Belbin's 9 team roles

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(The 9 Team Roles)
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|'''Teamworker (TW)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Teamworker (TW)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:teamworker.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:teamworker.png|100px|]]
|Teamworkers possess a mild and sociable disposition and are generally supportive and concerned about others. They have a great capacity for flexibility and adapting to different situations and people. TWs are perceptive, diplomatic, and caring and tend to be good listeners. Because of these qualities, it is hardly surprising that they are popular with their colleagues.
+
|Team Workers are diplomatic, perceptive and flexible. They value cohesion in a team and are committed to help facilitate an efficient workflow. They are often popular or well-liked people and very capable in their own right, but often focus on being the groups internal negotiator. The Team Worker offer support and a sense of diplomacy to group discussions.  
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
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|
*“A little bit of kindness costs nothing”
+
*Co-operative
*“Do you agree with me on that?”
+
*Perceptive and diplomatic
*“I sense a good atmosphere here”
+
*Listens and averts friction
|Their concern about creating harmony and avoiding conflict can make them indecisive when faced with having to make difficult solo decisions.
+
|
|The Teamworker may be legitimately compared to the lubricating oil in a car engine. They are not always appreciated for how important they are until they are not there. Because of their ability to be able to resolve interpersonal problems, TW’s come into their own when situations are tense, and people feel uncared for and not appreciated.
+
*Can find it difficult to make hard decisions
|-
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*Tends to avoid confrontations
 +
|}
 
|'''Co-ordinator (CO)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Co-ordinator (CO)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:co-ordinator.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:co-ordinator.png|100px|]]
|The distinguishing feature of Co-ordinators is their propensity for helping others to work towards shared goals. Mature, trusting, and confident, they delegate readily. In interpersonal relations, they are quick to spot individual talents and to use them in pursuit of group objectives.
+
|Co-Ordinator’s personalities are often very similar to what is perceived as the traditional leader role. They are often calm and good-natured, with a natural talent for delegating and dividing tasks among the rest of the group. This talent is linked to their ability to determine skills and strengths in others, along with what value other people can bring to the team. A lot of this skills can be attributed to the fact that, Co-Ordinator’s’ often are excellent listeners
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
+
|
*“Let us stay on the course”
+
*Mature
*“Does anyone else want to say something to this?”
+
*Confident
*“Leadership is achieving results through others"
+
*Identifies talent in others
|The natural goal focus of CO’s can sometimes lead to them manipulating others to achieve their personal objectives. In some situations, they are inclined to clash with Shapers due to their contrasting management styles.
+
*Clarifying goals
|Co-ordinators are well placed when put in charge of a team of people with diverse skills and personal characteristics. They perform better in dealing with colleagues of near or equal rank than in directing junior subordinates. Their motto might well be "consultation with control" and they usually believe in tackling problems calmly.
+
|
|-
+
*Might be interpreted as manipulative
 +
*Can appear lazy, as they offload their own work and suddenly have little to do
 +
|}
 
|'''Plant (PL)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Plant (PL)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:plant.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:plant.png|100px|]]
|Plants are creative and innovative, which makes them a source for original ideas and proposals. They prefer to work by themself aside from the rest of the teams as they use their imagination and often work unorthodox. The plant tends to be introverted and react strongly to criticism or praise.  
+
|Plants are the creative engine of the team. They are innovative and creative in approaching a challenge and they will often either produce a novel and exciting solution or propose a new way to approach a given task. Due to this creativity, Plants sometimes tend to ignore given parameters or constraints given for the task. This can lead to impractical solutions.
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
+
Working with a Plant, it is important to remember, that this type of group member thrives on praise and find it difficult to handle criticism, this combined with a lack of communication often found in Plants, means that other group members need to be cautious when giving feedback.
*“Where there is a problem, there is a solution!”
+
Often, Plants tend to be introvert and work on their assigned task, away from the group.
*“Ideas start with dreams”
+
|
*“Good ideas always sound crazy in the beginning”
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*Creative
|Their ideas are often radical and may lack practical constraints.
+
*Imaginative
They do not always manage to communicate with other people who are on another wavelength.
+
*Free-thinking
|The team will usually need to use Plants in the initial phases or if a project is at a standstill.
+
*Generates ideas and solves difficult problems in new and exciting ways
Too many PLs in an organization may be counterproductive as they tend to spend their time reinforcing their own ideas and engaging each other in combat.
+
|
|-
+
*Might ignore initial parameters or constraints
 +
*Might be too engaged in a solution, that they are unable to communicate effectively
 +
|}
 
|'''Monitor Evaluator (ME)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Monitor Evaluator (ME)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:monitor-evaluator.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:monitor-evaluator.png|100px|]]
|Monitor Evaluators are serious-minded, prudent individuals with a built-in immunity for being over-enthusiastic. They are likely to be slow in making decisions preferring to carefully think things over. Usually, they have high critical thinking ability. They have a good capacity for shrewd judgements that take all factors into account. A good ME is unlikely to make intuitive and reckless mistakes.
+
|If a project group is a courtroom and other members are lawyers advocating for their perspective, the Monitor Evaluator is the judge. Members with this role evaluates, analysis and considers all aspects of ideals. They are objective, critical thinking and as such can appear to be detached or even unemotional.
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
+
Monitor Evaluators will consider every pro and con of a case, they will consider the far-sighted strategic implications of every idea, before deciding. Therefore, they can come across as being slow to decide. Even so, Monitor Evaluators are intelligent and experts at staying objective in discussions, this however mean that they can appear to be without passion for a project, and often fails at motivating others for their cause, even though it might be objectively right.
*“I think we should sleep on it”
+
They will prefer to react towards an event, rather than investigate why the event happened.
*“Have we explored all possibilities?”
+
|
*“Decisions must never be made on intuition”
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*Sober
|They deal in facts and logic rather than emotion when considering options. MEs are often regarded as over-critical and can be seen to be slow and boring.
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*Intelligent
|Monitor Evaluators are best suited to analyzing problems and evaluating ideas and suggestions. They are very good at weighing up the pros and cons of options. In a managerial position, their ability to make high-quality decisions consistently is likely to make them highly regarded.
+
*Strategic
|-
+
*Sees and judges all options even and accurately
 +
|
 +
*Can come across as overly critical, this is especially true when working with Plants
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*Lack passion and drive to inspire and motivate others
 +
|}
 
|'''Specialist (SP)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Specialist (SP)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:specialist.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:specialist.png|100px|]]
|Their main distinguishing feature is their love of learning. They see learning and the accumulation of knowledge as the main reason for their existence and their single-minded and resolute pursuit of this end is their main motivation. The SP is likely to be recognized by colleagues as an expert to turn to for help and guidance.
+
|The Specialist is the most recent addition in the 9 Roles. The Specialist is other highly skilled in the area a project group is working. They deliver specific knowledge, technical details and limitations for the project. Specialists are often the center of knowledge for a specific part of the project. They take pride in their skills and are often passionate about their field of expertise.
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
+
Because they often joined the group to suppliy knowledge regarding a certain aspect of the project, their contribution might be limited to that field. They will often be preoccupied with technical details, within their field, refusing to move away from this, as their do not consider it their field of work. This means that the Specialist often is unaware or uninterested in the big picture of the project.
*“The more you know the more you know you don't know”
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*“It is better to everything about something than something about everything”
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*Expertise in certain field
*“My work is fascinating"
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*Single-minded
|The SP will usually try to avoid being involved in unstructured meetings and discussions or those of a social nature. They may also be somewhat unyielding when challenged about the validity of their knowledge or field of expertise.
+
*Self-starting and -sustaining
|While Specialists may not be regarded as natural team players, teams will be wise to engage the SP as a means of providing in-depth research. As managers, they command respect because of their in-depth knowledge, and they can be used to mentor others to raise their technical expertise.
+
|
|-
+
*Contribution tends to be limited to the Specialists field of expertise
 +
*Gets lost in technicalities
 +
|}
 
|'''Shaper (SH)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Shaper (SH)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:shaper.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:shaper.png|100px|]]
|Shapers are highly goal and oriented people with great drive and energy. They push themselves and others and tend to overcome obstacles by sheer determination. They tend to be highly assertive and have very directive management styles. Shapers also tend to be competitive and like to win.
+
|Shapers are driven people. If you challenge a Shaper, they will approach it as a exciting challenge. They are usually extrovert and dynamic people, who will motivate the rest of the team to overcome challenges and improve on them self. If the team falls into a groove or becomes complacent, it is the Shaper who will provide the disruption to shake things up and initiate the discovery of new ways of problem solving.
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
+
This drive can, how ever provide challenges within the team. The Shaper is excellent at pushing team members to improve, but in this process, they risk pushing others too hard, or offend other team members feelings. The Shaper will often appear as a brass personality with a direct and often provocative speech.
*“Just do it!”
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Team members with this personality are great motivators, and enjoy stimulating others to improve, just as they enjoy questioning the norms of the team.
*“When you say yes, I expect you to do it!”
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|
*“I would rather it was done yesterday”
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*Thrives on pressure
|SHs are not noted for their interpersonal sensitivities and can be argumentative and even aggressive.
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*Stimulates and challenges other
|Shapers are generally perceived as ideal managers because they generate action and thrive under pressure. They come into their own when quick and decisive action is called for to overcome threats and difficulties or when progress towards goals and objectives is unacceptably slow.
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*Drives and inspires the team to overcome obstacles
|-
+
|
 +
*Can be provocative for others
 +
*Can risk becoming aggressive and bad humored in attempt to get things done
 +
|}
 
|'''Implementor (IMP)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Implementor (IMP)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:implementor.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:implementor.png|100px|]]
|Implementers are characterized by their practical approach and possess higher than normal levels of self-control and discipline. They are prepared to work hard to ensure things are done as prescribed systematically. They are likely to be regarded as someone who will not seek personal agendas and self-interest.
+
|Implementers are the engine of the project group. These people turn the groups creative ideas and suggestions, into concrete actions and plans. They form a comprehensive strategy and plan for the work to be preformed and expect you to perform according to it.
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
+
They are hardworking disciplined people but will often come across as conservative. Implementers does not always respond well to change. They expect they plan to be followed, and it will take quite the amount of convincing for them to abandon a set plan. Often Implementers will actively resist changes, even if it might be for the better.
*“Actions speaks louder than words”
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They value structure and their work methodic is systematic, organized and efficient.
*“Hard work never killed anybody”
+
|
*“The difficult we do immediately; the impossible takes a little longer”
+
*Practical
|They are likely to be regarded as someone who will not seek personal agendas and self-interest. On the downside, IMPs may be inflexible in accepting new ways of doing things, particularly if they are radical or impracticable.
+
*Reliable
|Implementers are valuable in an organization because of their reliability and capacity for application. They succeed because they are efficient and because they have a sense of what is feasible and relevant. While many people might stray from favoring the tasks they like to do and neglect things they find not to be to their liking an IMP is more likely to do what needs to be done systematically and relentlessly.
+
*Efficient
|-
+
*Does not care about creative details, but will plan and execute the work that needs to be done
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|
 +
*Inflexible towards changes
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*Slow responds to new opportunities
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|}
 
|'''Completer Finisher (CF)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
|'''Completer Finisher (CF)<ref name="Belbin for students" />'''  
 
[[File:completor.png|100px|]]
 
[[File:completor.png|100px|]]
|Completer Finishers have a great capacity for attention to detail. They constantly strive for perfection and correct errors. CFs are quite introvert and require less external stimulus than most people. The CF can be trusted to do work to the highest standard and to complete it on time.
+
|The perfectionist of the group, the Completer Finisher will insist on doing the final proofreading one more time. They are detail orientated and observant, holding their work to the highest standard. Often, the Completer Finisher will be the person to drive the project over the finishing line.
'''Verbale characteristics:'''
+
This attention to detail, will often what other team members lack and what elevates a project to the next level. Their concerns with regards to deadlines and detail, can often come across as tiresome, especially for the faster moving team members. The perfectionistic mindset of the Complete Finisher can also prove a challenge regarding delegating assignments to others, as they are more confident in their own skills and tends to be anxious when not being hands on.
*“Read the small print”
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The Completer Finisher is an invaluable asset to the team in the finishing stages of a project, as they are key to maintain focus on the objective.
*“This requires everyone’s full attention”
+
|
*“Perfect is just not good enough”
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*Detail orientated
|The combination of striving for perfection and meeting deadlines often creates anxiety though and CFs are likely to be reluctant to trust others to do work to their own high standards.
+
*Painstaking
|The Completer Finisher is invaluable where tasks demand close concentration and a high degree of accuracy. The standards they set make them well suited to situations where precision and high standards are essential. CFs will also demand the same high standards from people around them and therefore create their micro-culture where the only standard acceptable is perfection.
+
*Holds any task to high standards and makes sure everything is polished and perfected
 +
|
 +
*Worries untimely
 +
*Reluctant to delegate tasks
 
|}
 
|}
  

Revision as of 14:18, 18 February 2021

Using a project like structure for certain types of work has been around for thousands of years. One needs only to look at Noah’s description of the Ark in the Bible, where God delivered the scope, dimensions, and timeframe. However, only in the last century, we have seen the formalization and definition of projects as a proper, standalone form of running a business.[1] These days project-oriented work is commonly used in vast numbers of industries and markets, but that has not come without challenges! Managers are today not only required to compose teams and project-groups, formed of people, whom they might know very little about. How do we ensure optimal performance from our project group? The success of a project-group has continuously proven to be heavily dependent on the interdisciplinary and interpersonal relations between the group members.[2] To combat this, Dr. Meredith Belbin developed a set of defining eight personality traits, a ninth was added later, that are essential to a high functioning group. These nine roles, dubbed Belbin’s 9 team roles, can be determined by a written test performed by the group members and delivers an opportunity to ease the formation of project groups. Leading this article, you will obtain knowledge about the foundation on which Belbin built his theory, what his assumptions were and how the theory has evolved. This article will give an overall view of how these personality traits are defined, which strengths and weaknesses each possess, and how to combine them into a high-functioning team. As a concluding chapter, the article will describe some commonly used points of criticism against Belbin’s theory along with its limitations.


Contents


Background

In 1969, Dr. Meredith Belbin initiated a study of teams, based on several international management teams. Dr. Belbin was invited to begin his studies at a business simulation game, hosted at Henley Business school. Nine years, and more than 200 highly qualified teams later, the study concluded with two very important learnings.[3] Dr. Belbin and his team’s initial thesis was that intellect would be quintessential in predicting success among the team. Basically, teams with members of higher intelligence would outperform teams with lower intelligence members. What the research team saw though, was several high intelligence teams, failing to fulfill their potential and being outperformed by what Dr. Belbin’s team had presumed inferior teams. These observations laid the foundation for what today is known as Belbin’s 9 Team Roles, as the research team set out to determine, what the source of this unpredicted success was. What was determined through the years, was that the catalyst for success in teams was balance, not intelligence. Teams with a balanced distribution of personalities, with different strengths and weaknesses, had an opportunity to compliment and strengthen each other, covering gaps in the knowledge and skill within the group and hence, appear stronger combined. At the same time, groups, comprised of people with similar characteristics often experienced conflicts over influence and share of work. This can all be illustrated by visualizing a soccer team. You want to prevent the opponent from scoring a goal, but if you comprise your team solely of goal keepers, you will be unlikely to score yourself. A well-balanced team will contain both goalkeeper, defensive, midfield and offensive players, this way you are able both to defend your goal, pass the ball up field AND score in the opponent goal. It was the same conclusion Dr. Belbin and his team reached, a balanced combination of different personalities with different focus points and perspectives significantly raised the likelihood of a team being successful. By having participants from the business simulation games fulfill written test and personality assessments, he was able to determine nine clusters of personality traits. This resulted in a personality test, that determines the presence and strength of each trait in a person. This is beneficial in two ways. First, awareness of your personal strengths and weaknesses enables you to work with them. At the same time, it makes it easier for a manager to combine they employees in diverse teams, with complementing personalities.


The 9 Team Roles

Belbin’s 9 Team Roles, covers nine clusters of personal attributes, which each affects and benefits the efforts of a project group. One person will often contain traces of each role, in varying degree, and usually two or three different roles will be the strongest and most dominant ones. The roles are derived from the test developed by Belbin and his team. Through questions revolving around how different situations are handled and reacted to, the test determines the presence and magnitude of each role within a person. The roles and their different strengths and weaknesses are as follows.

Team Roles Personal traits Strengths Allowable weaknesses
Resource Investigator (RI)[4]

Investigator.png

This person is often very extroverted and enjoys communicating and establishing contacts with other people. Resource Investigators are curious and innovative. Finding resources outside of the group comes naturally to this person, both in terms of partners and/or knowledge.
  • Outgoing
  • Enthusiastic
  • Explores opportunities and contacts[3]
  • Can be over-optimistic
  • Might lose interest, once the initial enthusiasm has passed[3]
Teamworker (TW)[4]

Teamworker.png

Team Workers are diplomatic, perceptive and flexible. They value cohesion in a team and are committed to help facilitate an efficient workflow. They are often popular or well-liked people and very capable in their own right, but often focus on being the groups internal negotiator. The Team Worker offer support and a sense of diplomacy to group discussions.
  • Co-operative
  • Perceptive and diplomatic
  • Listens and averts friction
  • Can find it difficult to make hard decisions
  • Tends to avoid confrontations

|Co-ordinator (CO)[4] Co-ordinator.png |Co-Ordinator’s personalities are often very similar to what is perceived as the traditional leader role. They are often calm and good-natured, with a natural talent for delegating and dividing tasks among the rest of the group. This talent is linked to their ability to determine skills and strengths in others, along with what value other people can bring to the team. A lot of this skills can be attributed to the fact that, Co-Ordinator’s’ often are excellent listeners |

  • Mature
  • Confident
  • Identifies talent in others
  • Clarifying goals

|

  • Might be interpreted as manipulative
  • Can appear lazy, as they offload their own work and suddenly have little to do

|} |Plant (PL)[4] Plant.png |Plants are the creative engine of the team. They are innovative and creative in approaching a challenge and they will often either produce a novel and exciting solution or propose a new way to approach a given task. Due to this creativity, Plants sometimes tend to ignore given parameters or constraints given for the task. This can lead to impractical solutions. Working with a Plant, it is important to remember, that this type of group member thrives on praise and find it difficult to handle criticism, this combined with a lack of communication often found in Plants, means that other group members need to be cautious when giving feedback. Often, Plants tend to be introvert and work on their assigned task, away from the group. |

  • Creative
  • Imaginative
  • Free-thinking
  • Generates ideas and solves difficult problems in new and exciting ways

|

  • Might ignore initial parameters or constraints
  • Might be too engaged in a solution, that they are unable to communicate effectively

|} |Monitor Evaluator (ME)[4] Monitor-evaluator.png |If a project group is a courtroom and other members are lawyers advocating for their perspective, the Monitor Evaluator is the judge. Members with this role evaluates, analysis and considers all aspects of ideals. They are objective, critical thinking and as such can appear to be detached or even unemotional. Monitor Evaluators will consider every pro and con of a case, they will consider the far-sighted strategic implications of every idea, before deciding. Therefore, they can come across as being slow to decide. Even so, Monitor Evaluators are intelligent and experts at staying objective in discussions, this however mean that they can appear to be without passion for a project, and often fails at motivating others for their cause, even though it might be objectively right. They will prefer to react towards an event, rather than investigate why the event happened. |

  • Sober
  • Intelligent
  • Strategic
  • Sees and judges all options even and accurately

|

  • Can come across as overly critical, this is especially true when working with Plants
  • Lack passion and drive to inspire and motivate others

|} |Specialist (SP)[4] Specialist.png |The Specialist is the most recent addition in the 9 Roles. The Specialist is other highly skilled in the area a project group is working. They deliver specific knowledge, technical details and limitations for the project. Specialists are often the center of knowledge for a specific part of the project. They take pride in their skills and are often passionate about their field of expertise. Because they often joined the group to suppliy knowledge regarding a certain aspect of the project, their contribution might be limited to that field. They will often be preoccupied with technical details, within their field, refusing to move away from this, as their do not consider it their field of work. This means that the Specialist often is unaware or uninterested in the big picture of the project. |

  • Expertise in certain field
  • Single-minded
  • Self-starting and -sustaining

|

  • Contribution tends to be limited to the Specialists field of expertise
  • Gets lost in technicalities

|} |Shaper (SH)[4] Shaper.png |Shapers are driven people. If you challenge a Shaper, they will approach it as a exciting challenge. They are usually extrovert and dynamic people, who will motivate the rest of the team to overcome challenges and improve on them self. If the team falls into a groove or becomes complacent, it is the Shaper who will provide the disruption to shake things up and initiate the discovery of new ways of problem solving. This drive can, how ever provide challenges within the team. The Shaper is excellent at pushing team members to improve, but in this process, they risk pushing others too hard, or offend other team members feelings. The Shaper will often appear as a brass personality with a direct and often provocative speech. Team members with this personality are great motivators, and enjoy stimulating others to improve, just as they enjoy questioning the norms of the team. |

  • Thrives on pressure
  • Stimulates and challenges other
  • Drives and inspires the team to overcome obstacles

|

  • Can be provocative for others
  • Can risk becoming aggressive and bad humored in attempt to get things done

|} |Implementor (IMP)[4] Implementor.png |Implementers are the engine of the project group. These people turn the groups creative ideas and suggestions, into concrete actions and plans. They form a comprehensive strategy and plan for the work to be preformed and expect you to perform according to it. They are hardworking disciplined people but will often come across as conservative. Implementers does not always respond well to change. They expect they plan to be followed, and it will take quite the amount of convincing for them to abandon a set plan. Often Implementers will actively resist changes, even if it might be for the better. They value structure and their work methodic is systematic, organized and efficient. |

  • Practical
  • Reliable
  • Efficient
  • Does not care about creative details, but will plan and execute the work that needs to be done

|

  • Inflexible towards changes
  • Slow responds to new opportunities

|} |Completer Finisher (CF)[4] Completor.png |The perfectionist of the group, the Completer Finisher will insist on doing the final proofreading one more time. They are detail orientated and observant, holding their work to the highest standard. Often, the Completer Finisher will be the person to drive the project over the finishing line. This attention to detail, will often what other team members lack and what elevates a project to the next level. Their concerns with regards to deadlines and detail, can often come across as tiresome, especially for the faster moving team members. The perfectionistic mindset of the Complete Finisher can also prove a challenge regarding delegating assignments to others, as they are more confident in their own skills and tends to be anxious when not being hands on. The Completer Finisher is an invaluable asset to the team in the finishing stages of a project, as they are key to maintain focus on the objective. |

  • Detail orientated
  • Painstaking
  • Holds any task to high standards and makes sure everything is polished and perfected

|

  • Worries untimely
  • Reluctant to delegate tasks

|}

Application

Text

Limitations of the Belbin's 9 Roles

Text

References

  1. 2016 J. R. Olsson, N. Ahrengot, M. L. Attrup. Power i Projekter og Porteføljer/
  2. 2017 Project Management Institute, Inc. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 2018 Belbin's History. https://www.belbin.com/about/history/
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Belbin_for_students
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