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 reports – a scientifically proven, rapid way to predict team effectiveness: Design effective teams Diagnose and improve performance of existing teams 2© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

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. 3© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Predicting Team Performance Predicted Order of Finish Actual Order of Finish A typical example of Belbin’s ability to predict the order of finish of teams in the Henley Management Simulations. Predicted Actual X X X X X 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. 4© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

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 fall into three categories for each person: 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 compositions vary. 5© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

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 Set of Observable Behaviors 4. Environment & Constraints 3. Current Values & Motivations 2. Mental Abilities 1. Personality 6. Role Learning 5. Experience 6© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

The Complexity of Team Interaction ? ? ? ? ?? 7© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

The Nine Team Roles Action SH Shaper IMP Implementer CF Completer Finisher Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has drive to overcome obstacles. Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organizes tasks. Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Finds errors. Polishes and perfects. People TW Team Worker RI Resource Investigator CO Coordinator Co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens and averts friction. Outgoing, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities, develops contacts Mature, confident, identifies talent. Clarifies goals. Delegates effectively. Allowable Weakness Ignores incidentals. Too pre- occupied to fully communicate. Lacks drive and ability to inspire others. Can be overly critical. Contributes only on a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities. Prone to provocation. Offends people's feelings. Somewhat inflexible. Slow to respond to new possibilities. Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate. Indecisive in crunch situations Avoids confrontation. Over-optimistic. Loses interest once initial enthusiasm expires. Can be seen as manipulative. Offloads own share of the work. Team Role Contribution Thinking PL Plant ME Monitor Evaluator SP Specialist Creative, imaginative, free-thinking. Generates ideas & solves hard problems. Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately. Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides rare knowledge and skills. 8© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

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 9© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Team Roles Key Concepts – Team Diversity is essential - All 9 roles will be needed at some point –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 (5-6 is typically the ideal) –Each role should be represented within the team –Some roles will be more or less important at a given time or for certain tasks facing the team. Who plays each role may also evolve & change over time. 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 that are preferred or manageable - they may need to switch among these different roles based on the circumstances. 10© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Individual Belbin Reports REPORTS

Reading Your Report The instructor will hand out everyone’s individual reports Key Questions to answer: –Is my report coherent ? –Are my strongest roles consistent across observers and myself ? –Are the weaknesses seen by the observers ‘allowable’ ? –Are my top roles much more evident to the observers than my weaker roles ? 12© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Analysis of your Team Role Composition The overall rank order on the bottom line is the weighted addition of the Self- Perception and the total of the Observers’ input. The weighting is 57-67% observers, depending on how many observers participated. What are my Top Roles ? Example Report 13© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Team Role Overview Generally, you want to play to your preferred roles whenever possible. Pick the one best suited to the setting, set of tasks or other people you are with. Sometimes a role outside your top 3 is the one best suited to the situation; think of this as “flexing or stretching”, especially if the role has a lower score. Try to let others fill your weakest roles. 75 – 100 Clearly Projected Top Role RICO 50 – 74 Strong Roles TWPL SP 0 – 49Delegate to Others? SHME IMPCF Example Report 14© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Comparing Self and Observer Perceptions Example Report Coherence is the alignment of self-perception and observers’ perceptions of what you do and are good at. It is important because it is correlated with being self-aware and effectively working with others (playing to your true strengths). Perfect alignment is impossible, but check for large gaps. Most people have some “disconnects” between the two. Differences of 40 or more 15© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Your Team Role Preferences Example Report In this example, the person feels they excel at three roles (RI, CO, TW), and have little aptitude for four roles (SH, ME, IMP, CF). The system also checks for consistency in the self- perception data and “drops points” when any inconsistencies are found. This person had none, but scores of 5-15 are common. 16© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Observed Team Role Strengths and Weaknesses Example Report Some weaknesses are to be expected, especially on the strongest roles. They may occur when you play the role to its proper extent. They are allowable as long as they do not become too extreme. Having no weakness on a role, especially the stronger ones, may indicate a “hidden strength” (a role that could safely be played more if you choose to). Are these weaknesses allowable ? ? 17© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

List of Observer Responses Example Report This is the complete list of words your observers could choose from to describe your behavior. All words line up to a specific role as either a strength or associated weakness (italicized). Maximum score = 2 x number of observers 18© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Team Role Feedback Example Report The data on this page is based on common themes for people like yourself. There are over 250 reports like this in the system. The report in your package was chosen based on what your top roles were and what your weakest role was. 19© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Team Role Mapping

Individual, Team, Organization Awareness of Others Team Awareness & Effectiveness Organization Awareness & Change Self-Awareness Self- Management Self-Mastery 1. Individual Team Role Reports 3. Culture Analysis 2. Team Maps & Pairs Analysis 21© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

Team Role Mapping Exercise PL ME SP SH CF IMP CO TW RI Mike Susan Tim John Beth Raj Denise For each Team Role: Surplus ? Void ? Tendencies? What adjustments will be required ? Use the OVERALL ranking (see page 3 of your report) Thinking Action People x x x x x x xxxx x x x x x x x x x x x 22© 2008, CirclePartners LLC

23 These training materials, procedures and systems herein contained or depicted are the sole and exclusive property of 3Circle Partners, L.L.C.. (“3Circle Partners”). The contents hereof contain proprietary trade secrets that are the private and confidential property of 3Circle Partners. Unauthorized use, disclosure, or reproduction of any kind of any material contained in this presentation is expressly prohibited. The contents hereof are to be returned immediately upon termination of any relationship or agreement giving user authorization to possess or use such information or materials. Any unauthorized or illegal use shall subject the user to all remedies, both legal and equitable, available to 3Circle Partners. This material may be altered, amended or supplemented by 3Circle Partners from time to time. In the event of any inconsistency or conflict between a provision in this material and any federal, provincial, state or local statute, regulation, order or other law, such law will supersede the conflicting or inconsistent provision(s) of this material in all properties subject to that law. © 2012 by 3Circle Partners, Inc. Portions of this material are © Belbin & Associates. Used here with permission. All Rights Reserved. Information