Book review: Belbin's team roles
Originally published in GP magazine .
Written for GP magazine around 2007. This is the version I submitted - the published article may have been edited.
In previous articles I have reviewed books focusing on leadership and on management style that are mainly about improving you as a leader or manager of a team. In the article on MBTI (Myers-Briggs personality type) I listed a couple of books that would help you understand the four main personality types better. This can help you understand why you and others react differently to challenges and information, help you know when you have to present ideas or projects in different ways, and help you change your manner to get the best out of people. However, there is another classic work on teams that we haven’t yet looked at that is worth reviewing. R Meredith Belbin’s two main books are Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail and Team Roles at Work.
Belbin comes up with nine different roles in a team, namely:
Plant: solves problems
Resource investigator: develops contacts
Co-ordinator: good at bringing people together and clarifying goals
Shaper: challenging and thrives on pressure
Monitor evaluator: strategic and a good judge
Teamworker: works well with others
Implementer: reliable and disciplined
Completer finisher: delivers on time
Specialist: provides special skills
The exact description for each is more complex, and there are both good things and bad things about traits - for example, plants can be great at coming up with ideas but rubbish at communicating them or getting anyone involved. You score marks in all nine categories, and the ones that are highest are your preferred roles.
The first book has a list of questions that can help you rank yourself. However, you can do it online at www.belbin.com for £30, and you get a personalised report with a lot of detailed information. When we merged two surgeries, all the partners did one to see our range of types and were pleased to see a mix, which is what you are aiming for.
For those who know me there will be no surprise that I score highly in resource investigator and shaper, with plant and monitor evaluator not far behind. However, just like the situational leadership model, the trick is to understand what you are intrinsically bad at and work on those skills. So I try very hard to be a good co-ordinator and team player when needed, and try to avoid roles where that is important.
The books can be a bit dry in places, and I have yet to read them from cover to cover, but by dipping in you can pick up key concepts, and the main argument is that a team that consists of only one type doesn’t work. You should also vary the membership of a group depending on its role, to help it achieve its purpose.