Are you thinking about how to build a new team or improve your current one? Putting several capable people together and hoping they will perform well is not enough. Meredith Belbin noticed this too, and for this purpose he identified team roles which, when combined, can bring your team highly desirable results.
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How to build a team?
The British theorist Dr Meredith Belbin tried to answer the question of how to build a team that really works through research that began in 1969. It was an academic experiment run as part of management courses at Henley Management College, and it lasted a full nine years. Based on this data, the research team found that a team’s success or failure does not depend as much on the intellect of its members as was assumed, but mainly on their behaviour.
As a result of his research, Dr Belbin published a groundbreaking work in 1981 describing the different ways team members behave, which, when combined correctly, can produce truly effective collaboration. Belbin first defined 8 roles, and in 1993 he added one more role to his theory. This created the 9 team roles that organisations and companies around the world widely use today.
During the research, the team roles were divided into 3 areas based on their focus on:
thinking: Plant, Monitor Evaluator, Specialist
action: Shaper, Implementer, Completer Finisher
people: Coordinator, Teamworker, Resource Investigator
💡 Tip: Also read the article Dream team: How to build, manage and motivate it?
Belbin’s team roles, who must not be missing from a team?
To work highly effectively, all the roles need to be spread evenly among the team members. Belbin himself considered six members to be the best number for teamwork. It follows that one member can take on more than one role. Each role in this typology has its strengths and weaknesses. Belbin called the weaknesses allowable weaknesses, because they go hand in hand with the member’s undeniable contributions, so they need to be taken into account.
Plant
A creative team member who can always come up with new, original ideas and approaches. They know what to do in difficult situations. They may withdraw when their ideas are criticised or ignored.
- Strengths: Can solve difficult tasks in unconventional ways.
- Weaknesses: Their new ideas can sometimes be impractical. They often ignore given parameters, details and constraints. They are not usually good communicators and do not handle criticism well.
Coordinator
This team role requires plenty of self-confidence and experience. Coordinators take on the traditional role of team leader and are often referred to as the “chairman”. The Coordinator assigns work to others and leads the team towards its goal.
- Strengths: Delegates tasks very effectively and is a good listener. Can recognise other people’s talents and abilities and then make use of them.
- Weaknesses: Can sometimes come across as too manipulative. Usually does not contribute their own ideas. It may look as if they give others too many tasks to make their own work easier.
Monitor Evaluator
These team members are best at analysing and evaluating ideas that others come up with. They are excellent critical thinkers who carefully weigh the pros and cons of all options before reaching a decision.
- Strengths: They can devise a good strategy, bring logic to ideas and assess all options objectively.
- Weaknesses: They are not usually good at motivating others and often lack speed. They can also come across to others as too critical, cold and unemotional.
Teamworker
An important element of cooperation and diplomacy is brought to the team by the Teamworker, who is usually versatile and helps get the required work done. They can be very cooperative and perceptive. Even though they are usually very capable on their own, they prefer building a strong team.
- Strengths: Supports team cohesion, works thoroughly on assigned tasks and helps people in the team get along thanks to their diplomatic nature.
- Weaknesses: Tends to be indecisive in crisis situations and tends to avoid confrontation in discussions.
Resource Investigator
Resource Investigators are enthusiastic and curious team members who explore all available options and resources, develop contacts and negotiate on behalf of the team.
- Strengths: Explores new opportunities and contributes plenty of external contacts to the team.
- Weaknesses: Can quickly lose interest after the initial enthusiasm. Can sometimes come across to others as overly optimistic.
Specialist
This type of person has specialised knowledge needed for specific work on a task. They are proud of their skills and abilities and care about maintaining their professional status. Their job is to be the team’s expert in a given area.
- Strengths: Provides in-depth knowledge and information about a key area.
- Weaknesses: Only functions within their own specialisation. Can unnecessarily overload the team with knowledge and slow down work on the task.
Implementer
Implementers are people who get things done and turn ideas into practical actions and plans. They are usually disciplined and organised people who work systematically. Thanks to them, you can be confident that the work will get finished.
- Strengths: Is reliable and can turn ideas into reality and put them into practice.
- Weaknesses: The Implementer pays little attention to more complex theories, is often inflexible and finds it harder to accept change. They can also sometimes be overly competitive.
Shaper
The Shaper is dynamic, demanding and challenges the team to improve. They like to stimulate others, question norms and are the ones who shake things up to make sure all options have been considered.
- Strengths: Sees obstacles as exciting challenges and has the courage to keep working on a task when others want to give up.
- Weaknesses: Can sometimes be too argumentative or aggressive and hurt other people’s feelings.
Completer Finisher
This is a team member who is often described as a perfectionist. They are orderly, conscientious and anxious. They keep track of deadlines and push the team to finish the work on time. The Completer Finisher checks for any errors or omissions and pays attention to the smallest details.
- Strengths: Carefully follows the project from start to finish. Completes everything that is unfinished and ensures the final work is complete and handed over.
- Weaknesses: Can be impatient, overly anxious and intolerant of more relaxed team members. Can sometimes get bogged down in details. Does not let others share in their work.
What are the benefits of Belbin’s typology?
The best teams are well thought out in their structure, purpose and goals. Belbin’s team role typology therefore lets you build a team deliberately and divide work effectively. This means identifying what each person can offer and making sure these strengths are put to use.
Because the research showed that the most successful teams are made up of a diverse mix of behaviours, it is not desirable for a team to contain only one type of person. A capable manager should therefore be able to spot a missing role and fill it, even if it means bringing another member into the team.
By using Belbin’s typology, you will get:
- the right people doing the right tasks, which leads to better performance
- insight into the behavioural strengths and weaknesses of team members
- a shared language that makes coaching conversations easier
- greater certainty that the set task will be completed
- a balanced team where everyone knows what is expected of them
What does the Belbin test reveal?
To find out which team role you are closest to, you can take the Belbin test, which is available online. However, your resulting role may not be final, because as you develop, work on yourself and gain work experience, you may after some time become the ideal candidate for a completely different position in the team. Although you may naturally lean more towards some roles and less towards others, the result of the Belbin test mainly reflects your role at the present time.
Understanding and using employees’ natural talent is the key to great management. This typology gives managers a good overview of the behavioural strengths and preferences of people in the team, which makes it possible to make the most of the contributions of each employee and achieve the best possible results.
💡 Tip: Also read the article 6 Leadership methods and styles: Which one is yours? or Employee motivation and how to understand it properly.
