Working in teams Belbin Team Roles Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Team Role: Belbin’s definition “A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way” Key Points: “In this session, we will be looking at a framework for assessing human behaviour in work situations called the Belbin Team-Role Expert System. Dr. Meredith Belbin has been doing research on teams for more that 20 years. He set out to understand why some teams work well together, and why some teams fail. In the process, he found that participants tended to behave in ways that represented clusters of characteristics. These clusters developed, over time, into 9 key team roles. Our aim today is NOT to put people in little boxes and then pretend that we know everything about them. Instead, we will use Belbin as a framework - as one way to analyse and understand our own and other people’s behaviour. This understanding then gives us more choices in how we relate to each other. There are many instruments which serve this same purpose. Belbin is one. We do not pretend that this will tell us the WHOLE TRUTH about all of life, but it will give us one way to think about how we work together.” (If people ask why we use Belbin and not the MBTI, etc., refer to the reasons listed on the “Why Belbin?” handout.)” Check who has already completed this instrument, and when (recently? Long ago?). ***Note their names, so that you enter a 2 after their name when processing the data – this way you will create a second profile instead of overwriting the first one. *** Ask those who have completed this before how they found the experience. If several people have already completed Belbin, emphasise that it is a dynamic instrument and that results may change depending on your working situation. Encourage those who have completed the instrument before to complete it again (even simply as a test of the validity of the instrument).

How do you build a perfect team out of imperfect people? The perfect individual could be described as: Out-going Organised Motivating Objective Hard-driving Creative You can let the 9 adjectives come up on the screen and then ask participants, “Is it likely we would find all of these characteristics in one single person?” No…. Key Points: -Each of us has our own strengths - and it is unlikely that all strengths will be found in one person Meticulous Knowledgeable Diplomatic Unlikely to find all of these qualities in one person...

Problems with Teams Why fail/succeed? Why make the right/wrong decisions? Why not perform as well as expected, with tensions, misunderstandings? Problem often at personal level: how team members feel about themselves and each other. People find it hard to deal with these behavioural, emotional issues. Key Points: Belbin set out, with his 20 years of research, to investigate why some teams succeed and others fail. Here are some key questions…. (Column 1) Ask Participants: In your experience, what are some problems that teams can face in working together? (Take comments) While there are many things that can affect the performance of a team, we find that often …. (Column 2)

Address the problem Need a way of looking at these issues, measuring their effect, and need a language for talking about them What makes a balanced and effective team - better the mix, the better the performance Key Points: So, what can do to address these personal or behavioural issues that can make it difficult to work well together? (Review slide)

Basic Maxims The effectiveness of a team will depend on the extent to which members correctly recognize and adjust themselves to the relative strengths within the team Key Points: Belbin set out, with his 20 years of research, to investigate why some teams succeed and others fail. Here are some key questions…. (Column 1) Ask Participants: In your experience, what are some problems that teams can face in working together? (Take comments) While there are many things that can affect the performance of a team, we find that often …. (Column 2)

Belbin Team Role Expert System Belbin - 9 team roles type Each type has a typical behavioural strength and a characteristic weakness Key Points: As we said, it is unlikely we will find all the strengths a team needs in one person. In Belbin’s model… (review points) There are NO right and wrong roles. ALL ROLES ARE EQUALLY VALUABLE. And, we’re talking here about PREFERENCES. It does NOT mean that I am capable of doing only one role, and not any of the others.At the same time, we all have natural tendencies, and given a choice, there will be roles we certainly prefer to take over others. We are also NOT saying that people have only ONE preference. We will be looking at our own COMBINATIONS of preferences.

9 Team Roles Plant Resource Investigator Co-ordinator Shaper Monitor Evaluator Teamworker Implementer Completer-Finisher Specialist Key Points: You can either introduce the roles one at a time in detail using this slide OR the next one. If you use this one to introduce detail, be sure not to be redundant in introducing the next slide. ***If you have participants who have been through Belbin before, be sure to ask them what they remember of each role. Then reinforce their comments briefly with the main characteristics of each role, giving examples where you can, particularly from your own experience. Be sure to introduce each role as equally positive, and take care not to display your own personal biases! Plant: Ideas person - one who “plants” ideas in the group - creative, innovative - can jump from one idea to another in conversation and in work Resource Investigator - Making contacts - looking outside the organization for possibilities - if I don’t know the answer, then I know someone who knows - often in meetings, going around the office to talk to people, on the phone, etc. Co-ordinator - has her/his eye on the purpose - asks “Who is doing what?” in relation to tasks - generalist role - “What’s the question? Have we answered the question?” Shaper - pushes to get action to happen - hard-driving - challenging - “Just do it” Monitor Evaluator - steps back - takes a objective view - likes to research and plan - can be slow to decide things - “I’ll let you know tomorrow” - and often makes excellent, sound decisions Teamworker - strives for harmony - wants to build consensus - make sure everyone is consulted and included and where possible, happy. Implementer - a doer - action-oriented - takes any given task and carries it out Completer-Finisher - a detail-oriented person - perfectionist - “perfection is only just good enough” Specialist - highly focused on own area of specialization - “I am a nuclear physicist - talk to me about nuclear physics and nothing else!”

TEAM-ROLE CONTRIBUTION ALLOWABLE WEAKNESSES PLANT: Creative, Solves difficult problems Loses touch with everyday realities RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR: Enterprising, Quick to explore opportunities Weak in follow through CO-ORDINATOR: Makes good use of group activities Manipulative SHAPER: Driving and challenging Provocative, Aggressive COMPLETER FINISHER: Painstaking, Conscientious Anxious, Reluctant to delegate TEAMWORKER: Co-operative, Averts friction Indecisive Put this slide on the screen while you ask participants to do the Belbin Phrases Exercise. DO NOT “re-teach” the role descriptions - just leave it up for their reference while they do the exercise. Make participants use their brains - apply the Belbin theory they learned yesterday to day-to-day office behaviour, as represented by the phrases in the Phrases Exercise. Review the answers to the phrases exercise, asking people to justify their answers - this will help to reinforce the behaviours characteristic of each role. MONITOR EVALUATOR: Discerning and Objective Uninspiring, Slow-moving IMPLEMENTER: Disciplined, Efficient, Practical Slow to see new possibilities Limited in Interests SPECIALIST: Single-minded, Professionally dedicated

Phrases and Slogans

Non Allowable Weaknesses Plant Strong ownership of idea when co-operation with others would yield better results Looks down on others Ignores details Too preoccupied to communicate effectively Neglects practical matters Source of original ideas Creative, imaginative, unorthodox Solves difficult problems Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Resource Investigator Letting down colleagues/ clients by neglecting to make follow-up arrangements Over optimistic Loses interest once initial enthusiasm has passed Creative negotiator Extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative Explores new opportunities Develops outside contacts and brings home new ideas Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Co-ordinator Takes personal credit for the effort of the team Can be seen as manipulative Delegates personal work Inclination to be lazy if someone else can be found to do the work The team controller Mature, confident, trusting Good chairperson – recognises skills Clarifies goals, promotes decision making, delegates well Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Shaper Consistently tramples on people’s feelings Inability to recover situation with good humor or apology Can be provocative Sometimes hurts people’s feelings Prone to frustration and irritation Drives other people to excel Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Monitor Evaluator Constant harsh criticism, regardless of people’s feelings Sometimes lacking in tact – “these are the facts” Inability to inspire others Too critical The analyser of problems Cool, strategic, discerning Sees all options Judges accurately Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Teamworker Avoids situations that involve pressure Never giving their opinion Indecisive in difficult situations Easily influenced Always deferring to others – “what do you think?” Focuses on harmony Co-operative, mild, diplomatic Listens, builds understanding Defuses conflict Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Implementer Obstructs change Unwilling to adapt to changing circumstances Inflexible – slow to respond to new situations Sticks only to the proven and reliable Effective organiser Disciplined, reliable, conservative, efficient Turns ideas into practical actions Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Completer-Finisher Always focusing on small details mistakes in a way which de-motivates Unnecessarily rushing the planning stage of a project Reluctant to delegate and worries too much Perfectionist – “you wont do it the right (my) way” Meets deadlines Guarantees delivery on time Conscientious – notices errors and omissions Can be totally relied upon Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

Non Allowable Weaknesses Specialist Does not want to get involved in broader team issues “Not my problem” syndrome Focuses too much on technical details Too theoretical with little concern for how their ideas link to the big picture “The expert” Single minded, self starting, dedicated Provides knowledge and skills in short supply Non Allowable Weaknesses Allowable Weaknesses Strengths

What & How Self-perception inventory Database generates: Team role preferences Counselling report Character report Team reports Observer assessments 4 per participant Generates a complete profile So what makes up this Belbin Team Role system anyway? (Explain the items listed… Let people know whether or not you will be doing the observer assessments in your workshop. You will need to decide this based on the number of participants, how well they know each other and how full the workshop schedule is already. If you do the observer assessments, you will need to make sure people have time to absorb and make sense of the outcome in a meaningful way, otherwise it will likely just confuse them.)

The UN System and Team Roles UNSSC - 6,000+ UN staff in the database Your profiles are generated against this multicultural UN data Your profile can change over time depending on your job It’s up to you to validate your report The UN System Staff College along with at least 6 agencies (and more are starting) now use the Belbin Team Role system in their own programmes. The UNSSC keeps a growing data base of UN System Belbin data. The main reason is to have a multi-cultural database representative of UN staff. (Belbin’s original research was done with business managers in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s, most of them men - not a profile which accurately represents UN staff.) We would like to add your own data to this data base. The database is only used by UNSSC trainers and CCA/UNDAF Teambuilders, and we only print out reports for people who are present. If you have any concerns about having your data in the database, we can simply delete your record after generating your report - just let me know. The main purpose today is for you to get some feedback on your team role preferences. Though we believe that people’s main role preferences (top few) tend to remain the same in different situations, preferences can change, depending on one’s work responsibilities, the team one works with and professional and personal growth over time. When you receive your report we encourage you to be a “critical consumer” of the Belbin outcomes. While we believe in the reliability and validity of the instrument, you need to decide what is most true for you, in terms of your own preferences. **Here you introduce the Self-Perception question and answer forms. Make sure people have at least 15 minutes to complete these. Some people will take up to 30 minutes.

Individual Reports Assessment Results in Rank Order Pie Charts of Self-Perception Versus Observers Self Perception Team Role Profile Bar Graph of Observer Words Counselling Report Character Profile List of Observer Responses Personal Work Style

Action-oriented roles: People-oriented roles: Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher People-oriented roles: Co-ordinator, Resource Investigator, Teamworker Thinking roles: Plant, Monitor Evaluator, Specialist

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Cool title slide - really nothing to say. Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.

Your Report

Team Role Opposites Monitor Evaluator - judges impartially Plant - theorises Co-ordinator - generalises Completer Finisher - perfects established systems Shaper - drives Resource Investigator - recognises opportunities Review the Action-oriented, People-oriented and Cerebral roles. Encourage people to look at their own preferences when they get their reports to see if their individual orientations are a mix of these or focused on one type. Within the system of roles, you can see that some of them represent “opposite” types of functions. And, often the strengths of one are the weaknesses or the “shadow” of another. Reveal the pairs, one at a time, asking participants to guess what the next opposite is. Reinforce the differences by using examples - ie: A Shaper may value action over reaching agreement and making sure people on board. A Teamworker may want to make sure everybody is in agreement, even if it means we never act! Before revealing the last one (ME) ask which role is missing. Then ask why it is located outside the circle… Yes, because the ME function is one of distance, objectivity, etc. Eg: Malcolm often finds that in a large open room, with seating choice, the Monitor Evaluators will tend to cluster at the back where they can survey the scene from a good distance. Teamworker - supports Implementer - applies Specialist - specifies

As projects progress, different team roles are required Needs Ideas Plans Contacts Organisation Follow Through CO SH PL RI ME SP RI TW At different stages in a project cycle, different role functions may be needed more than others. Again, we don’t expect you to change the make-up of your project team at each stage of work - chaos! Instead, again, this is to raise our awareness of the role functions that are needed, so we can see what may be missing in our own group, and compensate. IMP CO CF IMP

Belbin Team-Role Combination Nicknames TEAM ROLE PAIR NICKNAME TEAM ROLE PAIR NICKNAME RI - BUTTERFLY COLLECTOR CO - COUNSELLOR SH - BOSS ME - PLANNER ME - CALCULATOR ME - TEAM CONSCIENCE PL - HIDDEN TALENT CO - EDITOR PL - MAVERICK SH - PURSUER RI - DETECTIVE RI - DYNAMO TW - TECHNICAL SUPPORT PL - NAVIGATOR SH - INQUISITOR RI - CONTRACTOR ME - CORRECTOR IMP - ORGANISER TW - EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH PL - SCULPTOR PL - BRAINS IMP - CONFORMER IMP - DOER SH - TASK MASTER CF - REFINER CO - PROJECT LEADER SH - TEAM CAPTAIN RI - SCOUT SP - PROFESSOR PL - EXPLORER IMP - MR FIX IT SH - STEAMROLLER CO - JUDGE RI - FACILITATOR RI - COMMUNICATOR PL - ARCHITECT SP CO TW SH ME CF PL TW IMP CF SH CO SP RI Use this slide for reference (ie: don’t read through it all!) Help people find their nicknames, according to their top two role preferences. The order does not matter - so CF-SP and SP-CF have the same nickname. Remember, the nicknames are meant to be fun!

SIZE LIMITED MEDIUM or LARGE 6 Differences team/group TEAM GROUP SIZE LIMITED MEDIUM or LARGE SELECTION CRUCIAL IMMATERIAL LEADERSHIP SHARED or ROTATING SOLO PERCEPTION MUTUAL KNOWLEDGE FOCUS ON UNDERSTANDING LEADER This slide can generate a lot of discussion within a country team. It’s main use is to point out that ‘shared or rotating’ leadership is a good thing. Many RCs still convene and chair every meeting of the CT - this should be discouraged and this slide can be used just to bring that out. Similarly, in ‘Style’ the ‘role spread’ and ‘co-ordination’ is useful to point out that teams share these responsibilities. As to ‘size’, Belbin maintains that a team can have a maximum of 15 members- anything more means you have a group. He also states that in sport, this is the largest number (rugby) for any team. STYLE ROLE SPREAD CONVERGENCE CO-ORDINATION CONFORMISM SPIRIT DYNAMIC INTERACTION TOGETHERNESS PERSECUTION OF OPPONENTS

Self & Observer Data in Accord THE COHERENT PROFILE Self & Observer Data in Accord TR RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SPI CO RI ME CF SP PL TW IMP SH Observer 1 CO RI CF PL ME IMP SH TW SP Observer 2 RI CO ME SP CF IMP PL SH TW Observer 3 CO ME RI CF PL IMP SH SP TW Observer 4 CO RI ME PL CF TW IMP SH SP Overall CO RI ME CF PL IMP SP TW SH Again, only use this slide if you are giving back observer reports. Ask participants what they notice about this profile… take comments. Main Points: Self-perception and all observers generally agree on the order of all roles. CO, RI, ME are almost always in the top 3 PL and CF are nearly always in positions 4 & 5 IMP, SP, TW and SH are clustered in positions 6,7,8,9 Overall rating quite closely reflects self-assessment, is the same for the top 3 roles.

THE COMPATIBLE PROFILE Self & Observer Data in Line TR RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SPI SH ME IMP SP PL CF RI CO TW Observer 1 IMP ME SH CF PL RI SP TW CO Observer 2 ME SH IMP CF PL RI SP TW CO Observer 3 ME IMP SH CF RI SP PL TW CO Observer 4 IMP ME SH CF RI SP PL TW CO Overall ME IMP SH CF SP PL RI TW CO Only use this slide when you are giving back observer reports. Ask participants what they see… take comments. Main Points: Several of the ratings are nearly identical! This suggests that this person is very consistent in the types of roles used with all these various colleagues (or at least is consistently perceived in a particular way!)

Self & Observer Data without Pattern THE CONFUSED PROFILE Self & Observer Data without Pattern TR RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SPI ME CF CO PL RI SP IMP TW SH Observer 1 SH CF ME IMP RI SP TW PL CO Observer 2 TW RI IMP ME SP CO SH CF PL Observer 3 PL SP CO RI SH ME IMP CF TW Observer 4 SP IMP SH PL CF CO RI ME TW Overall ME SP RI CF IMP PL SH CO TW Only use this slide if you are giving back observer reports. Ask participants what they see…and what this might suggest... take comments. Main Points: This person’s self-perception and observer assessments are very different. (Eg: Self-perception gives SH as 9th role vs. Observer 1 who rates it as the 1st role.) AND, there is no consistency even among the observers themselves. (TW last versus TW first.) This could suggest that: the person uses very different roles in different circumstances or with different people that the observers do not know the person well enough to give accurate data

THE DISCORDANT PROFILE Self & Observer Data Conflict TR RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SPI PL TW RI IMP ME SP CO SH CF Observer 1 SP IMP ME RI SH CF CO PL TW Observer 2 SP ME IMP SH CF PL RI TW CO Observer 3 ME SP SH CF IMP PL RI TW CO Observer 4 SP IMP SH ME CO PL RI CF TW Overall SP ME IMP PL SH RI CF TW CO Only use this slide when you are giving back observer reports. Ask participants what they see… and what this might suggest...take comments. Main Points: Data from observers tends to be quite consistent AND is very different (in some cases opposite) to the Self-Perception. This could suggest: The self-perception is biased for some reason (the person is not able to recognise the roles they really use). The person does not USE at work the roles he or she actually prefers. Ie: The person perceives him/herself as highly creative (PL) but does not have or take the opportunity to be so at work. **Encourage participants to look at their own observer assessments and to validate for themselves which roles are most true for them. You may wish to have them do the poster gallery only at this point, so the posters reflect both SPI and Observer data.