DTU ProjectLab - User contributions [en-gb]

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T19:18:38Z

S170285: /* The construction of the Sydney Opera House */

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team. “(PMBOK, Page 311) ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project “''(PRINCE2, page 73). <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 73'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the Danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regard to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House exceeding the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers are essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' (Team Role at Work, Page 104) <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, page 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“.(PRINCE2, page 72) <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T19:18:08Z

S170285: /* The construction of the Sydney Opera House */

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team. “(PMBOK, Page 311) ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project “''(PRINCE2, page 73). <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 73'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' (Team Role at Work, Page 104) <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, page 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“.(PRINCE2, page 72) <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T19:08:49Z

S170285: /* Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles */

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team. “(PMBOK, Page 311) ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project “''(PRINCE2, page 73). <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 73'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“.(PRINCE2, page 72) <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T19:08:04Z

S170285: /* Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management */

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team. “(PMBOK, Page 311) ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project “''(PRINCE2, page 73). <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 73'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T19:07:13Z

S170285: /* Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management */

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team. “(PMBOK, Page 311) ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project “''(PRINCE2, page. 73). <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , page. 73'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:36:24Z

S170285:

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:35:53Z

S170285:

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

'''Abstract'''

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:35:19Z

S170285:

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''
'''Abstract'''

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:34:55Z

S170285:

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''
=Abstract=

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:34:35Z

S170285:

''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''
==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:33:55Z

S170285: /* Abstract */

==Abstract==
''Developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen''

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:33:27Z

S170285: /* Abstract */

==Abstract==
''developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen and Frederik Binow Sørensen''

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:33:07Z

S170285:

==Abstract==
''developed by Sofie Amalie Lundsteen and Frederik Binow Sørensen''
The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:29:32Z

S170285: /* Annotated Bibliography */

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

BELBIN Associates provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:28:46Z

S170285: /* Annotated Bibliography */

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

Belbin's official homepage provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real-life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu'''

This article describes a critical point of view of Belbin's Team Roles, especially the scientific foundation of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The benchmark of the research is that they compare the results from a Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is a personality questionnaire, with the answers from the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test. The article gives the reader an understanding of several of the limitations of the method.

==References==

<references />

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T18:02:49Z

S170285: /* Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles */

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67, Retrieved from https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/emerald-publishing/further-evidence-concerning-the-belbin-team-role-self-perception-S13asfw2Uu. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

Belbin's official homepage provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group.'''

==References==

<references />

Articles Spring Term 2021

2021-02-28T17:42:14Z

S170285: /* Overview of 2021 Wiki Collections */

=Overview of 2021 Wiki Collections=

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Spring Term 2021 Wiki Collections
|Group name
|First name
|Surname
|Student number
|[[Article name]]
|-
|-
|TAs Example
|Thomas
|Giannoulopoulos
|s192419
|[[APPM Example 2021]]
|-
|-
|Group 12
|Christian
|Frøsig
|s175044
|[[Belbin's 9 team roles]]
|-
|-
|Group 1
|Oliver
|K. Vittrup
|s163754
|[[Top-down vs bottom-up estimations]]
|-
|-
|44
|Jeyad
|M. Baig
|s153585
|[[Planning Methods - 3 Levels of Project Planning]]
|-
|-
|Group 17
|Quoc-Khanh Rose-Marie Therese
|Madsen
|s123462
|[[Applying Tuckman’s model for team development]]
|-
|-
|31
|Haoxiang
|Sang
|s192258
|[[Cost control with statistic tools]]
|-
|-
|Group 31
|He
|Fan
|s192195
|[[Work Break-down Structure]]
|-
|-
|Group 19
|Ángel
|Castro del Olmo
|s193246
|[[Stakeholder Engagement and Sustainability in Maritime Spatial Planning]]
|-
|-
|44
|Abdullah Shams
|Turkmani
|s153337
|[[ICT Agreement]]
|-
|-
|Group 17
|Jacopo
|Renzi
|s210445
|[[Double Diamond in Project Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 35
|Helga Sigríður
|Magnúsdóttir
|s202027
|[[Network Planning]]
|-
|-
|12
|Cæcilie
|Kortbæk
|163873
|[[Double diamond]]
|-
|-
|Group 18
|Frithjof Johannes
|Thiem
|s202972
|[[DevOps]]
|-
|-
|12
|Emilie
|Winther Schmidt
|163884
|[[Iron Triangle]]
|-
|-
|12
|Anna
|Fredgaard
|s163887
|[[Active Listening Technique]]
|-
|-
|35
|Ruben
|Raes
|s202029
|[[Iron Triangle of Project Management]]
|-
|-
|21
|Claudia
|Balcells
|s202939
|[[APPPM Issue Tree]]
|-
|-
|35
|Brynja
|Gudmundsdottir
|s202030
|[[FAST goals]]
|-
|-
|16
|Andrea
|Pin Morales
|s205567
|[[The Business Case]]
|-
|-
|16
|Lena Maria
|Thyen
|s202969
|[[The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People for Successful Leadership]]
|-
|-
|35
|Úlfar
|Viktorsson
|s202022
|[[The 4 Disciplines of Execution]]
|-
|-
|16
|Moritz
|Rindermann
|s202976
|[[Tuckmans model for Team Development]]
|-
|-
|Group 29
|Heiðdís Ósk
|Pétursdóttir
|s202025
|[[Efficiency and Effectiveness]]
|-
|-
|31
|Xabier
|Martínez de Zabarte
|s210323
|[[Scrumban]]
|-
|-
|17
|Aldís Braga
|Eiríksdóttir
|s202045
|[[Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid]]
|-
|-
|32
|Jan Otis
| Ernst
|s210433
|[[RACI Matrix]]
|-
|-
|3
|Julie
| Finne-Ipsen
|s153987
|[[Kahneman - Two Thinking Systems]]
|-
|-
|24
|Maria Eileen
| Hubbuck
|s210444
|[[Risk Management-Identification]]
|-
|-
|11
|Alina
| Barun
|s202514
|[[Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs]]
|-
|-
|24
|Felix Vinzenz
|Wütherich
|s202968
|[[Emotional Intelligence and Leadership]]
|-
|-
|28
|Ariadna
|Ramos
|s191852
|[[The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)]]
|-
|-
|Group 27
|Jakob
|Grønvald
|s164346
|[[Maslow‘s Hierarchy of Needs, Motivation in the workplace]]
|-
|-
|Group 16
|Martina
|Rampazzo
|s202895
|[[Earned value management (EVM)]]
|-
|-
|Group 2
|John
|Fritz
|s202967
|[[Learning plan]]
|-
|-
|Group 24
|Henning
|Duwe
|s210450
|[[SWOT Analysis]]
|-
|-
|Group 14
|Søren Emil
|Kjær
|s201528
|[[GANTT]]
|-
|-
|Group 23
|Mathilde Kremmer
|Broberg
|s175074
|[[Corrective and Preventive Actions (CAPA)]]
|-
|-
|Group 14
|Rune Lykke
|Høg
|s165012
|[[The use of the A3 management process]]
|-
|-
|Group 35
|Tinna Hrönn
|Unudóttir
|s202032
|[[Constructive communication]]
|-
|-
|Group 17
|Eva Rún
|Arnarsdóttir
|s203214
|[[Biases in Project Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 24
|Astrid
|Skovhus
|s164499
|[[Getting Things Done (GTD)]]
|-
|-
|Group 7
|Phillip
|Dyrberg
|s164503
|[[Double diamond: A design process model]]
|-
|-
|Group 14
|Amanda Emilie
|Søborg Berthelsen
|s154707
|[[The Johari Window]]
|-
|-
|Group 23
|Nicolai Mossing
|Madsen
|s164515
|[[SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound)]]
|-
|-
|Group 27
|Marie-Louise Wolfsberg
|Schmidt
|s164417
|[[The Affect Heuristic]]
|-
|-
|Group 4
|Erika Marie
|Strøm
|s203224
|[[Parkinson's Law in Project Schedule Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 16
|Beatrice
|Ranzato
|s202887
|[[X-Matrix Hoshin Kanri]]
|-
|-
|Group 9
|Helene Waldmann
|Jørgensen
|s173891
|[[Lag & Lead]]
|-
|-
|Group 4
|Zahra
|Al-Mosawi
|s193938
|[[Belbin Team Roles in Project Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 14
|William Axel Linderoth
|Michaelen
|s153275
|[[Design-Build]]
|-
|-
|Group 31
|Jesús
|Gracia Yoldi
|s210111
|[[Kanban in APPPM]]
|-
|-
|Group 35
|Katrín Erla
|Bergsveinsdóttir
|s202026
|[[Contingency plans]]
|-
|-
|Group 1
|Cecilie Marie Raagaard
|Christensen
|s160832
|[[Work breakdown structure (WBS)]]
|-
|-
|Group 19
|Ali Jamal
|Jomeh
|s173741
|[[SMART goals: A goal-setting technique]]
|-
|-
|Group 15
|Tobias
|Hyldmo
|s206658
|[[High performing teams]]
|-
|-
|Group 5
|Samah
|Said
|s203228
|[[Reference class forecasting]]
|-
|-
|Group 3
|Emilie
|Torp
|s153320
|[[Goal Hierarchy]]
|-
|-
|Group 3
|Victor Nørregaard
|Schwærter
|s164745
|[[Milestone Planning]]
|-
|-
|Group 9
|Jacob
|Ammitsøe
|s173849
|[[Authenticity]]
|-
|-
|Group 18
|Anna
|Bjørn Reland
|s154556
|[[Choosing the appropriate medium (oral – written – hybrids)]]
|-
|-
|Group 10
|Wail
|Atrari
|s170706
|[[The Double Diamond Tool: An efficient Project Management Tool]]
|-
|Group 10
|Helená Evin
|Cinar
|s164741
|[[SWOT Analysis Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 10
|Mohammad
|Abou Hassan
|s160101
|[[Implementing SWOT]]
|-
|-
|Group 10
|Ahmet
|Akgül
|s152597
|[[Smart goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely)]]
|-
|-
|Group 2
|Amalie
|N. Müller
|s173675
|[[Big five personality traits (OCEAN model)]]
|-
|-
|Group 29
|Pétursdóttir
|Stefanía Ósk
|s202044
|[[Situational leadership - Hersey and Blanchard]]
|-
|-
|Group 10
|Abdulahi
|Hayle Hassan
|s164691
|[[Stakeholder management]]
|-
|-
|Group 27
|Louise
|Landschoff
|s165111
|[[SCRUM - A Project Management Framework]]
|-
|-
|Group 10
|Sara
|Alabiidi
|s164650
|[[The Blake-Mouton Managerial Grid]]
|-
|-
|Group 4
|Felix
|Dressel
|s202965
|[[The SPALTEN Problem-Solving Methodology as a Decision Making Tool in Project Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 11
|Sandra
|Nielsen
|s153370
|[[Conflict ladder]]
|-
|-
|Group 11
|Lise Munch
|Nordheim
|s200400
|[[McGregor's X & Y theory]]
|-
|-
|Group 2
|Simon
|Knutsson
|s202041
|[[Earned Value Management (EVM)]]
|-
|-
|Group 12
|Christoffer
|Askgaard
|s165098
|[[Design the team you need to succeed using Belbin's team roles]]
|-
|-
|Group 24
|Gaute Bø
|Aaløkken
|s202065
|[[Diversity in teams]]
|-
|-
|Group 2
|Lukas
|Tanzer
|s200120
|[[Kanban]]
|-
|-
|Group 7
|Sofie
|Lundsteen
|s170285
|[[Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles]]
|-
|-
|Group 14
|FIRST NAME
|LAST NAME
|STUDY ID
|[[Applying the Hawthorne studies to project management]]
|-
|-
|Group 3
|Amalie Nordstrøm
|Nielsen
|s153272
|[[The seven characteristic principles]]
|-
|-
|Group 14
|Louise Damborg
|Frederiksen
|s185238
|[[Using Facilitation to Mitigate Bias in a Team Setting]]
|-
|-
|Group 1
|Georg Holger
|Waage
|s163819
|[[Fishbone Diagram]]
|-
|-
|Group 28
|Özgenur
|Baştuğ
|s203033
|[[Change Orders in Construction Projects]]
|-
|-
|Group 9
|Mads
|Møhlenberg
|s173879
|[[A hybrid consisting of Agile and Stage Gate]]
|-
|-
|Group 29
|Svanhvít Birta
|Guðmundsdóttir
|s203174
|[[Project Milestones]]
|-
|-
|Group 23
|Bente
|Meidahl Münsberg
|s175068
|[[Gantt Charts]]
|-
|-
|Group 27
|Frederik
|Carlsson
|s164345
|[[FAST Goals]]
|-
|-
|Group 11
|Tobias
|Rydahl
|s200471
|[[Using DISC assessment for project team management]]
|-
|-
|Group 7
|Mads
|Støjfer-Hønberg
|s174303
|[[SCRUM - An Agile Project Management Framework]]
|-
|-
|Group 21
|Matthieu
|Buy
|s202925
|[[The Five-Factor Model (OCEAN)]]
|-
|-
|Group 18
|Astrid Helene
|Erecius
|s171013
|[[Choosing communication media for negotiation]]
|-
|-
|Group 44
|Zainab
|Jalal
|s165491
|[[Work Breakdown Structure in project management]]
|-
|-
|Group 2
|Anna Felicia Mai
|Lindström
|s202046
|[[Project Status Reporting]]
|-
|-
|Group 28
|Alberto
|Melloni
|s202894
|[[Pre-mortem analysis]]
|-
|-
|Group 29
|Thore Uwe
|Aye
|s202746
|[[Quality Gates in Project Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 9
|Lydia
|Tsintzou
|s193745
|[[SWOT Analysis Guide]]
|-
|-
|Group 28
|Kendra Ana
|Rodríguez López
|s200182
|[[Choosing by Advantages Decision-Making System]]
|-
|-
|Group 23
|Rasmus
|Engberg
|s164513
|[[RDM]]
|-
|-
|Group 4
|Christine
|Fryland
|s153875
|[[Theory X-Y in project management]]
|-
|-
|Group 28
|Manas P.
|Dalvi
|s210143
|[[Effective Tools for Multiple Project Management]]
-
|-
|Group 12
|Joakim
|Vollertzen
|s163947
|[[Extreme Project Management (XPM)]]
|-
|-
|Group 19
|Shubham
|Ingole
|s200092
|[[Stakeholder Management using Social Network Theory]]
|-
|-
|Group 31
|Alvaro
|Bello
|s210447
|[[Forecasting and estimation techniques]]
|-
|-
|Group 09
|Dorothea
|Georgiadou
|s200230
|[[Risk Register analysis]]
|-
|-
|Group 09
|Maria Konstantina
|Papaioannou
|s195550
|[[Fishbone diagram analysis]]
|-
|-
|Group 21
|Kelvin
|Scott-Fordsmand
|s174312
|[[RiskRegister]]
|-
|-
|Group 18
|Christoffer Friis
|Hansen
|s164569
|[[Identifying risk]]
|-
|-
|Group 1
|Giulia
|Zanelli
|s205701
|[[Earned Value Management - EVM]]
|-
|-
|Group 29
|Tinna
|Dofradottir
|s203177
|[[Adaptive Project Framework]]
|-
|-
|Group 23
|Jonatan Larsen
|Edry
|s165499
|[[The iron triangle as an analytical tool]]
|-
|-
|Group 4
|Mikkel Walther
|Hellesen
|s203227
|[[System Readiness Level Index]]
|-
|-
|Group 5
|Yamila Denise
|Aviles
|s203409
|[[Agile Release Train]]
|-
|-
|Group 5
|Kallina
|Karamitsiou
|s202249
|[[Kahneman's dual-system thinking]]
|-
|-
|Group 19
|Prasad
|Jagtap
|s200109
|[[Communication Management using Service Blueprint]]
|-
|-
|Group 3
|Johan Holger
|Rasmussen
|s210512
|[[Daniel Kahneman's two systems of thinking]]
|-
|-
|Group 18
|Sigrún Björk
|Sævarsdóttir
|s200165
|[[The Scrum framework]]
|-
|-
|Group 1
|Francesca
|Pieraccini
|s206673
|[[Double Diamond model]]
|-
|-
|Group 15
|Dionysios
|Dasopoulos
|s202916
|[[Tuckman's Model for Sustainable Team Development]]
|-
|-
|Group 15
|Joern
|Appelt
|s202854
|[[Intrinsic Motivation]]
|-
|-
|Group 23
|Oliver
|Karlsson
|s165080
|[[Double Diamond Model]]
|-
|-
|Group 5
|Victor
|Soler Fuertes
|s206040
|[[OKR - Objectives and Key Results]]
|-
|-
|Group 31
|João
|Ferreira
|s202867
|[[Psychological safety as a key factor to quality and productivity of Organizations]]
|-
|-
|Group 31
|Timo
|Scheitinger
|s202966
|[[The big five (OCEAN)]]
|-
|-
|Group 15
|Maria-Lito
|Glykioti
|s151256
|[[The role of Emotional Intelligence in Project Management]]
|-
|-
|Group 15
|Hafeez
|Ahmadi
|s164137
|[[ISM Principles of Change]]
|-
|-
|Group 21
|Magnus Riis
|Gregersen
|s214321
|[[Gantt Chart Scheduling]]
|-
|-
|Group 18
|Marie Elly Ulricke
|Kristensen
|s144408
|[[Motivation through Theory X&Y from a Project Management perspective]]
|-
|-
|Group 18
|Christopher
|Burgdorf
|s154689
|[[Simple Multi-Attribute Rating Technique (SMART)]]
|-
|-
|Group 5
|Ishak
|Zaaimia
|s164631
|[[Parkinson's Law]]
|-
|-
|Group 11
|Sara Ballegaard
|Laursen
|s193723
|[[Organizational Socialization]]
|-
|-
|Group 19
|Ali Waleed
|Abbas
|s172841
|[[Fishbone diagram for root cause analysis]]
|-
|-
|Group 17
|Cecilia
|Thuy Duyen Nguyen-Cong
|s184300
|[[The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey]]
|-
|-
|Group 44
|Farah
|Sabri
|s164740
|[[Lack of communication in project management]]
|-
|-
|Group 1
|Shakila
|Khan Malik
|s173780
|[[Risk]]
|-
|-
|Group 27
|Asbjørn Martin
|Kruuse
|s153470
|[[Chairing a meeting]]
|-
|-
|Group 23
|Tummas Dímun
|Mohr
|s160129
|[[Project Dashboards]]
|-
|-
|Group 27
|Vanessa
|Clausen
|s183302
|[[Overcoming small-big projects (Gantt)]]
|-
|-
|Group 09
|Emil
|Ballermann
|s174393
|[[Parkinson's law and how to manage it]]
|-
|-
|Group 4
|Gian Marco
|Grieco
|s202893
|[[Parkinson's Law: achieving more in less time]]
|-
|-
|Group 44
|Shahad
|Abdelaziz
|s122945
|[[Outsourcing]]
|-
|-
|Group 3
|Tais
|Christiansen
|s165131
|[[Relationship of projects, programs and portfolios]]
|-
|-
|Group 4
|Sana
|Ilyas
|s192815
|[[SCRUM framework]]
|-
|-
|Group 5
|Mia Chrstine
|Wheitman
|s206053
|[[The use of Gantt Charts]]
|-
|-
|Group 35
|Sigurjón Bjarni
|Bjarnason
|s202049
|[[The Work breakdown structure(WBS)]]
|-
|-
|Group 19
|Morten Dam
|Laursen
|s200364
|[[Multiple Project Management: Summary, Theory and Improvement]]
|-
|-
|Group 29
|Céline Engelbrecht
|Galea-Larsen
|s147312
|[[Group Development - The Tuckman Model]]
|-
|-
|Group 28
|Hazal
|Alawi
|s180408
|[[The Double Diamond Framework]]
|-
|-
|Group 17
|Xenia
|Jørgensen
|s123633
|[[Teams - Creation and optimisation]]
|-
|-
|Group 11
|Jonas
|Bøje Simonsen
|s154089
|[[Logic tree and the Answer First Methodology]]
|-
|-
|Group 28
|Kavikrishnan
|Balakrishnan
|s164338
|[[Learning plans for high uncertainty projects]]
|-
|-
|Group 2
|Riccardo
|Pollacchini
|s192412
|[[Complex Project Management (CPM)]]
|-
|-
|Group 44
|Rokiya
|Ahmed Ramzy
|s170501
|[[Lean in construction industry]]
|-
|-
|Group 50
|Avishkar Anil
|Vadnere
|s206513
|[[Strategic Planning using SWOT analysis]]
|-
|-
|Group 5
|Niels
|Tietgen
|s193191
|[[Microsoft Teams]]
|-
|-
|Group 29
|Bastien
|Haas
|s202932
|[[The 7 habits of highly effective people applied to Management]]
|-

Creating effective teams with the use of Belbin's Team Roles

2021-02-28T17:40:41Z

S170285: Created page with "==Abstract== The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will impro..."

==Abstract==

The aim of this article is to describe and understand how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in practice in regard to Project Management, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

Firstly, the history of Meredith Belbin's theory is described in order to understand the development of the nine-team roles. It is here important to distinguish between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'', as they each play a very different but also crucial role in the context of a team. In addition to this, the two standards ''PMBOKⓇ GUIDE'' and ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'' are used to describe why Belbin's Team Roles are important in Resource Management within Project Management theory by elaborating on possible applications. Furthermore, a broad overview of Belbin's Team Roles is carefully described taking the strength and weaknesses into account, as well as a real-life example of the consequences of not creating and acknowledging the right composition of Team Roles.

Secondly, the identification of Team Roles is outlined by the usage of the Self-Perception Inventory test. It is here highlighted how one can utilize the practical application of the team roles when creating a new team or assessing and working within an existing team. Additionally, the benefits of this practice are presented in order to display the Project Management advantages of this methodology. Later, the Team Roles are being combined with the project processes, as it illustrates how a project manager can utilize the Team Roles' strengths in the different processes.

Lastly, the limitations of Belbin's theory are explored in order to understand the weaknesses of this methodology. In this section, one will find critiques of Belbin's research and theory.

==Big Idea==

This article wishes to target and appeal to everybody but requires a basic understanding of fundamental elements within Project Management. The article will particularly focus on how and why Belbin's Team Roles can be used in Resource Management within Project Management theory, as this will improve effectiveness within existing and new teams.

===The history of Meredith Belbin's Theory ===
It requires a variety of personality types that can assume different roles to construct a successful team. Assigning roles with different responsibilities according to employees’ strengths and weaknesses is an effective way to create a team, as individuals perform better at tasks that draw from their strengths. That was a part of the conclusion of Meredith Belbin’s nine-year long research program from where he developed the nine team roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>. Belbin believes that building a successful team is about combining the right individuals into their natural team roles. The nine team roles are: ''Plant, Monitor-Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher, Coordinator, Teamworker'' and ''Resource Investigator'' <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, pp. 21-23. ' </ref>. This belief originated from his previous experience as he both studied how work patterns change with age in 1955 <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref> and later in the 1960s where he pioneered with the concept of ''work experience'' to integrate underprivileged members of the community into workplaces <ref name=belbin500> ''BELBIN Associates, 2021, Timeline, https://www.belbin.com/about/timeline/ ' </ref>. This was his foundation for what would come next, as the Team Roles research program would consume nine years ending in 1981 with the book: ''Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail'' <ref name=magementteams> ''Belbin,1981, Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail, Timeline,ISBN 978-0-470-27172-8' </ref>.

===The difference between ''Functional Roles'' and ''Team Roles'' ===
In Belbin’s research, he distinguishes between two forms of roles; a ''functional role'' and a ''team role''.
*The ''functional role'' of an employee is their daily work with the tasks that they have been assigned to. The ''functional role'' is the employee’s part in the operation, which they were hired for on behalf of their technical skills, knowledge and experience <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

* The ''team role'' is entirely different, as it depends on personal ability and the characteristics of the individual. That is why it is often more difficult to identify the attributes of a team member such as their motivation, values and personality which is not as tangible as boxing a functional role in an organization. That is where Belbin’s nine team roles are manifesting itself, as a tool to identify what team role the individual embodies <ref name=Belbin45> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition 2010, page 24. . ' </ref>.

===Belbin's Team Roles in relation to Project Management ===
Identifying the individuals’ roles is crucial for the project manager, as it aids in the process of completing a successful project with a team exercising their full potential. The project manager is very dependent on creating the right team, as the team’s performance will affect how and when the project manager is able to deliver the product of their work. In the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE <ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 309-311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref>, one can find the following statement.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“The project team consists of individuals with assigned roles and responsibilities who work collectively to achieve a shared project goal. The project manager should invest suitable effort in acquiring, managing, motivating, and empowering the project team.“ ''<ref name=PMBOK> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 311. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

It is exactly here that Resource Management within Project Management theory interacts with Belbin’s team roles, as the theory presents the processes to identify, acquire, and manage the resources needed for the successful completion of projects. These processes support and ensure that the right resources are available to the project manager and the team at the right time and place.

In the book ''Managing Successful Projects'' with PRINCE2Ⓡ <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> it is pointed out, that it can be a difficult task to create a successful team without knowing what kind of personalities there are to choose and pick between. The required processes and systems are not always enough to create a successful project, it is the people within it that constitute the essential foundation of a successful project, which is captured in the paragraph below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“If the people on a project do not work effectively together, then the chances of the project’s success are severely restricted. Knowledge of different types of personalities and how they affect each other can help the project manager to structure balanced teams that can work together effectively during a project.“'' <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 12'' </ref> <div style="text-align: left;">

By applying the knowledge of Belbin’s team roles to the current team or future team, it is easier to create balance within the team and to identify the individuals team role <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>. When creating more balanced teams, it is extremely important to assess what natural team roles people fit into, which can be done by examining the individual’s strengths and weaknesses. That is possible by using the Belbin Team Inventory test, also called the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, which is developed to examine individuals' behaviour <ref name=Belbinhomepage> ''Self-Perception Inventory, http://www.belbin.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/BELBINUK-Self-PerceptionInventory+CompletionGrid.pdf , pp. 1-3'' </ref>. To ensure that a team does not become unbalanced, one must avoid that all team members have similar styles of behavior and competencies, as this would leave the team invested and experienced in a smaller pool of areas than with people of different skill sets and interests.

===Belbin's Team Roles===
In the following section, an introduction to the nine different team roles that an individual can embody will be presented. Each of the nine team roles has its place within a certain group, which is either ''Thought Oriented Roles, Action Oriented Roles or People Oriented Roles'' <ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>.

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="font-weight:bold; background-color:#dee5f0;"
! style="text-align:center;" | Group
! style="text-align:center;" | Belbin's Team Roles
! Description
! Strengths
! Weaknesses
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Thought Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Plant
| The Plant is the creative individual that supplies the team with new innovative ideas and plans.<br />They always seem to find new ways of assessing existing challenges, that can help the team solve the problems ahead. <br />A clear attribute of the Plant is that they are typically a bit distant and can be impractical at times. <br />However, the Plant thrives on praise from their colleagues but are very sensitive to criticism. <br />Lastly, the Plant may also be poor communicators and can tend to disregard details and constraints.
| Creative, intelligent and unorthodox
| Overoptimistic, not detail oriented, sensitive and a bad communicator
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Monitor-Evaluator
| The Monitor-Evaluators are the critical analyzers and evaluators of the team. <br />They are very objective, and they carefully weigh the pros and cons of all the options before coming to a decision. <br />That allows the team to have the best possible basis for decision-making going forward. <br />As they tend to be very objective others might perceive them as detached or unemotional, which is expressed throughout their critical and skeptical way of thinking. <br />That could be a part of the reason why Monitor-Evaluators are not to be perceived as inspirational nor motivating.
| Analytical, objective, rational and strategic
| Overly critical, skeptical and lacks drive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Specialist
| The Specialists are the individuals with the technical skills that is required to find the solutions to the challenges ahead. <br />Specialists do often come across as narrow-minded, as they commit themselves entirely to their area of expertise, which could possibly lead to a preoccupation with technicalities at the expense of the bigger picture. <br />Furthermore, Specialists seem to pride themselves on their skills and abilities, which can be perceived as arrogant.<br />However, Specialists have a tendency to self-isolate in order to immerse themselves into their work, which might send a signal, as if they do not care about the rest of the team.<br />
| Self-starting, dedicated and technical skilled
| Narrow-minded, preoccupation with small details and dwells on technicalities
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Action Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Shaper
| Shapers are the individuals that are determining the direction for the team.<br />They are usually driven by a huge amount of energy and the need to achieve.<br /> That is also why they are very competitive individuals, where winning is the name of the game. <br />This has a substantial effect on the rest of the team, as the drive provides continuous momentum.<br />Furthermore, the Shapers tend to ensure that all team members are aware of the prioritized targets so that they avoid misunderstandings.<br />By doing so the Shapers will continuously challenge the team to improve in order to reach the goal faster and hereby achieve the desired targets. <br />As individuals, they are usually dynamic and extraverted that enjoy working in a team, where they can challenge the status quo and move things ahead. This eagerness can also be perceived as aggressive in the attempt to drive the team forward.
| Challenging, dynamic, driven and courageous
| Overly enthusiastic, provoking and short-tempered
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Implementer
| The Implementers are the individuals that get the tasks done on time. They transform the hypothetical ideas and plans into practical and systematic actions and plans for the rest of the team to follow.<br />The Implementers tend to be organized but also conservative, disciplined and effective people. The usual disadvantage with them is their lack of flexibility and resistance towards new initiatives, as they will often have difficulty deviating from their own well considered plans.
| Disciplined, efficient, conservative, organised and pratical
| Sometimes inflexible, slow in response to and adoption of new options
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Complete-Finisher
| The Complete-Finishers are individuals that works as a safeguard against both unlucky and lazy actions, as they see that projects are completed thoroughly.<br />In order to do so, the Complete-Finishers are trying to maintain a certain level of engagement from all participants even in the last stretch of a project.<br />It is important for the Complete-Finishers that deadlines are met and that could be the reason why one would perceive them as perfectionists who are orderly and conscientious. <br />The usual problem with perfectionists are that they may tend to worry unnecessarily and furthermore have a difficult time delegating responsibilities to the rest of the team in fear of not achieving the desired target in time.
| Conscientious, painstaking, perfectionistic and persistent
| Worrisome, reluctant to delegate and a nitpicker
|-
| rowspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | People Oriented Roles
| style="text-align:center;" | Coordinator
| The Coordinators are the individuals that embody the typical team-leader role.<br />Their main objective is to control and guide the team in the right direction by utilizing the strength and weaknesses of the team members. <br />That is possible because the Coordinators are excellent listeners and are able to identify and recognize the value each team member accounts for.<br />In that way, the team can achieve high performance results. The usual problem with Coordinators is that they tend to be manipulative, which is very destructive for a team in progress.
| Confident, trustful, mature and well at delegating responsibilities
| Has a tendency to be manipulative
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Teamworker
| The Teamworkers are individuals that support the entire team and enhances their strong suits.<br />They ensure a good working environment and communication, which is very important for the former to work efficiently.<br />The Teamworkers are usually good negotiators which is why one could describe them as diplomatic and perceptive.<br />A Teamworker can go unnoticed and unappreciated until they are absent. However, the Teamworkers do also embody weaknesses such as indecisiveness as they do not wish to stay party-less in crucial times of decision making. That reveals why Teamworkers might be described as hypersensitive.
| Diplomatic, perceptive, extroverted and flexible
| Indecisive and has a tendency to be hypersensitive
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | Resource Investigator
| The Resource Investigators are individuals that explore new ideas and hereby create desired progress outside of the team.<br />They are establishing contacts in the community outside of the team and are good negotiators with their curious and innovative mindset.<br />That is only supported by their outgoing attitude which makes others perceptive to them and their ideas. However, the Resource Investigators are inclined to lose their interest and enthusiasm quickly. They tend to be overly optimistic and talk a lot.
| Enthusiastic, communicative, curious and develops contacts
| Overoptimistic, loses the enthusiasm quickly and talks a lot
|}
<ref name=Belbinhomepage1> ''Method, Reliability & Validity, Statistics & Research:Comprehensive review of Belbin Team Roles, https://www.belbin.com/media/1158/belbin-uk-2014-a-comprehensive-review.pdf , pp. 9'' </ref>
<ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 8-9. ' </ref>

===The construction of the Sydney Opera House===
[[File:Sydneyoperahouse12.png|thumb|400px|Figure 1: Sydney Opera House|right||Sydney Opera House [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg#filelinks]]]
To finish off this section with a real world example <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref> from the book, ''Team Roles at Work'', one should explore the story of the famous Sydney Opera House and the process of constructing this marvelous modern piece of architecture. The world famous opera house narrates a story of scandalous setbacks and mismanagement, which many bypassers might not be aware of when they experience this astonishing national symbol.
The original design was produced by the danish architect Jørn Utzon, which was only taken into consideration as the primary contenders fell short of the task. The issue was that Jørn Utzon tried to broaden his responsibility throughout the project and was furthermore late in regards to completing the finalized design, which together with other causes postponed the entire project by 47 weeks. In their urgent haste to complete the opera house, the foundation was mistakenly built without regards to the special requirements of the design and had to be replaced by a completely new one. That ultimately led to the total cost of the construction of the Sydney Opera House to exceed the budgeted target by a magnificent factor of ten.
In regards to Belbin’s nine team roles, Belbin argues that Jørn Utzon was in the category of genius idea makers, also referred to as ''Plants'' in the theory <ref name=Belbin1> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 103-105. ' </ref>. As Plants are usually too optimistic and sensitive to criticism, one would argue that Jørn Utzon would possibly have thrived in a different supportive setting, where more Specialists and Monitor-Evaluators could have contributed to the construction and maybe would have avoided the reconstruction of a new foundation. Furthermore, team roles such as Implementers and Shapers is essential to the process of making the Plants vision into reality in an efficient way. This exact situation is captured very well in the quote below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''The more brilliant the Plant in a team and the more complex the project, the greater is the need to master the arts of project team building and team management.'' <ref name=Belbin2> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. 104. ' </ref><div style="text-align: left;">

The construction of the Sydney Opera House illustrates the significant consequences of not having a balanced team.

==Application==
In the following section, a short guide of how to use the tool will be presented. Secondly, a description of what the project manager will achieve from using the tool will be provided and lastly, how to apply the team roles in the different phases of a project.

===Identification of Team Roles===

It is a difficult task for a project manager to identify the individual's teams role. That is why you can purchase at BELBIN Associates' homepage; [https://www.belbin.com/], a personalized behavioral reports for both individuals and teams. The report identifies which of the nine possible roles your team would need in order to obtain success. Furthermore, it identifies what roles the individuals in the team possess. Belbin''“Self-Perception Inventory“'' is a behavior-based questionnaire that the individual must answer in order to identify their natural team role. An interesting aspect of this questionnaire is that your colleagues will categorize your behaviour by their opinions of you, which might diverge from your own perception. Furthermore, BELBIN Associates' homepage provides several case studies, such as Novo Nordisk and DTU who explain how they use the output from the personalized behavioral reports in practice, you can read more about the cases here; [https://www.belbin.com/resources/case-studies/]. Usually identification of Team Roles can be used in two different situations:

'''Creating new teams'''

Establishing a new team can very well be a strong tool in order to compose the right balanced team to meet a specific challenge. In many organisations you will often see well-established teams, which can be difficult to work with if not properly composed in the first place. A way to create a great team is to utilise the Self-Perception Inventory test that Belbin invented. That will enable the project manager to combine the most suitable individuals, regardless of rank or role.

'''Assessing existing teams'''

The aim of assessing existing teams is to enhance and improve team performance by changing team composition or maybe even rebuilding team culture with the help of the Self-Perception Inventory test. If a team is not properly composed from the very beginning it will be difficult for the project manager to achieve high performance unless tweaks and other corrections are made. Utilizing the Self-Perception Inventory test, existing teams can learn to understand each other's Team Roles in an entirely different setting, which might help the individuals of the team to work better together. Ultimately, a project manager would like her/his team to embody a form of symbiosis, where the strengths are being promoted through the actions of the team and weaknesses are being avoided entirely. Such a test creates transparency in the team and will more likely help the project manager to identify potential lack or over-supply of specific Team Roles.

===Benefits of identifying Belbin's Team Roles===
By acknowledging Belbin's natural team roles, a project manager can achieve many benefits such as:

*'''A balanced and efficient team'''
A way to exploit Belbin’s team roles are within the organizational theory according to ''PRINCE2Ⓡ'', as it describes the importance of creating a balanced team in order to achieve effective teams. The book explicitly refers to Belbin’s team role inventory in order to identify the different types of team roles, that are described in the statement below.

<div style="text-align: center;">''“Project managers who know the natural roles of the team members can use that knowledge to build effective teams during the starting up a project process for the management team and the initiating a project process when identifying team members“. <ref name=PRINCE2.2> ''Managing Succesful Projects with PRINCE2, 6th Edition (2017). , pp. 72'' </ref>'' <div style="text-align: left;">

*'''Emotional intelligence (EI) and self-awareness'''
Belbin's team roles theory can be utilized within the Planning and Executing process of the knowledge area of Project Resource Management. PMBOKⓇ GUIDE outlines that the project manager, with regards to resource management, should invest in ''Emotional intelligence'' ''(EI)'' by improving inbound (e.g self-awareness) and outbound (e.g., relationship management) competencies. Furthermore, research shows that project teams who succeed in team EI will be more effective <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref>. In addition to this, one can utilize Belbin’s theory to identify an individual's natural team role in order to improve the self-awareness and relationship management of the individual, which will help the project manager to create a more effective team and reach team EI <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 310'' </ref> <ref name=Belbinhomepage3> Belbin, homepage, 'Why Use Belbin Team Roles?, https://www.belbin.com/about/why-use-belbin/'' </ref>.

* ''' Development of teams - Get through Tuckman Ladders phase effectively'''
As described earlier Belbin’s team roles can also be used to develop teams. A model that can be used to describe team development is the ''Tuckman Ladder'', which describes five typical stages of development that a team encounters <ref name=PMBOK2> ''A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 6th Edition. (2017). , pp. 338'' </ref>. These five phases are called ''Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing'' and ''Adjourning''. Read a more detailed description of the phases here [https://www.lederweb.dk/artikler/brug-tuckmans-5-udviklingsfaser-og-effektiviser-teamet/]. One can argue that by identifying Belbin’s team roles in either the ''Forming'' or the ''Storming'' phase, it would aid the team not to lose momentum in such a phase, which benefits the working environment as it will not become counterproductive. By already possessing the knowledge of the different personalities within a team, it becomes easier to go through the ''Norming'' phase where the team members must work together and trust each other's work. As a project manager it is your responsibility to get to the ''Performing'' phase as fast as possible, which the identification of Belbin’s team roles can help with.

*'''Insight into individuals behavioral strengths and weaknesses'''
By taking the ''Self-Perception Inventory'' test one can gain an insight into individuals behavioural strengths and weaknesses.

*'''Better communication'''
The method can help a team to communicate better by acknowledging the natural team roles within it. Furthermore, an understanding of the individual's strengths and weaknesses assist in better communication.

===An example of Team Roles in combination with project phases===

There are many different ways of grouping the processes of a project. According to the book PMBOKⓇ GUIDE the project processes are divided into five different categories ''Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling'' and ''Closing'', which are called process groups '''<ref name=PMBOK333> ''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Page 18-21. Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group''.</ref>.
It is therefore particularly interesting to explore how the different types of team roles can be beneficial for the project manager in regards to the processes of a project. In the figure below, it is illustrated which phases that could potentially be beneficial to use the different team roles within. '''That goes without saying that all team roles are necessary in most phases, but the project manager could potentially have the need for specific types of team roles in the different phases in order to achieve the best possible outcome. However, it is important to remember that all projects are unique, which means that there are many approaches of using the roles in the different process phases.'''

[[File:processprojectbla.png|center|thumb|700px|'''Figure 1:''' Example of how the diffrent roles can be used the diffrent phases. Own creation with inspiration from [https://www.belbin.com/resources/blogs/belbin-and-project-teams/]]]

As illustrated above, it could be beneficial to use the ''Plant'' and ''Shaper'' in the Initiating process as the ''Shaper'' is very goal oriented and the ''Plant'' is good at creating innovative ideas. Together they demonstrate the power to define what a project might consist of and how to solve the difficulties in a creative way. In the Planning process, a ''Coordinator'' and ''Resource Investigator'' could be the right fit, as a ''Coordinator'' is great at delegating the different tasks and responsibilities. The ''Resource Investigator'' has the skillset to establish contact to possible stakeholders, which is important in the early phases of the project in order to conduct research in the market. The next phase is the Execution process, where one will find the Implementer and ''Teamworker''. The ''Implementer'' can start the execution of the project whereas the ''Teamworker'' can ensure that the whole team is a part of the process. As the ''Implementer'' is not very detail oriented, the ''Specialist'' can contribute to the work that the ''Implementer'' has initiated. It is here that the ''Monitor-Evaluator'' can take advantage of their critical and analyzing mindset to ensure that everything is as it is supposed to be. Lastly, the ''Completer-Finisher'' will ensure that the project is still aligned with the prescribed scope, correct small errors and deliver the project at deadline.

==Limitation==

===Skepticism of Belbin's Team Roles===

Papers and studies argue that there are no significant differences in how balanced the team is and their performance. That means that studies have shown that the team performance does not necessarily become better because of the diversity in the teams roles, which Belbin argues it will <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=kritik> '' Meslec, Nicoleta, Curşeu, Petru Lucian, Are balanced groups better? Belbin roles in collaborative learning groups, March 2015, Elsevier, pp. 81-85. ' </ref>.

Furthermore, one can find multiple critics of Belbin’s team role theory <ref name=Batenburg> '' Batenburg, Ronald, Belbin role diversity and team performance: is there a relationship?, Department of Information and Computing Sciences, Utrecht University, pp. 901-9013. ' </ref> <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67. ' </ref>. One of them is Stephen G. Fisher, that in his personal review Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory states that there is no significant relationship between Belbin’s team role theory and the personality types from the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, which is among the most acknowledged personality tests of today <ref name=Fisher> ''Fisher, Stephen G., W. M. (1996). Further evidence concerning the Belbin Team Role Self-perception Inventory. Personnel Review, Vol. 25 Issue: 2, pp. 61-67. ' </ref>. Furthermore, Fisher also suggests that one should be aware that individuals might change roles in time as people progress in unique ways.

===Limitation of the tool===
*'''Behavioural test, not a Psychometric Tests '''
The “Self-Perception Inventory“ is a behavioural test, which means it can change over time and can be dependent on the team that you work in, which suggests that it is very important to remember that your preferred role is not fixed for life, it can changes. That indicates that this is not a personality test <ref name=limitation1> '' Ablesim, Belbin Team Inventory, June 2018, https://ablesim.com/belbin-team-inventory/. ' </ref> <ref name=limitation14> ''BELBIN Associates, Behavioural vs. Psychometric Tests, https://www.belbin.com/about/behavioural-vs-psychometric-tests/. ' </ref>.

*'''Difficulties when defining the team roles'''
If you are not willing to pay the price of the “Self-Perception Inventory“ test, it can be hard to define the team roles “objectively”, but you can always in a group define what role you think you belong to.

*'''No focus on the functional role'''
Belbin's research do not focus on the functional roles, it only focuses on the Team Roles <ref name=Belbin> ''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition, pp. . ' </ref>.

*'''The optimal group'''
Sometimes there should be more than one person with the same role. For example, more than one plant can be useful in a group <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>.

*''' The model does not take into account hierarchal relations between people''' <ref name=12manage> '' 12 Manage, March 2018, Limitations of the Belbin team roles method. Disadvantages, https://www.12manage.com/methods_belbin_team_roles.html. ' </ref>

==Annotated Bibliography==

'''BELBIN Associates, 2021, https://www.belbin.com'''

Belbin's official homepage provides a good overview of the nine different Team Roles and how to use them in practice. Furthermore, one can buy a “Self-Perception Inventory“ test and a team rapport to help identify the different roles in the team. Lastly, some case examples from different companies is provided, which can help you as a project manager to see some real life case studies.

'''Belbin, R., Meredith(1993). Team Roles at Work, Elsevier, second edition'''

The book is Meredith Belbin's second edition of ''Team Roles at Work'' which describes the research and theory in dept and how to use it in different areas of an organization. This article focussed on the first chapters of the book to create an understanding of why it necessary and how to use it in regard to Project Management. For further reading, I would recommend reading chapter 7 ''Managing difficult working relationships'' and chapter 9 ''The art of building a team'' which describes how to manage the Team Roles in the best possible way and when the creation of a team is going to happen.

'''2010 R. Meredith Belbin., Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail - Third Edition, Taylor & Francis Ltd'''

''Why they succeed or fail'' is an account of the experimental study of management teams at Henley Management College from which Belbin's unique Team Role theory is developed upon. The book describes the benefits of Belbin's own experience of putting the Team Roles method into practice. The book provides an option to learn from Belbin's experience, which is going to make it easier to implement the method in your organisation.

'''Project Management Institute, Inc. (2017). Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th Edition). Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI). Retrieved from https://app.knovel.com/hotlink/pdf/id:kt011DXQ4C/guide-project-management/initiating-process-group.'''

==References==

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