Team based assessments- Belbin

roles
Rajesh Chandwani
 Team Role: Belbin’s definition
“A tendency to behave, contribute and
interrelate with others in a particular way”
How do you build a perfect team out
of imperfect people?

The perfect individual could be described as:

Out-going Organised Motivating

Hard-driving Objective
Creative

Meticulous Knowledgeable
Diplomatic

Unlikely to find all of these qualities in one person...

 Problems with Teams
• Why fail/succeed? • Problem often at
• Why not perform as personal level: how
well as expected, team members feel
with tensions, about themselves
misunderstandings? and each other.
• People find it hard
to deal with these
behavioural,
emotional issues.
• A balanced and effective team - better the
mix, the better the performance
 Belbin Team Role Expert System
• Belbin - 9 team roles type
• Each type has a typical behavioural strength
and a characteristic weakness
 Different types of roles
• Action-oriented roles:
– Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher
• People-oriented roles:
– Co-ordinator, Resource Investigator, Teamworker
• Thinking roles:
– Plant, Monitor Evaluator, Specialist
 (A) Co-ordinator-Chairman
The Chairman: (a) This is the coordinator (not the boss)
• Likes organizing people, mapping, their strengths,
using them productively.
• Engineers consent and consensus, developing
agreement among different interests.
• Commands respect and inspires enthusiasm, talks and
listens well
• Has a sense of discipline, focus, timing and balance.
• Not necessarily the most intelligent or most creative
member of the team.
 Co-ordinator
Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable
Weaknesses

• The team controller • Can be seen as • Takes personal credit

• Mature, confident, manipulative for the effort of the
trusting • Delegates personal team
• Good chairperson – work
recognises skills • Inclination to be lazy if
• Clarifies goals, someone else can be
promotes decision found to do the work
making, delegates well
 (B) Shaper
• Outgoing, forceful task- leader type: Drive and self-confidence
• Likes to make a mark in meetings and influence group decisions.
• Risk being unpopular to get ideas across.
• Concentrates on setting objectives and priorities, and making sure
the discussion and action take on the right shape or pattern.
• May carry a hint of intolerance or impatience with vague or fuzzy
people or ideas.

This is the one exception to Belbin's rule that you need all roles in a
team. A team does not need both a chairman and a shaper- they
often work against each other.
 Shaper
Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable
Weaknesses

• Drives other people to • Can be provocative • Consistently tramples

excel • Sometimes hurts on people’s feelings
• Challenging, people’s feelings • Inability to recover
dynamic, thrives on • Prone to frustration situation with good
pressure and irritation humor or apology
• Has the drive and
courage to overcome
obstacles
(C) Resource investigator-The contacts
person
Sociable, relaxed 'butterfly’ ; outgoing personality,
• flirting around boundaries, looking further afield than
the immediate task , Bring in outside ideas,
developments
• Works by personal networks, contacts, and phone
numbers. can usually find the right specialist to help at
a moment's notice.
• Likes new ideas and techniques; is willing to see
possibilities in anything new.
• The curiosity asset may be accompanied by over
enthusiasm., or a lack of follow up.
 Resource Investigator

Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable

Weaknesses

• Creative negotiator • Over optimistic • Letting down

• Extrovert, enthusiastic, • Loses interest once colleagues/ clients by
communicative initial enthusiasm has neglecting to make
• Explores new passed follow-up arrangements
opportunities
• Develops outside
contacts and brings
home new ideas
 (D) Plant-The Ideas person
Innovator
• Original, independent, intelligent, imaginative (and
sometimes introverted) member- Valued in the team for
these
• Source of new approaches to old problems, new ideas and
strategies.
• Likes puzzles, patterns and problem-solving.
• Impractical, carelessness with details,
• Often feels frustrated at the place of group work.
• Weakness at communicating ideas to members with
different outlooks and attitudes.
 Plant
Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable
Weaknesses

• Source of original • Ignores details • Strong ownership of

ideas • Too preoccupied to idea while co-
• Creative, communicate operation with others
imaginative, effectively would yield better
unorthodox • Neglects practical results
• Solves difficult matters • Looks down on
problems others
 (E) Monitor Evaluator- The Critic
• Analyst: the careful, critical member, often slow but right.
• The critic's judgment wins over feelings
• Contributions are analyzing problems and evaluating others
people's ideas and suggestions.
• Can poke holes in unsound proposals before they cost a lot.
Necessary part of quality checking.
• Wants to be sure all the information is at hand before a
decision is made.
• This member is long on evaluation and objectivity, but
probably too serious, unexciting and occasionally too critical.
It is best to send him or he her away to do something useful
elsewhere when the team is at the creative stage of problem
solving.
 Monitor Evaluator
Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable
Weaknesses

• The analyser of • Sometimes lacking • Constant harsh

problems in tact – “these are criticism, regardless
• Cool, strategic, the facts” of people’s feelings
discerning • Inability to inspire
• Sees all options others
• Judges accurately • Too critical
(F) Company worker- The implementor
• Practical type: Turns ideas, concepts, plans into manageable
tasks and practical work procedures
• Meeting targets and dead lines; Methodical
• Wants clear objectives and procedures, and is sometimes
uncomfortable with new ideas.
• Systematic trustworthy member who can make a practical
plan to achieve the objective when the others have finished
arguing about it.
• Self-control and self discipline, realism and commonsense,
good administrator.
• Little inflexible or unexciting, perhaps unresponsive to new
ideas that are not yet proven
 Implementer
Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable
Weaknesses

• Effective organiser • Inflexible – slow to • Obstructs change

• Disciplined, reliable, respond to new • Unwilling to adapt to
conservative, efficient situations changing
• Turns ideas into • Sticks only to the circumstances
practical actions proven and reliable
 (G) Team worker- Team builder
• Nurturer: Listening, encouraging, and harmonizing.
• Likes people, works easily with them, even when their ideas differ.
• Holds the team together, supporting the others in their strengths
and filling in for their weaknesses, while oiling their
communication machinery.
• More concerned with the process than the precise result (in
contrast to the shaper)
• Flexibility, humility and popularity.
• May show a lack of decisiveness or toughness, and a dislike for
competition and friction among team members.
 Team worker
Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable
Weaknesses

• Focuses on harmony • Indecisive in difficult • Avoids situations that

• Co-operative, mild, situations involve pressure
diplomatic • Easily influenced • Never giving their
• Listens, builds • Always deferring to opinion
understanding others – “what do you
• Defuses conflict think?”
 (H) The Finisher
Fine eye for details is most likely to notice omissions or mistakes.
• One of the most important, and often least appreciated, members
of the team.
• While the ideas man or the innovator starts things, the finisher
completes them.
• Checks details and schedules, makes sure the team makes few
errors, and keeps track of the task that needs extra attention.
• Maintains a sense of urgency, and acts as the team's conscience.
• Will worry about future problems.
• A sense of order, a well-focused purpose, self-control.
• May show impatience, intolerance to more casual members, and
an inability to suffer fools or foolishness gladly.
 Completer-Finisher

Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable

Weaknesses

• Meets deadlines • Reluctant to delegate • Always focusing on

• Guarantees delivery and worries too much small details and
on time • Perfectionist – “you mistakes in a way
• Conscientious – wont do it the right which de-motivates
notices errors and (my) way” • Unnecessarily rushing
omissions the planning stage of
• Can be totally relied a project
upon
The complete cycle
 Specialist

Strengths Allowable Weaknesses Non Allowable

Weaknesses

• “The expert” • Focuses too much on • Does not want to get

• Single minded, self technical details involved in broader
starting, dedicated • Too theoretical with team issues
• Provides knowledge little concern for how • “Not my problem”
and skills in short their ideas link to the syndrome
supply big picture
 Team role-opposites
Monitor Evaluator -
judges impartially Plant - Co-ordinator -
theorises generalises

Completer
Finisher -
Shaper - perfects established
drives systems

Resource Investigator -
recognises Teamworker -
opportunities supports

Specialist - specifies Implementer - applies

 References
• Belbin, M. (2004). Belbin team roles. Belbin Home Page. Retrieved April, 16, 2004.
• Fisher, S. G., Hunter, T. A., & Macrosson, W. D. K. (1998). The structure of Belbin's
team roles. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology,71(3), 283-
288.
• Fisher, S. G., Macrosson, W. D. K., & Sharp, G. (1996). Further evidence concerning
the Belbin team role self-perception inventory. Personnel Review,25(2), 61-67.
• Partington, D., & Harris, H. (1999). Team role balance and team performance: an
empirical study. Journal of Management Development, 18(8), 694-705.
• Prichard, J. S., & Stanton, N. A. (1999). Testing Belbin’s team role theory of
effective groups. Journal of Management Development, 18(8), 652-665.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-efhOLVgEvM
• http://www.appliedinnovation.com.au/wp-
content/uploads/2013/02/(PPT)TeamRoles-Belbin.pdf
• https://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rj
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2009.ppt&ei=4ShPVL35G4WamwXZgIG4BA&usg=AFQjCNEkrx3D-
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