Observations of team behaviour by Meredith Belbin, a researcher in organizational psychology, found success in team projects depends on balancing 9 clusters of team behaviour under the 3 categories of action, people and thinking roles.
Some of the roles may be more 'high profile', but each of the distributed behaviours is essential in getting the team from starting a project to finishing it. (And if you were working on a solo project, you would need to do all these roles yourself!).
Cluster |
Team Role |
Contribution to getting the project done |
| Thinking Roles | Plant | Provides new ideas; thinks of creative approaches; thinks outside the box. |
| Monitor-Evaluator | Analyzes options critically, provides objective assessment, ensures decisions are logical and well thought out. | |
| Specialist | Brings in-depth knowledge and expertise, solves complex technical problems, adds credibility to decisions. | |
| People Roles | Coordinator | Acts as chairperson. Clarifies goals, delegates effectively, keeps team focused, fosters participation. |
| Team Worker | Supports team cohesion, encourages cooperation, resolves conflicts, maintains morale. | |
| Resource Investigator | Explores opportunities, networks externally, brings in ideas and resources from outside the team. | |
| Action Roles | Shaper | Challenges the team to improve. Drives the team forward, challenges complacency, keeps momentum high. |
| Implementer | Puts ideas into action. Organises tasks and makes sure plans are executed effectively. | |
| Completer-Finisher | Pays attention to detail, identifies errors and and makes sure output is high quality and deadlines are met. |
Looking through these roles and behaviours and the role they play, you might ask yourself what might happen if these roles were missing or duplicated in a team project.
For example, Belbin found a team with no Plant struggled to come up with the initial spark of an idea to get started. However, once there were too many Plants in the team, bad ideas concealed good ones, and non-starters were given too much airtime - especially if there was nobody to perform the role of Monitor-Evaluator. Similarly, with no Shaper, the team ambled along without drive and direction, missing deadlines. But with too many Shapers, in-fighting began and morale was lowered.
Although there are nine roles, this does not mean that every team requires nine people. In many projects, most people will perform two or three roles (and if you were doing the project on your own, you would need to perform all the roles yourself). Although individuals may find that they are more comfortable with some roles than others, this preference for a role can change over time or when working in different teams. And sometimes a team member may find that they need to take on a role that they are not so comfortable with to make sure the project gets done.
Knowing about Belbin's team roles provides a shared language for reflecting on and discussing teamwork and team dynamics. Understanding different team roles can help you work effectively with others, especially when everyone has different strengths and working styles - it can help the team have an appreciation for others’ contributions, leading to more balanced teamwork.
Knowing your own tendencies towards a role can help you contribute in ways that maximise or stretch those tendencies, and being open about where you might or might not be so strong can help avoid conflict. For example, a student who tends towards playing the role of 'plant' - coming up with lots of creative ideas, may struggle with organisation. Being open about this with the team, might help others on the team see where they can contribute their particular strengths as an 'implementer' to help put these ideas into motion (or be more understanding if you're not finding it easy!).
It is helpful to have these roles in mind when working through something like the ASK Team Project Planning Wizard as it is good to discuss and be open about how you might approach these roles. As a project progresses, the team can reassess team roles periodically. Are all roles being effectively covered? Is workload being shared? Do adjustments need to be made? This may sometimes mean taking on a role you're not comfortable with.
You can read more about Belbin's team roles following this link to the library catalogue:
Team Roles at Work
by
Belbin's renowned Team Role theory is a familiar concept for managers and management trainers across the world. This book explores the impact of Team Roles from interpersonal chemistry and managing difficult relationships, to cultivating effective leaders and shaping organizations. Now fully updated, this second edition has new practical examples and summaries bringing this book up to date 17 years after its original publication.
Honey's Five Team Roles
Peter Honey (1988) simplified Belbin's 9 roles into five.
1. LEADER: makes sure the team has clear objectives and members are engaged
Leaders have good awareness about what skills their group needs to develop, they are good at planning and prioritising tasks needed to complete work. They are organised, focus on time management and can set realistic targets. They have a good sense of when a problem is 'solved', and pay attention to detail in checking and finalising work.
2. CHALLENGER: questions effectiveness and drives for results
Challengers can look at problems and see more than one solution. They are able to explain ideas and counter-ideas clearly to people and are always thinking about how to do things better.
3. DOER: encourages progress and takes on practical jobs
Doers are focused workers who deal well with distractions. They know where to go to find information and are proactive about doing so. They are task-oriented and ask for advice or input when they are stuck on a problem.
4. THINKER: produces ideas and thinks through those proposed by others
Thinkers are good at selecting the information they need to solve problems or complete tasks. They are logical and can break down tasks into steps and put information in order. When solutions to problems don't work they try to find out why and approach the problem from another direction.
5. SUPPORTER: eases tension and promotes harmony
Supporters work well with other people and listen to their suggestions. They like to check that they have understood problems, and suggest different ways of solving them in a team. They stay calm when there is disagreement or conflict. They can follow instructions to get tasks done and see how these contribute to overall team goals.
Both the activities below are based on these roles. Activity 1 is an activity you can do with your team before you properly start working on your teamwork task. Activity 2 is an activity you can do individually after your teamwork task is completed.
Activity 1: Before you start teamwork
Together with your team:
This activity also highlights any skill gaps or surpluses that your group hadn't anticipated. If either of these is the case, you will need to be proactive about managing that situation. For instance, who might be willing to fill in any skills gaps? What if there are two people suited to the same role?
Activity 2: After teamwork is completed
Reflecting individually on the teamwork you have completed:
