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Are you the leader of the team, or the person tasked to get things done, or the person tasked with looking after the individual team members? Actually, if you want to manage people well, you need to take on all three of these roles.

There is a concept called ‘Pyrrhic Victory’, which describes a situation in which an objective has been achieved – but at too high a cost.

• If you make all decisions with the primary objective of achieving the task at any cost, then you might end up destroying the team on the way. But…

• If you make all your decisions with the primary aim of keeping the team intact and happy, then you probably won’t achieve the task But…

• If you are determined to ensure that each and every individual is safe, happy and looked after, then you won’t fulfil the task and the team will fall apart as well.

John Adair, the world’s first Professor of Leadership Studies, developed a model called Action Centred Leadership. His contention is that as a leader or manager you need to ensure that every decision and action you take balances the needs of the task, the team and the individuals. By doing this you stand the greatest chance of achieving the task, having a cohesive and capable team still in place for the next task, and having individuals who still have a good quality of life, and feel valued and respected.

This model is usually represented by three interlocking circles, from which it gets its name, Action Centred Leadership.

Answering yes or no to any of the questions above doesn’t tell you the right thing to do. By asking the questions before you act, you will get a chance to balance your decision.

Balanced decisions every day make for good leadership – not task focused one day, team focused the next!