2.3 Teamwork
It is likely that in most work experience scenarios you will be interacting with other people in a team environment and it can be useful to have an idea of the role you naturally fall into. Effective teams need a range of roles and no one is more important than any other.
A commonly used description of the different roles within a team was developed by Dr Meredith Belbin in the 1970s. A summary of the nine roles is presented in Table 1 (Belbin, no date) but more detailed information can be found on the Belbin website (see Further reading for details).
Resource investigator: Uses their inquisitive nature to find ideas to bring back to the team. |
Teamworker: Helps the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on behalf of the team. |
Coordinator: Needed to focus on the team's objectives, draw out team members and delegate work appropriately. |
Plant: Tends to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways. |
Monitor Evaluator: Provides a logical eye, making impartial judgements where required and weighs up the team's options in a dispassionate way. |
Specialist: Brings in-depth knowledge of a key area to the team. |
Shaper: Provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum. |
Implementer: Needed to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible. |
Completer Finisher: Most effectively used at the end of tasks to polish and scrutinise the work for errors, subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control. |
Which one(s) sound most like you? There may be more than one that feels like a fit. Understanding your natural role in a team should help you to identify potential strengths and weaknesses and work with others more effectively. For example, if you are a ‘teamworker’ you might feel uncomfortable making unpopular decisions, whereas a ‘completer finisher’ could be accused of being a perfectionist.
Understanding the roles of others will give you an insight into why people act and react in the way they do.
It is possible to undertake a Belbin team roles test via the Belbin website [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . There is a charge, but they will send you a discount code once you sign up. If you are currently in work, it might be worth investigating whether your employer already uses Belbin, as they may already pay a subscription fee and have access to the materials.