7 Summary

Playing different roles is a fact of life and you will likely have quite a collection of roles going on at any given time. Successful team working is heavily dependent on the willingness of team members to take on different roles and fill them effectively. Some roles are technical, in that they require specialist knowledge. Other roles are functional, enabling the team to function as a team and not merely as a disparate group.

There are also behavioural roles, which describe how people actually behave once a team is formed. With behavioural roles, it is the personality of the individual that is the most reliable indicator of suitability for the role. Belbin has identified nine recurring team roles or ‘types’, with each type having both positive and negative traits and with each having the potential to contribute to team working in different situations.

You should now be able to:

• identify the variety of roles you play in your life, including at work
• describe the differences between the 9 team roles defined by Belbin
• recognise the different roles you've encountered in some of the teams you have been part of
• reflect on the roles that you prefer to play in a team.

You are now halfway through the course. The Open University would really appreciate your feedback and suggestions for future improvement in our optional end-of-course survey, which you will also have an opportunity to complete at the end of Week 8. Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.

You touched on the importance of good communication when considering virtual teams in Week 2. In Week 5, you will consider particular aspects of communication in more detail, looking at its importance for building consensus and resolving disagreement.

You can now go to Week 5.