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 Action- Centred Leadership
Adair (1982) introduced the concept of Action- Centred Leadership, which 
was included as part of the programme for all Officer Cadets at the Royal 
Military Academy, Sandhurst. This was based on the belief that a leader 
should take into account three
inter- related areas of need, namely task 
needs, group needs and individual needs. The effective leader should be 
capable of re- adjusting the priorities of each of these three areas as situa-
tions change. Adair stressed the need for an effective leader to have certain 
personal qualities, such as determination, judgment, flexibility, empathy 
and resourcefulness. The relative importance of these attributes will vary 
according to the needs of the current situation. The performance of people as 
individuals and as members of teams is vitally affected by the actions the 
leader takes to support, clarify, challenge, guide, consult, plan and encour-
age. A leader needs to take action to enable the team to work together as a 
cohesive group, but at the same time actively to encourage the creative and 
innovative contribution of individuals towards the common objectives of 
the organization. To achieve all this, the leader needs to take action to:
achieve the TASK;
build the TEAM;
develop the INDIVIDUAL.
A breakdown in or neglect of any one of these key areas will quickly impact 
on the other two. The leader’s paramount role is therefore to take the appro-
priate action as the priorities of the situation change.
Situational leadership
Adair’s concept of Action- Centred Leadership supports the current emphasis 
on situational leadership, that is, the need to re- define the priority of the key 
attributes of leaders, as the global situation is frequently subject to change. 
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128 Cross-Cultural Communication
Different leaders are required, for example, in times of war,
large- scale 
national disasters and the current economic recession with its resulting 
austerity measures. However, appropriate leadership behaviour will still 
depend on personal power, with the focus on strong motivating ability and 
well- developed communication skills, and the capability to respond quickly 
to different changing situations.