them only as a resource that must do what is best for the organization is a big leadership mistake. Extracting the best effort from each person on the team requires treating them with trust and respect as individuals that they are. Each individual needs recognition by means of salary, fun, and challenging work and responsibility.

The eight functions of leadership

John Adair prescribed the following key functions for team leaders and says they are important to the Action Centered Leadership model:

Defining the task: Set clear objectives through SMART goals
Planning: Seeking information, defining tasks after looking at alternates
Initiating - Briefing the team and task allocation
Controlling: Getting maximum results from minimum resources
Evaluating: Assessment of performance and ways to improve
Motivating: Rewards and incentives
Organizing: Time management, personal development, and delegation
Setting an example: Do what I do

What is Adair's Action Centered leadership model?

Adair’s action model can be represented by Adair’s three circles diagram, which illustrates his three core management responsibilities. A leader’s main responsibilities are to complete the task by managing individuals and groups. It provides an integrated approach to managing and leading the groups.

What is John Adair's theory?

Action Centered Leadership theory is proposed by John Adair and became very popular due to its simplicity. Understanding the interplay of task, team, and Individual and focusing on these elements a leader can achieve success and effectiveness.

What is functional and action Centered leadership?

“Action Centered Leadership Model” is based on “Functional leadership theory” and used for many leadership learning courses. The functional theory addresses specific leader behaviors that are expected to contribute most to the organizational effectiveness by focusing on how the leadership process occurs. The leader should ensure that all needs of the group get addressed. It provides an integrated approach to managing and leading the groups. A leader must focus on task completion by managing individuals and groups.

What type of leadership relates to the needs of the task team and individual?

Action Centered leadership relates to the needs of the task team and individual. According to the action theory by John Adair, leadership doesn’t depend on a person’s characteristics but is something that can be learned. Action Centered Leadership model is easy to apply and to maintain. Leaders must be able to focus on the basic elements of team development, increasing productivity, improving work quality, and achieving strong results.