3.1 Key functional roles
If a team is going to function successfully, there are a number of key functional roles that are usually assigned to people.
A quick online search will reveal several functionality-based team role systems and it is clear that there are overlaps with the personality-based or behavioural roles that you’re going to look at in the next section. Let’s simplify this by looking at it from the context of a team meeting. Perhaps you will recognise the following roles:
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Team leader or chairperson
Leads the meeting, clarifying the aim of the meeting and its agenda. They may introduce each item on the agenda and guide the discussion, summarising the key points and any decisions taken. In some teams this person may also have a key role in decision making and the allocation of tasks and activities.
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Record-keeper/note taker
Takes notes in the meeting and records what has been discussed and agreed on, such as who will undertake a task and within what timescale. This could be a role which is assigned to one person or it could be rotated at each meeting. The note taker will also record the date of the next meeting, who was present and any apologies received from people unable to attend.
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Document controller
Most meetings will refer to some documents or have to produce reports periodically. The role of this person is to take responsibility for the documents in terms of filing and sending out to team members. If this is a large task then this may be a separate person in the team, but it could also be a role taken on by the team leader in a smaller team.
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Timekeeper
This person has responsibility for ensuring that the meeting is on schedule and to check progress on actions agreed. Again this role could be undertaken by the team leader in a small team.
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Treasurer
If there are finances associated with the team function then this may be a role which is assigned to one team member. They will have responsibility for checking and banking any funds as well as providing reports on accounts to the team.
Did you identify any of these roles in Activity 3? If some of these are roles which you did not think of but you could identify in your team examples go back and add them to your table now.
What can happen without role allocation?
Why is it important for us to pay attention to the different roles that people play in a team? What would happen if a team did not have people who were identified with different functions? Would it really matter?
If these functional roles are not given due attention, then the team can drift aimlessly. Things that need to get done won’t get done on time and arguments are more likely to happen. Ultimately the goal is unlikely to be achieved successfully.
Functional roles in a team can be allocated, as in the example of Jane’s School Parents’ Association where key roles were elected by parents. Alternatively, people may take roles that they are familiar with or roles could be rotated. The important thing here for the achievement of any team goal is that responsibility for each relevant functional role is taken by someone in the team. In a small team it may be that one person covers more than one role.
The overlap with behavioural roles becomes clear when someone with the wrong set of skills or motivations is allocated a role that does not play to their strengths. You’ll explore that in more detail in Section 4.