BELBIN TEAM ROLES

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• What is a team role?
• A team role as defined by Dr Meredith Belbin is
  "A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate
  with others in a particular way."

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• Belbin team roles describe a pattern of behaviour
  that characterises one persons behaviour in
  relationship to another in facilitating the
  progress of a team.
• The value of Belbin team-role theory lies in
  enabling an individual or team to benefit from
  self-knowledge and adjust according to the
  demands being made by the external situation.

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• How did the concept originate?
• During a period of over nine years, Meredith
  Belbin and his team of researchers based at
  Henley Management College, England, studied the
  behaviour of managers from all over the world.
• Belbin's key book 'Management Teams - Why They
  Succeed or Fail', was first published in 1981.
• Managers taking part in the study were given a
  battery of psychometric tests and put into teams
  of varying composition, while they were engaged
  in a complex management exercise.

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• How did the concept originate?
• Their different core personality traits,
  intellectual styles and behaviours were assessed
  during the exercise. As time progressed different
  clusters of behaviour were identified as
  underlying the success of the teams.
• These successful clusters of behaviour were then
  given names. Hence the emergence of eight team
  roles. A ninth, the Specialist, was added later
  as an afterthought, but does not form part of the
  original analysis.

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• These are
• Action-oriented roles
• Shaper, Implementer, and Completer Finisher
• People-oriented roles
• Co-ordinator, Teamworker and Resource
  Investigator
• Cerebral roles
• Plant, Monitor Evaluator and (Specialist)

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• Results from this research showed that there are
  a finite number of behaviours or TEAM ROLES which
  comprise certain patterns of behaviour which can
  be adopted naturally by the various personality
  types found among people at work.
• The accurate delineation of these TEAM ROLES is
  critical in understanding the dynamics of any
  management or work team.

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES
BELBIN Team Role Type Contributions Allowable Weaknesses
Completer Finisher Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and omissions. Delivers on time. Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate.
Co-ordinator Mature, confident, a good chairman. Clarifies goals, promotes decision-making, delegates well. Can often be seen as manipulative. Off loads personal work.
Implementer Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions. Somewhat inflexible. Slow to respond to new possibilities.
Monitor Evaluator Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options. Judges accurately. Lacks drive and ability to inspire others.
Plant Creative, imaginative, unorthodox. Solves difficult problems. Ignores incidentals. Too pre-occupied to communicate effectively.
Resource Investigator Enthusiastic, communicative, extrovert. Explores opportunities. Develops contacts. Over - optimistic. Loses interest once initial enthusiasm has passed.
Shaper Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. The drive and courage to overcome obstacles. Prone to provocation. Offends people's feelings.
Specialist Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply. Contributes only on a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities.
Teamworker Co-operative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction. Indecisive in crunch situations.
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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• Belbin Team Roles within Teams
• The Co-ordinator clarifies group objectives, sets
  the agenda, establishes priorities, selects
  problems, sums up and is decisive, but does not
  dominate discussions.
• The Shaper gives shape to the team effort,
  looking for pattern in discussions and practical
  considerations regarding the feasibility of the
  project. Can steamroller the team, but gets
  results.
• The Plant is the source of original ideas,
  suggestions and proposals that are usually
  original and radical.
• The Monitor-Evaluator contributes a measured and
  dispassionate analysis and, through objectivity,
  stops the team committing itself to a misguided
  task.

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• Belbin Team Roles within Teams
• The Implementer turns decisions and strategies
  into defined and manageable tasks, sorting out
  objectives and pursuing them logically.
• The Resource Investigator goes outside the team
  to bring in ideas, information and developments
  to it.They are the team's sales-person, diplomat,
  liaison officer and explorer.
• The Team Worker operates against division and
  disruption in the team, like cement, particularly
  in times of stress and pressure.
• The Finisher maintains a permanent sense of
  urgency with relentless follow-through.

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• In small teams, people can, and do, assume more
  than one role.
• In addition, analysing existing teams and their
  performance or behaviour, using these team role
  concepts, can lead to improvements, for example
• Under-achievement demands a good coordinator or
  finisher
• Conflict requires a team worker or strong
  coordinator
• Mediocre performance needs a resource
  investigator, innovator or shaper
• Error prone teams need an evaluator

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BELBIN TEAM ROLES

• Different roles are important in different
  circumstances, for example
• New teams need a strong shaper to get started.
• Competitive situations demand an innovator with
  good ideas.
• In areas of high risk, a good evaluator may be
  needed.
• Teams should, therefore, be analysed both in
  terms of what team roles members can play, and
  also in relation to what team skills are most
  needed.