High Performing Teams & Belbin Team Roles

High Performance Teams & Team Roles The formation of effective teams is more by good fortune than good judgment….it doesn’t have to be that way! Rapid, high quality team performance is not an accident. It requires discipline & effective interaction skills: Balanced, diverse team Effective process Relevant experience Team Role Profiles – a scientifically proven, rapid way to predict team effectiveness: Design effective teams Diagnose and improve performance of existing teams

Belbin Team Roles Dr. Meredith Belbin from Cambridge University discovered over 20 years of research into team effectiveness: The skill or individual excellence of the team members was not a predictor of a team’s results. It was the way that the individual members behaved that contributed to or detracted from the team’s effectiveness. He identified nine predictable behavior patterns or “team roles.” He demonstrated that with a careful balance of technical skills and the optimal behavior patterns, we can select and develop teams with a predictably higher degree of success.

Predicting Team Performance A typical example of Belbin’s ability to predict the order of finish of teams in the Henley Management Simulations. The red x's on the graph represent the different teams participating in the simulation. Red x’s on the diagonal line represent where Belbin's predictions and the team's performance matched exactly. Predicted Actual 5 4 3 2 1 X Predicted Order of Finish Actual Order of Finish 1 2 3 4 5

Team Roles What is a Team Role? A tendency to behave, contribute, and interrelate with others in a particular way when working in a team (Vs. A Functional Role which refers to the job demands that a person has been engaged to meet by supplying the requisite technical skills and operational knowledge) Nine Roles Identified The team roles for most people fall into three categories: Natural or Preferred roles Manageable roles they can assume Least Preferred roles As individuals differ greatly in personality & behavior so too will their team role profiles vary.

Factors Determining Individual Behavior in a Team Observed behavior can be misleading – Beware first impressions! Tendency to over-rate Extroverts & under-rate Introverts Instability between the factors can create inner-conflict, Team Roles unclear – conflict needs to be consciously resolved Absence of conflicting factors leads to simple, uncomplicated behavior – Team Roles easy to see 6. Role Learning 1. Personality Set of Observable Behaviors 5. Experience 2. Mental Abilities 4. Environment & Constraints 3. Current Values & Motivations

The Complexity of Team Interaction 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 ? ? 1 2 3 4 5 6 ?? ? ?? ? 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Team Role Contribution The Nine Team Roles Creative, Original, Unorthodox Solves difficult problems Objective, Strategic, Discerning Judges all options Deep Knowledge, Single-minded, Self-starting Team Role Contribution Absent-minded Ignores details Uninspiring, Critical Limited contribution Abrasive, Insensitive Easily provoked Inflexible Reluctant to change Worrier, Nit-Picks Reluctant to delegate Indecisive, Avoids Conflict Over-optimistic Easily Bored Manipulative Over-delegates Allowable Weakness Thinking PL Plant ME Monitor Evaluator SP Specialist Action SH Shaper IMP Implementer CF Completer Finisher Hard Driving, Influencer, Dynamic Challenges, Puts on the Pressure Organizing, Disciplined, Reliable Turns ideas into practical actions Meticulous, Conscientious, On time Searches out errors and omissions People TW Team Worker RI Resource Investigator CO Coordinator Diplomatic, Cooperative, Perceptive Listens, Averts friction Outgoing, Enthusiastic, Networker Recognizes Opportunities Motivator, Orchestrator, Facilitator Clarifies goals & decision-making.

Team Roles Key Concepts – Individual Be aware of and manage your Allowable Weaknesses: This is the price to be paid for being good in your preferred roles, e.g., a strong Shaper is going to hurt some peoples feelings as they forge ahead Ensure that Allowable Weakness does not become “Disallowable”: Lose a Plant’s attention during a meeting because they are dreaming up a creative solution = OK Plant forgets to come to meeting because they are thinking about something else = NOT OK! Focus on what you do best: Understand and excel in your natural, preferred roles & manage, rather than struggle to be good at your least-preferred roles

Team Roles Key Concepts – Team Diversity is essential - Need all 9 roles to be most effective long-term Belbin demonstrated that diversity is a key predictor of actual results, it provides a framework for constructive conflict Doesn’t mean a team needs 9 people (4-7 is best) Each role should be represented (who plays each role may evolve & change over time) Some roles will be more or less important at a given time or for certain tasks facing the team Beware of having too many of same role on team: Too many Plants – all brainstorming, no action Too many Monitor Evaluators – analysis paralysis Too many Shapers – CONFLICT & !!***#%!!/ BEWARE OF LABELLING PEOPLE!!: Everyone has 3 to 6 roles they prefer or are comfortable with and they may prefer/need to use different roles in different circumstances.

Individual Belbin Profiles                                                                                                                                    REPORTS

Assessment Results in Rank Order What are my Top Roles ? In the example above the Observers see the candidate (David) as making a very strong Coordinator or Resource Investigator contribution. The overall rank order on the bottom line is the weighted addition of the Self-Perception rank order and the total of the Observers’ rank order. (Note: Observers names can be shown or remain anonymous: Observer 1, 2 etc.)

Pie Charts Self-Perception vs Observers Am I coherent ? In this example, many of David's perceived roles are in general accord with the perceptions of others. However, there are disconnects in the RI and SH roles, shown by large differences between self perception and observer scores at the bottom. Differences of 8 or more

Self-Perception Team Role Profile In this example, the candidate (David) would PREFER to play the roles of Team Worker (TW), Resource Investigator (RI), Coordinator (CO) or Plant (PL), Can MANAGE the roles of Monitor Evaluator (ME) and Specialist (SP) and LEAST PREFERS the roles of Shaper (SH), Implementer (IMP) and Completer Finisher (CF).

Bar Graph of Observer Words Are these weaknesses allowable ? In the example above David's most prominent role, as seen by others is COORDINATOR (CO). The role at the bottom of the graph, SPECIALIST (SP), is David's weakest role as perceived by others.

Counseling Report Generated by the Belbin software – this report is based on the top two (#1,2) and bottom (#9) team roles from Overall Ranking line of the first report: Assessment Results in Rank Order It offers advice on adopting a management style which fits in with the individual’s team role strengths and weaknesses: It also makes an interactive comparison of the top role from David's Self-Perception Inventory compared to where this is seen by the Observers.

List of Observer Responses This list shows at the top David’s main strengths, e.g. broad in outlook, diplomatic, calm & confident. David should try to work with people who will cover what he lacks and who will most appreciate his strengths. Most appreciated behavioral characteristics. Maximum score = No. of Observers x 2 A score of 0 means no Observers felt these behaviors were descriptive

Team Role Mapping

Individual, Team, Organization Self-Awareness Self- Management Self-Mastery 2. Team Maps & Pairs Analysis Awareness of Others Team Awareness & Effectiveness 1. Individual Team Role Reports Organization Awareness & Change 3. Culture Analysis

Team Role Mapping Exercise Use 1st report: ASSESSMENT RESULTS IN RANK ORDER PL ME SP SH CF IMP CO TW RI Susan Denise Mike John Beth Tim Raj 2 3 1 8 9 7 For each Team Role: Surplus ? Void ? Tendencies? What adjustments will be required ? 7 8 9 1 2 3 Thinking Action People

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