JOHN ADAIR

John Adair

John Adair

Task 1: Report

Background John Adair

John Adair was born on January 9, 1757, Chester Country in South Carolina. He was the son of Scottish immigrants Mary (Moore) Adair and Baron Williams. He received his early education in Charlotte, North Carolina and he joined South Carolina military when the American Revolutionary War broke out. Adair was an American pioneer, statesman and a soldier (Adair, 1983, p. n.d).

He became the 8th Governor of Kentucky and represented his position in the US House and Senate. Adair after joining military served in Revolutionary War during which he was held as a prisoner of war. After the war, he was elected as a delegate to South Carolina's convention to sanction the US Constitution. He was one of the world greatest leadership authorities and provided his views about leadership development. Many managers have taken an active part in the Action Centered Leadership program which was started by him.

His Model

Action Leadership Model

John Adair developed his Action Centered Leadership Model which was followed by observations of many leaders and their followers of that time. Adair captured his model in the form of three circular diagrams in which the circles were overlapped (Schneider, Barsoux, 2003, p. nd). The three overlapping circles denote that every function was interrelated. The individuals make up teams, these teams/individuals complete their tasks which cannot be completed without a proper team. If one element is weak, it would affect the other elements and performance of completing a task. Adair further states that leader should concentrate on:

Completion of task

Creating a team and sustaining to work together

Developing individuals within the team (Individual Development)

Adair further stated that these objectives can be achieved through actions which are referred to as leadership functions. The tasks should be defined so as goals and objectives are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Constrained).

There should be regular feedback received from the teams so that the progress of the team can be monitored and team should also be aware of the tasks. Team briefings are healthy for a team and they help in motivating the team.

Motivating: Motivation is the main function of leadership as the efficient and successful task completion is dependent on the teams which are motivated.

Organizing: It is necessary that the leader should organize the team and tasks such that the efficiency of the leaders should not be compromised and the team should be effective.

Planning: The tasks should be planned so that the objectives are clear to the leader and the team along with the individual responsibilities and timescales. Planning also includes facing the unforeseen circumstances and preparing to face them (Grint, 1997, p. nd).

Lead by example: If as leader is unable to lead by example than he is not considered credible and influential. If the team does not has confidence on its leaders than it can lose focus and motivation.

A leader should continuously evaluate the objectives before and after the events. The performance should be evaluated and training should be provided to ...