Action centered leadership

Professor Adair's Action Center Leadership Theory

The Action Centered Leadership (ACL) theory proposed by John Adair, a British management guru and the world's first leadership professor, has been successfully applied in leader selection and training and is widely recognized as a truth in the field of leadership.

The Action Centered Leadership (ACL) theory is centered around the Three Loop Model and integrates various elements organically, including:

（1） Three ring model

After a period of cooperation, all work groups have formed their own unique group personalities. At the same time, all work groups also have three common needs: the need to complete common tasks (task needs); The need to unite or maintain as a social unit (team requirement); The individual needs that arise from joining a group and becoming a member of the group.

Three rings are used to represent these three types of needs, and the relationship between the three needs is like three overlapping rings that influence and interact with each other:

Covering the "task" ring with a coin will also cover parts of the other two rings, which means that if a work group fails to complete the task, it will exacerbate the trend of group division and reduce the satisfaction of group members;

Covering the "team" ring with a coin, and also covering parts of the other two rings, tells us that a group with disharmonious interpersonal relationships and no team cohesion will not be able to effectively complete group tasks and meet the individual needs of group members;

Similarly, we can conclude that group members whose individual needs are not met will not be able to make positive contributions to group tasks and unity. On the contrary, the completion of group tasks will enhance the unity of the group and the satisfaction of individual needs; A united group will be able to complete group tasks well and provide a satisfactory atmosphere for individuals; An individual who is recognized and satisfied in terms of individual needs will make positive contributions in completing group tasks and maintaining group unity. The job of a leader is to meet these three needs.

The three ring model is dynamic rather than static, and which ring (which requirement) dominates in the leader's mind depends entirely on the environment, but the leader needs to maintain balance over a longer period of time. Professor Adair believes that the three ring model is a significant discovery in the field of leadership studies, comparable to Einstein's theory of relativity in physics. It has a simple form but rich connotations.

（2） Three Methods to Understand Leadership (Leadership Integration Theory)

1. Trait method. Researchers on leadership traits have provided different answers regarding what traits leaders should possess. The leadership trait approach of ACL theory holds that leaders should possess and demonstrate the qualities expected or required in their field, which are called typical traits. To become a qualified leader in a certain field, one should possess and embody the basic characteristics of excellent practitioners in that field. The leadership trait method also believes that in addition to typical traits, leaders should possess some general leadership traits that are common to all fields, called general traits. They are: enthusiasm, integrity, strictness and fairness, enthusiasm, confidence, humility, courage, etc.

2. Situational approach. The core idea of leadership situational approach is that in any situation, people tend to follow or obey those who know what to do and how to do it, that is, authority belongs to the knower, emphasizing the importance of knowledge in leadership. Part of the leadership knowledge about knowing what to do and how to do it comes from specific technical or professional knowledge, but the fact that experts are not necessarily leaders tells us that having only technical or professional knowledge does not necessarily make you a leader. To become a leader, you must also have general knowledge about people. In addition, leadership knowledge also includes the combination of wisdom and experience, which is called practical wisdom, that is, a person's judgment that continues to grow with increasing experience.

3. Group law or functional law. The trait approach tells people what a leader is, while the group or functional approach tells people what a leader does. In order to meet the three needs of the work group, leaders must fulfill the following six basic functions (each function includes some specific actions). The demand interaction principle of the three ring model tells us that the functions performed in one demand area will inevitably have an impact on the other two areas:

Plan: Search for all available relevant information; Define the tasks, goals, or objectives of the group; Develop a feasible plan.

Initiate: give instructions on goals and plans to the group; Explain the necessity of goals or plans; Assign tasks to group members; Set group standards.

Control: maintain the standards of the group; Control the pace; Ensure that all actions are goal oriented; Encourage the group to take action or make decisions.

Support: affirm people and their contributions; Encourage groups and individuals; Restricting groups and individuals; Create team spirit; Adjust differences or have others conduct research and investigation on the differences.

Information: Detailed explanation of tasks and plans; Provide new information to the group; Obtain feedback information from the group; Summarize suggestions and ideas in a clear and logical manner.

Assessment: Testing the feasibility of an idea; Test the results of the proposal; Evaluate the performance of the group; Assist the group in conducting self-assessment.

We cannot expect leaders to perform all these functions alone. Leaders must learn to share their leadership functions with other members and receive their voluntary cooperation, but they must be responsible for the overall performance of their leadership functions. Leaders do not perform all of these functions simultaneously, and when to perform specific functions is entirely determined by the situation at that time.

The leadership integration theory formed by integrating these three methods has given people a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of the essence of leadership: trait approach tells leaders what they must be, situational approach tells leaders what they must know, and functional approach tells leaders what they must do.

（3） Personal needs and incentives

Maslow's theory of the five needs of human physiology, safety, socialization, respect, and self actualization, as well as Herzberg's theory of human health and motivation needs, effectively explain the content of individual needs in the three loop model, enabling us to understand how people motivate themselves. The art of leadership is to follow these natural processes, rather than going against them.

（4） Decision Continuum

Leaders need to share their basic functions with subordinates, so analyzing to what extent leaders share decision-making with subordinates is particularly valuable. The decision sharing continuum model proposed by American scholars R. Tannenbaum and W.H. Schmidt demonstrates varying degrees of decision sharing: as we move to the right along the decision sequence diagram, the leader's decision-making power increases while the subordinate's decision-making power decreases. Although there are no general decision position points on the decision sequence diagram, there is still a general decision principle: to involve the team as deeply as possible in decision-making, because the more people participate in decisions that affect their work and life, the more motivated they will be to implement these decisions.

Leadership types (authoritarian, democratic, laissez faire) and decision-making are interconnected, and there is no standard correct leadership type. The choice of leadership type depends partly on the actual situation, partly on the people you work with, and partly on your personality. There is no particularly effective or ineffective leadership style, the type of leadership is yourself, and what you need to do at the same time is to adhere to your own personality and be flexible in leadership methods.

（5） Leadership hierarchy

In the 1970s, American scholar Abraham Zaleznik proposed the view that "managers" are different from "leaders". He believed that "leaders" only exist in the upper echelons of an organization, where they are responsible for thinking and making decisions, while "managers" at various levels of the organization are responsible for implementing the decisions made by the "leaders". Nowadays, people have rediscovered the value of leadership group or functional methods, realizing the mistake of Sothnik's black and white view that either a leader or a manager, and recognizing that managers must not only fulfill traditional functions such as planning to meet the needs of tasks, but also perform other general functions to meet both team and individual needs, that is, managers are also leaders, and leadership exists at different levels:

Team leader - leads a team of 10-20 people with specific tasks to be completed;

Operations leader - a leader who is one of the main components of an organization and oversees more than one team leader. In this situation, he is already the leader's leader;

Strategic leader - the leader of the entire organization, with many operational level leaders under their command.

Any organization, no matter how complex its hierarchical structure, has three levels of leadership, and among these three levels of leadership, team leadership is fundamental.