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Action Centered Leadership

This lesson explains how to demonstrate leadership using an “Action Centered Approach.”
It pulls together what you have learned in a practical and easy to understand model.

You will learn about the three areas of “Action Centered Leadership” namely, Task, Team and
Individual, as well as the key functions that you will need to undertake to successfully achieve
the task, maintain the team, and develop the individual.

Lesson 5

What is Action Centered Leadership?

“Action Centered Leadership” is a practical approach to leadership which was developed by John Adair (1973). It is a particularly helpful leadership model as it combines both management and leadership activities into a simple and easy to understand framework. The model, seen below, is represented by three areas of overlapping circles; task, team and individual, which Adair states are the key elements present in every leadership situation.


Achieving the Task

Achieving the task is a primary leadership function which involves completing specific activities to ensure that the task/goal is achieved. This includes for example, clarifying goals, agreeing targets, creating plans, identifying and controlling resources, etc.


Maintaining the Team

As you are unable to do everything yourself, creating and managing a team to enable you to achieve the tasks/goals is a key function of leadership. The team will need to be understood and managed as an ‘entity in its own right.’ This will include for example, fostering the desired culture, managing conflict, encouraging teamwork and a collective sense of purpose, monitoring performance etc.


Developing Individuals

Individuals also have their own unique needs. These include physical needs of food and shelter (which are taken care of generally through the payment of wages) and psychological needs such as the need for job satisfaction, the need for recognition, the need for development and growth if they are going to remain engaged and motivated to achieve the task. This will include for example, delegating responsibility, (taking into account individual team members strengths and weaknesses), training and development, giving recognition and praise, providing coaching opportunities etc.


Being an Effective Leader

To be an effective leader, you should attend to the needs in all three areas, in a balanced way. This does not necessarily mean spending equal amounts of time in each area as the model appears to suggest. It requires that you spend appropriate time in each area depending on the situation, complexity of the task, maturity of the team etc. For example, some teams, particularly in the early stages of their development, may require you to spend extra time and effort providing direction and managing conflict.

As can be seen from the model, the three areas are interdependent so that performance in one area will influence performance in the other areas. For example, if tasks are achieved consistently and to a high standard, this will tend to build team spirit and at the individual level, people will feel good about themselves. Similarly, if there is conflict within the team (a failure of team maintenance) this will tend to have a negative impact on achieving the task, and individuals may feel demotivated and/or experience reduced job satisfaction.


How to use an Action Centered Approach


To achieve the task, maintain the team and develop the individual, Adair states that there are 8 important functions that you will need to undertake.


Define the task

To achieve the task, you will need to ensure that it is clearly defined (see SMART goals), and articulated in such a way that every team member understands their role and responsibility in helping the team to achieve its goals. This effectively means that as a leader you must:

  • Understand the purpose and broader aims of the organization
  • Communicate clearly defined departmental and individual tasks/goals (fig. 5)
  • Ensure mechanisms are in place to evaluate performance and provide feedback

SMART Goals


Planning

Planning is concerned with the actions that you need to take to achieve goals efficiently and effectively. Once the goals are identified, you will need to establish, what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, how it needs to be done and by whom.

You also need to bear in mind that the planning process may involve looking at a variety of ways to achieve the task as well as coordinating with other departments and senior leadership, so you may have to be flexible.

As a leader, you may also want to consider how you can involve your team, where appropriate, in the planning process. Remember that looking for opportunities to involve and develop your team is part of “Team Maintenance” and you are more likely to motivate the team and get their “buy in” if they are involved in the planning process.

You will of course need to consider factors such as the competence of your team, time constraints and the amount of control you are willing to hand over. Feeling that you are losing control can be very stressful and as you can see from the planning continuum below. The further right you go, the more control you will be handing over.

Although your concerns about handing some of the responsibility over to the team may be legitimate, it can be managed by providing clear information and guidelines, and setting up regular review meetings so that you can track what progress is being made, provide support and guidance to the team, and take corrective action in a timely way, if necessary.


Briefing

Team briefing is different to normal day to day communications in that it is a formal systematic process which ensures that everyone is provided with a mixture of information relevant to their department/roles as well as what is happening in the wider organization. Team briefing is usually done face to face, on a regular basis (weekly/monthly) for around 30 minutes.

Prior to briefing the team, it is imperative that you gather as many facts as possible. Team members will be expecting to be informed of what is happening and why it’s happening. If all the information is not readily available, then you will need to say so.

As with all good leaders, how you deliver the information is as important as the content of the message. Being open and honest and speaking with confidence and enthusiasm will help to create the right climate and foster a sense of belonging and trust.

Briefing the team (see sample briefing form below) is a two-way process and you will be expected to answer questions and address concerns in a relaxed informal way. Bear in mind also that briefing sessions are a good opportunity for you to work on all three areas of the circles. For example, you can meet some of the task needs by clarifying goals and giving direction. To address team maintenance, you can emphasize the importance of collaboration and supporting each other to achieve the required results. To meet the needs of individuals, you can listen to ideas and suggestions and thank those who have made contributions so far.

Sample Briefing Form


Controlling

Controlling is the process of putting standards in place to help you determine whether the team, and the other resources available to you, are being utilized in the most efficient and effective way. You will need to establish both quantitative standards (sales, costs, profit etc.) and qualitative standards (employee attitudes, motivation, behavior etc.) for measuring performance.

The next step is to then monitor performance against the agreed standards. For example, has there been a 10% increase in reservations over the last quarter? Have customer cancellations in the last quarter decreased by 80% following training on the new booking system? Has team morale improved following the introduction of the new shift system.

Finally, identify the performance gaps and explore options/changes that need to be made to close performance gaps.


Evaluating

Evaluating is the process of assessing whether progress is being made in all three circles which also includes organizational values and culture. For example, you will need to:

  • Ensure that the team is working collaboratively in a focused and energized way. Foster a climate of openness where people can feel comfortable asking questions, challenging the status quo, offering suggestions etc.
  • Talk as well as listen to individual team members? Spend time coaching and counselling, where appropriate?
  • Continuously monitor and review performance to ensure that the task/goal is being achieved and that quality standards are being maintained.

Motivating

As a leader, you should be concerned about the level of motivation in your team and what steps you can take to improve this (see lesson 4).


Organizing

This function deals with structuring raw materials, capital, and human resources in such a way that on a day to day basis things are running efficiently and effectively. It will involve introducing systems and procedures to reduce costs, avoid duplication, and coordinating work to achieve goals and reduce wastage across the organization.

Time management is also a key part of being organized and you will need to manage this valuable resource to improve your effectiveness as a leader. This may include for example; delegating routine tasks to enable you to deal with important matters that cannot be delegated such as providing feedback, undertaking appraisals etc.


Setting an Example

To be an effective leader (as discussed in the previous lessons) you need to “walk the talk.” The people you lead will always be observing your behavior and it is unlikely that they will have respect or be inspired by someone who sets high standards for others but not for themselves.

This will also mean adapting your style to deal with varying situations, for example; if your natural style is more "transformational" (lesson 2), and you have a strict deadline to meet for an important project proposal, you will need to adopt a more "authoritative" or "transactional" style to ensure that the deadline is not missed.



Activity

Using your pen and notepad, write down the three key elements of an action centered approach to leadership. Which area do you think you currently spend most of your time and which area(s) is being neglected?

What actions can you take to create a better balance?

Key Learning Points

  • Action Centered Leadership is concerned with balancing three key elements of leadership. These elements are: Achieving the Task, Maintaining the Team, and Developing the Individual.
  • The three circles are interdependent and performance in one area impacts on the performance in the other areas. For example, conflict in the team (a failure of team maintenance) will impact negatively on the achievement of the task and the level of job satisfaction that individuals experience.
  • Task needs refers to the job that needs to be done, Team needs refers to the level of collaboration and cohesion within the team, Individual needs is concerned with understanding what motivates people, their need for job satisfaction, growth, and development etc.
  • Functions that you need to undertake to effectively achieve the task, maintain the team, and develop the individual are: Defining the task, planning how the task will be achieved, briefing the team, controlling resources, evaluating overall performance, motivating team members, organizing, and leading by example.

You have now completed Lesson 5. Click the button below to start the assessment quiz.

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