John Eric Adair (born 18 May 1934) is a British academic who is a
leadership
Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations.
"Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
theorist and author of more than forty books (translated into eighteen languages) on business, military and other leadership.
[Professor John Adair](_blank)
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Life
Adair was born in Luton
Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census.
Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...
and educated at St Paul's School before undertaking his national service
National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
as a second lieutenant in the Scots Guards
The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...
from 1953 to 1955. Unusually, he served as adjutant
Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...
of a Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
regiment in the Arab Legion
The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...
and was briefly in command of the garrison of Jerusalem in the front line.Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...
, obtaining his Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in 1959. He later obtained a doctorate from King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
in 1966 and a BLitt degree from Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...
in 1971. He became a Fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the Royal Historical Society
The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history.
Origins
The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...
in 1966. After working as a senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst from 1961 to 1967, he later worked for the Industrial Society
In sociology, an industrial society is a society driven by the use of technology and machinery to enable mass production, supporting a large population with a high capacity for division of labour. Such a structure developed in the Western world ...
before becoming professor of leadership studies
Leadership studies is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that focuses on leadership in organizational contexts and in human life. Leadership studies has origins in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, psychology), in huma ...
at the University of Surrey
The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its Royal Charter, royal charter in 1966, along with a Plate glass university, number of other institutions following recommendations ...
in 1979, a post he held until 1984. He was a visiting professor at the University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...
from 1990 to 2000. He is currently an emeritus fellow of the Windsor Leadership Trust, where he regularly speaks on leadership development programmes. Since 2006, he has been honorary professor of leadership at the China Executive Leadership Academy in Pudong
Pudong is a list of administrative divisions of Shanghai, district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu River, Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank (g ...
.
/ref> He is president of Adair International.
Bibliography
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See also
* Functional leadership model
References
External links
John Adair's website
John's Adair International website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adair, John
1934 births
Living people
People educated at St Paul's School, London
Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Alumni of King's College London
Military personnel from Bedfordshire
Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford
20th-century British Army personnel
Academics of the University of Surrey
Academics of the University of Exeter
Fellows of the Royal Historical Society
British business theorists
Motivation theorists
Scots Guards officers
Academics of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst