His model was figuratively based on three overlapping circles representing:Achieve the task.

Build and maintain the team. Develop the individual. This creates a clear distinction between leadership and management. Creating charismatic 'Great Man' leaders is difficult and cannot be relied on. You cannot guarantee that such a person can be developed and, once developed, that they will be reliable. Adair's theory is more practical and shows that leadership can be taught and that it is a transferable skill. The three circles in Adair's model overlap because:The task needs a team because one person alone cannot accomplish it. If the team needs are not met the task will suffer and the individuals will not be satisfied. If the individual needs are not met the team will suffer and performance of the task will be impaired. Leadership Functions Adair lists eight Leadership Functions required to achieve success. These need to be constantly developed and honed to ensure success. Defining the task: Using SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Constrained) to set a clear objective. Planning: An open minded, positive and creative search for alternatives. Contingencies should be planned for and plans should be tested. Briefing: Team briefings by the leader are a basic function and essential in order to create the right atmosphere, foster teamwork and motivate each individual. Controlling: Leaders need self-control, good control systems in place and effective delegation and monitoring skills in order to get maximum results from minimum resources. Evaluating: Assess consequences, evaluate performance, appraise and train individuals. Motivating: Adair identifies eight basic rules for motivating people* in his book Effective Motivation (Guildford: Talbot Adair Press, 1987). Adair also created

the 50:50 rule which states that 50% of motivation comes from within a person and 50% from his or her environment and particularly the leadership they encounter. Organising: Good leaders need to be able to organise themselves, their team and their organisation. Setting an example: The best leaders naturally set a good example. If effort needs to be made it will slip and a bad example is noticed more than a good example. Motivating Your

The eight rules for motivating people:Be motivated yourself. Select motivated people. Treat each person as an individual. Set realistic but challenging targets. Understand that progress itself motivates. Create a motivating environment. Provide relevant rewards. Recognise success.

John Adair's work is in line with motivational theorists such as Maslow, McGregor and Herzberg.

He emphasises the need for development of the team and team building. This can be achieved through team building events and using theories such as that of Belbin. Where Adair identifies the need, Belbin provides one of the tools.

Theory X and Y Douglas McGregor (1906 -1964) was a lecturer at Harvard University and became the first Sloan Fellows Professor at MIT.

His Theory X and Theory Y was detailed in The Human Side of Enterprise, published in 1960.

What is it? Essentially Theory X and Theory Y describe two opposing views of people at work that will influence management style. Managers can be said to follow either view of their workforce.

Theory X is often said to describe a traditional view of direction and control.

Theory Y implies a more self directed workforce that takes an interest in the goals of their organisation and integrates some of their own goals into these

Theory X assumes that: -

The average person dislikes work and will avoid it unless directly supervised. Employees must be coerced, controlled and directed to ensure that organisational objectives are met. The threat of punishment must exist within an organisation. In fact people prefer to be managed in this way so that they avoid responsibility. Theory X assumes that people are relatively unambitious and their prime driving force is the desire for security.

Theory Y effectively takes the opposite view. It assumes that: Employees are ambitious, keen to accept greater responsibility and exercise both self-control and direction. Employees will, in the right conditions, work toward organisational objectives and that commitment will in itself be a reward for so doing. Employees will exercise their imagination and creativity in their jobs if given the chance and this will give an opportunity for greater productivity

Theory Y assumes that the average human being will, under the right conditions, not only accept responsibility but also seek more. Lack of ambition and the qualities of Theory X are not inherent human characteristics but learned in working environments that suffocate or do not promote Theory Y behaviours.

Links with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Abraham Maslow viewed John McGregor as a mentor and was a supporter of his theory and each utilised each other's theories in their own work. McGregor grouped Maslow's hierarchy into 'lower order' Theory X needs and 'higher order' Theory Y needs, suggesting that those behaviours at the top of his hierarchy linked with Theory Y behaviours.

Criticism of Theory X / Theory Y Nowadays McGregor's theory is seen as outdated, representing two extremes. Theory X is perhaps visible in low paid or menial work but employees in those situations will move on in search of positions with Theory Y conditions if they are motivated. Personal development, management training and even general perceptions of behaviour are against a Theory X outlook towards work. There is no doubt that this outlook would have been more prevalent in the 1960s when McGregor created his theory. Before he died McGregor started working on a new Theory that he called Theory Z to address these criticisms. Unfortunately he died before this could be widely published and the ideas have since faded from mainstream management theory.

They were, however, landmark ideas at their time and now form an important part of the historical study of management theory http://www.teambuilding.co.uk/index.html