Belbin has identified nine different clusters of behavior that are displayed in the workplace which are summarized in the nine Belbin Team Roles. Researches showed that a successful team is made up of a mix of different behaviors/different roles. The following describes the nine roles in more detail.
The Nine Roles
The Resource Investigator
Resource investigators are extroverts which have no difficulties in communicating with other people inside or outside an organization. Resource investigators explore opportunities and develop contacts. Furthermore, they are talented in picking up other people´s ideas and promoting them.
Teamwoker
Teamworkers are supportive, social, caring and flexible to different situations and people. Furthermore, they tend to be good listeners. They are concerned about creating a good team atmosphere and avoiding conflicts.
Co-ordiantor
The strengths of co-ordinators are that they are mature and confident as well as good at identifying talents, using them in pursuit of group objectives and helping others to work towards shared goals. Co-ordinators have a broad outlook and perspective.
Plant
Plants are highly creative people and problem solvers. They provide the source of innovative ideas. In general, they are introverted and prefer to work on their own in very unconventional ways.
Monitor Evaluator
Monitor Evaluators see all options and judges accurately. They are serious-minded, critical and are very careful in making decisions by taking all possible factors into account.
Specialist
Specialists love to learn and they see the accumulation of knowledge as their most important reason for their existence. Specialists are usually recognized as experts within a team.
Shaper
A shaper is a highly motivated person who needs constant achievements. Shapers like to challenge and push others forward and ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus. Shapers might react very emotional in response to any form of disappointment.
Implementer
An implementer is very practical, reliable and efficient. An implementer does very well in organizing the work which has to be done and planning a workable strategy. An implementer has a very good sense of what is relevant and feasible. Therefore, they tend to be inflexible in accepting new ways of doing things, especially if they are radical or impracticable.
Completer Finisher
Completer Finisher are doing very well in controlling and scrutinizing the work for errors. They are very reliable and trustworthy. Furthermore, they have a great capacity for the attention to details and tend to be perfectionists. In general, they tend to be introverted and require less communication with other people.
The importance of knowing behavioral patterns of every team member
According to Harvard Business Review great teams are about personalities not just skills. So, forming teams based on behavioral patterns is extremely important. Those patterns affect the following aspects:
What role you have within a team
How you interact with the rest of the team
Whether your values (core values) align with the team
So, behavioral patterns and not just skills and experiences define whether the team works together well or not. People with the same skills, expertise and technical background might act completely different within a team. Therefore, knowing how every single team member will behave is crucial for forming successful teams.
Sources retrieved at 18th May 2018:
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