Productive Teams and Team Roles

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 2 Productive Teams and 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 teamwork 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 existing teams

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 3 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 teams with a higher degree of predictable success.

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 4 Belbin’s Ability to Predict Team Performance 1 st 7 th 1 st 7 th Predicted Finish Actual Finish Belbin was ultimately trying to predict team performance. In one validation study, he ran three separate sessions with teams competing against each other. In each case, he predicted which teams would finish first to last. This chart shows the comparison of his predictions to the actual results. His predictions were largely correct – in fact, they explained over 75% of the performance differences seen during the competition! Reading the Graph: The 3 teams predicted to finish first actually finished 1 st twice and 4 th one time. ‘Perfect’ Prediction

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 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  Nine Roles Identified As individuals differ greatly in personality & behavior so too will their team role profiles vary. The 9 team roles for most people fall into three categories: Natural or preferred roles Roles they can assume Roles they should probably avoid.

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 6 The Stages of Research 1. Low critical thinking = ineffective team 2. All the smart people on the same team 3. Need Creativity (PL) 4. Too much creativity without structure (CO, ME) 5. Need for organization (IMP, CF) 6. Need the Outside View (RI) 7. Need for Speed (SH) 8. Dealing with Conflict (TW) 9. Need for Deep Knowledge (SP)

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 7 Set of Observable Behaviors Factors Determining Individual Behavior in a Team  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 4. Environment & Constraints 3. Current Values & Motivations 2. Mental Abilities 1. Personality 6. Role Learning 5. Experience

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 8 The Nine Team Roles Action SH Shaper IMP Implementer CF Completer Finisher Thinking PL Plant ME Monitor Evaluator SP Specialist People TW Team Worker RI Resource Investigator CO Coordinator 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 Diplomatic, Cooperative, Perceptive Listens, Averts friction Outgoing, Enthusiastic, Networker Recognizes Opportunities Motivator, Orchestrator, Facilitator Clarifies goals & decision-making. 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 Over-optimistic Easily Bored Manipulative Over-delegates Allowable Weakness

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 9 Team Roles Key Concepts – Individual  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. This leads to coherence.  Be aware of and manage your Allowable Weaknesses: This is the price to be paid for being good in your preferred roles. Example: a strong Shaper is going to hurt some peoples feelings as they forge ahead Ensure that a 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!

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 10 Team Roles Key Concepts – Team  Diversity is essential - Need all 9 roles to be most effective over the 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 (5-7 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

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 12 Reading Your Report  The instructor will hand out everyone’s individual profiles  Key Questions to answer: Is my profile 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 ?

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 13 Assessment Results in Rank Order Example Report In the example above, the candidate emerges as a very strong Teamworker (TW) or Coordinator (CO). The overall rank order on the bottom line is a weighted average 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.) What are my Top Roles ?

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 14 Pie Charts of Self-Perception vs. Observers Example Report In this example, the candidate’s perceived roles are not in general accord with the perceptions of others. There are disconnects in the CO, SH, TW and IMP, shown by large differences between self perception and observer scores at the bottom of the page. Differences of 10 or more Am I coherent ?

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 15 Self-Perception Team Role Profile Example Report In this example, the candidate would prefer to play the roles of Coordinator (CO) or Shaper (SH), can manage the roles of Plant (PL), Resource Investigator (RI), Monitor Evaluator (ME) and Completer Finisher (CF), and least prefers the roles of Team Worker (TW), Implementer (IMP) and Specialist (SP).

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 16 Bar Graph of Observer Words Example Report In the example above the most prominent role, as seen by others is Teamworker (TW). The role in the middle of the graph, Monitor Evaluator (ME), is their weakest role as perceived by others. Are these weaknesses allowable ? Ratio of ~5:1

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 17 Counseling Report Example Report

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 18 List of Observer Responses Example Report This 'sample' list shows at the person’s main strengths and some of his behavioral characteristics most appreciated, e.g. diplomatic, caring, and encouraging of others. They should try to work with people who will cover what he lacks and who will most appreciate his strengths. Maximum score = 2 x number of observers

BBB TTT v2.0 - Day2-2 3CP Overheads (Nov ) 19 Team Mapping Exercise PL ME SP SH CF IMP CO TW RI Mike Susan Tim John Beth Raj Denise For each Team Role: Surplus ? Void ? If so, what adjustments will be required ?