3. How do you build a perfect
team out of imperfect
people?
The perfect individual could be described as:
Out-going
Organised
Motivating
Creative
Hard-driving
Objective
Diplomatic
Meticulous
Knowledgeable
Unlikely to find all of these qualities in one person...
4. Problems with Teams
• Why fail/succeed?
• Why make the
right/wrong
decisions?
• Why not perform as
well as expected,
with tensions,
misunderstandings?
• Problem often at
personal level: how
team members feel
about themselves
and each other.
• People find it hard to
deal with these
behavioural,
emotional issues.
5. Address the problem
• Need a way of looking at these
issues, measuring their effect, and
need a language for talking about
them
• What makes a balanced and
effective team - better the mix, the
better the performance
6. Belbin Team Role Expert
System
• Belbin - 9 team roles type
• Each type has a typical behavioural
strength and a characteristic weakness
8. TEAM-ROLE CONTRIBUTION
ALLOWABLE WEAKNESSES
PLANT:
Creative, Solves difficult problems
Loses touch with everyday realities
RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR:
Enterprising, Quick to explore opportunities
Weak in follow through
CO-ORDINATOR:
Makes good use of group activities
Manipulative
SHAPER:
Driving and challenging
Provocative, Aggressive
COMPLETER FINISHER:
Painstaking, Conscientious
Anxious, Reluctant to delegate
TEAMWORKER:
Co-operative, Averts friction
Indecisive
MONITOR EVALUATOR:
Discerning and Objective
Uninspiring, Slow-moving
IMPLEMENTER:
Disciplined, Efficient, Practical
Slow to see new possibilities
SPECIALIST:
Single-minded, Professionally
dedicated
Limited in Interests
10. What & How
• Self-perception inventory
• Database generates:
– Team role preferences
– Counselling report
– Character report
– Team reports
• Observer assessments
– 4 per participant
– Generates a complete profile
11. The UN System and Team
Roles
• UNSSC - 6,000+ UN staff in the
database
• Your profiles are generated against this
multicultural UN data
• Your profile can change over time
depending on your job
• It’s up to you to validate your report
23. Team Role Opposites
Monitor Evaluator judges impartially
Plant theorises
Shaper drives
Resource Investigator recognises
opportunities
Specialist - specifies
Co-ordinator generalises
Completer
Finisher perfects established
systems
Teamworker supports
Implementer - applies
24. Belbin Team-Role Combination Nicknames
TEAM ROLE PAIR NICKNAME
RI - SP
SH - CO
ME - SP
PL - TW
PL - SH
RI - ME
TW - SP
SH - ME
ME - CF
TW - CF
PL - ME
IMP - CF
CF - SP
SH - TW
SP - PL
IMP - SP
CO - ME
RI - TW
TEAM ROLE PAIR NICKNAME
BUTTERFLY COLLECTOR
BOSS
CALCULATOR
HIDDEN TALENT
MAVERICK
DETECTIVE
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
INQUISITOR
CORRECTOR
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
BRAINS
DOER
REFINER
TEAM CAPTAIN
PROFESSOR
MR FIX IT
JUDGE
COMMUNICATOR
CO - TW
ME - IMP
ME - TW
CO - CF
SH - CF
RI - SH
PL - CO
RI - CF
IMP - CO
PL - CF
IMP - TW
SH - IMP
CO - SP
RI - IMP
PL - RI
SH - SP
RI - CO
PL - IMP
COUNSELLOR
PLANNER
TEAM CONSCIENCE
EDITOR
PURSUER
DYNAMO
NAVIGATOR
CONTRACTOR
ORGANISER
SCULPTOR
CONFORMER
TASK MASTER
PROJECT LEADER
SCOUT
EXPLORER
STEAMROLLER
FACILITATOR
ARCHITECT
Hinweis der Redaktion
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Key Points:
“In this session, we will be looking at a framework for assessing human behaviour in work situations called the Belbin Team-Role Expert System.
Dr. Meredith Belbin has been doing research on teams for more that 20 years. He set out to understand why some teams work well together, and why some teams fail. In the process, he found that participants tended to behave in ways that represented clusters of characteristics. These clusters developed, over time, into 9 key team roles.
Our aim today is NOT to put people in little boxes and then pretend that we know everything about them. Instead, we will use Belbin as a framework - as one way to analyse and understand our own and other people’s behaviour. This understanding then gives us more choices in how we relate to each other.
There are many instruments which serve this same purpose. Belbin is one. We do not pretend that this will tell us the WHOLE TRUTH about all of life, but it will give us one way to think about how we work together.” (If people ask why we use Belbin and not the MBTI, etc., refer to the reasons listed on the “Why Belbin?” handout.)”
Check who has already completed this instrument, and when (recently? Long ago?). ***Note their names, so that you enter a 2 after their name when processing the data – this way you will create a second profile instead of overwriting the first one. ***
Ask those who have completed this before how they found the experience.
If several people have already completed Belbin, emphasise that it is a dynamic instrument and that results may change depending on your working situation.
Encourage those who have completed the instrument before to complete it again (even simply as a test of the validity of the instrument).
You can let the 9 adjectives come up on the screen and then ask participants, “Is it likely we would find all of these characteristics in one single person?” No….
Key Points:
-Each of us has our own strengths - and it is unlikely that all strengths will be found in one person
Key Points:
Belbin set out, with his 20 years of research, to investigate why some teams succeed and others fail.
Here are some key questions…. (Column 1)
Ask Participants: In your experience, what are some problems that teams can face in working together? (Take comments)
While there are many things that can affect the performance of a team, we find that often …. (Column 2)
Key Points:
So, what can do to address these personal or behavioural issues that can make it difficult to work well together?
(Review slide)
Key Points:
Belbin set out, with his 20 years of research, to investigate why some teams succeed and others fail.
Here are some key questions…. (Column 1)
Ask Participants: In your experience, what are some problems that teams can face in working together? (Take comments)
While there are many things that can affect the performance of a team, we find that often …. (Column 2)
Key Points:
As we said, it is unlikely we will find all the strengths a team needs in one person.
In Belbin’s model… (review points)
There are NO right and wrong roles. ALL ROLES ARE EQUALLY VALUABLE.
And, we’re talking here about PREFERENCES. It does NOT mean that I am capable of doing only one role, and not any of the others.At the same time, we all have natural tendencies, and given a choice, there will be roles we certainly prefer to take over others.
We are also NOT saying that people have only ONE preference. We will be looking at our own COMBINATIONS of preferences.
Key Points:
You can either introduce the roles one at a time in detail using this slide OR the next one. If you use this one to introduce detail, be sure not to be redundant in introducing the next slide.
***If you have participants who have been through Belbin before, be sure to ask them what they remember of each role. Then reinforce their comments briefly with the main characteristics of each role, giving examples where you can, particularly from your own experience. Be sure to introduce each role as equally positive, and take care not to display your own personal biases!
Plant: Ideas person - one who “plants” ideas in the group - creative, innovative - can jump from one idea to another in conversation and in work
Resource Investigator - Making contacts - looking outside the organization for possibilities - if I don’t know the answer, then I know someone who knows - often in meetings, going around the office to talk to people, on the phone, etc.
Co-ordinator - has her/his eye on the purpose - asks “Who is doing what?” in relation to tasks - generalist role - “What’s the question? Have we answered the question?”
Shaper - pushes to get action to happen - hard-driving - challenging - “Just do it”
Monitor Evaluator - steps back - takes a objective view - likes to research and plan - can be slow to decide things - “I’ll let you know tomorrow” - and often makes excellent, sound decisions
Teamworker - strives for harmony - wants to build consensus - make sure everyone is consulted and included and where possible, happy.
Implementer - a doer - action-oriented - takes any given task and carries it out
Completer-Finisher - a detail-oriented person - perfectionist - “perfection is only just good enough”
Specialist - highly focused on own area of specialization - “I am a nuclear physicist - talk to me about nuclear physics and nothing else!”
Put this slide on the screen while you ask participants to do the Belbin Phrases Exercise.
DO NOT “re-teach” the role descriptions - just leave it up for their reference while they do the exercise. Make participants use their brains - apply the Belbin theory they learned yesterday to day-to-day office behaviour, as represented by the phrases in the Phrases Exercise.
Review the answers to the phrases exercise, asking people to justify their answers - this will help to reinforce the behaviours characteristic of each role.
So what makes up this Belbin Team Role system anyway?
(Explain the items listed…
Let people know whether or not you will be doing the observer assessments in your workshop. You will need to decide this based on the number of participants, how well they know each other and how full the workshop schedule is already. If you do the observer assessments, you will need to make sure people have time to absorb and make sense of the outcome in a meaningful way, otherwise it will likely just confuse them.)
The UN System Staff College along with at least 6 agencies (and more are starting) now use the Belbin Team Role system in their own programmes. The UNSSC keeps a growing data base of UN System Belbin data. The main reason is to have a multi-cultural database representative of UN staff. (Belbin’s original research was done with business managers in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s, most of them men - not a profile which accurately represents UN staff.)
We would like to add your own data to this data base. The database is only used by UNSSC trainers and CCA/UNDAF Teambuilders, and we only print out reports for people who are present. If you have any concerns about having your data in the database, we can simply delete your record after generating your report - just let me know. The main purpose today is for you to get some feedback on your team role preferences.
Though we believe that people’s main role preferences (top few) tend to remain the same in different situations, preferences can change, depending on one’s work responsibilities, the team one works with and professional and personal growth over time.
When you receive your report we encourage you to be a “critical consumer” of the Belbin outcomes. While we believe in the reliability and validity of the instrument, you need to decide what is most true for you, in terms of your own preferences.
**Here you introduce the Self-Perception question and answer forms. Make sure people have at least 15 minutes to complete these. Some people will take up to 30 minutes.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Cool title slide - really nothing to say.
Do go through this presentation first and decide which slides you want to use and which not. In particular, if you only do the Self-Perception Inventory part, you won’t want to use any of the observer results slides.
Review the Action-oriented, People-oriented and Cerebral roles. Encourage people to look at their own preferences when they get their reports to see if their individual orientations are a mix of these or focused on one type.
Within the system of roles, you can see that some of them represent “opposite” types of functions. And, often the strengths of one are the weaknesses or the “shadow” of another.
Reveal the pairs, one at a time, asking participants to guess what the next opposite is. Reinforce the differences by using examples - ie: A Shaper may value action over reaching agreement and making sure people on board. A Teamworker may want to make sure everybody is in agreement, even if it means we never act!
Before revealing the last one (ME) ask which role is missing. Then ask why it is located outside the circle… Yes, because the ME function is one of distance, objectivity, etc.
Eg: Malcolm often finds that in a large open room, with seating choice, the Monitor Evaluators will tend to cluster at the back where they can survey the scene from a good distance.
At different stages in a project cycle, different role functions may be needed more than others.
Again, we don’t expect you to change the make-up of your project team at each stage of work - chaos! Instead, again, this is to raise our awareness of the role functions that are needed, so we can see what may be missing in our own group, and compensate.
Use this slide for reference (ie: don’t read through it all!)
Help people find their nicknames, according to their top two role preferences. The order does not matter - so CF-SP and SP-CF have the same nickname.
Remember, the nicknames are meant to be fun!
This slide can generate a lot of discussion within a country team. It’s main use is to point out that ‘shared or rotating’ leadership is a good thing. Many RCs still convene and chair every meeting of the CT - this should be discouraged and this slide can be used just to bring that out.
Similarly, in ‘Style’ the ‘role spread’ and ‘co-ordination’ is useful to point out that teams share these responsibilities.
As to ‘size’, Belbin maintains that a team can have a maximum of 15 members- anything more means you have a group. He also states that in sport, this is the largest number (rugby) for any team.
Again, only use this slide if you are giving back observer reports.
Ask participants what they notice about this profile… take comments.
Main Points:
Self-perception and all observers generally agree on the order of all roles.
CO, RI, ME are almost always in the top 3
PL and CF are nearly always in positions 4 & 5
IMP, SP, TW and SH are clustered in positions 6,7,8,9
Overall rating quite closely reflects self-assessment, is the same for the top 3 roles.
Only use this slide when you are giving back observer reports.
Ask participants what they see… take comments.
Main Points:
Several of the ratings are nearly identical!
This suggests that this person is very consistent in the types of roles used with all these various colleagues (or at least is consistently perceived in a particular way!)
Only use this slide if you are giving back observer reports.
Ask participants what they see…and what this might suggest... take comments.
Main Points:
This person’s self-perception and observer assessments are very different. (Eg: Self-perception gives SH as 9th role vs. Observer 1 who rates it as the 1st role.)
AND, there is no consistency even among the observers themselves. (TW last versus TW first.)
This could suggest that:
the person uses very different roles in different circumstances or with different people
that the observers do not know the person well enough to give accurate data
Only use this slide when you are giving back observer reports.
Ask participants what they see… and what this might suggest...take comments.
Main Points:
Data from observers tends to be quite consistent AND is very different (in some cases opposite) to the Self-Perception.
This could suggest:
The self-perception is biased for some reason (the person is not able to recognise the roles they really use).
The person does not USE at work the roles he or she actually prefers. Ie: The person perceives him/herself as highly creative (PL) but does not have or take the opportunity to be so at work.
**Encourage participants to look at their own observer assessments and to validate for themselves which roles are most true for them. You may wish to have them do the poster gallery only at this point, so the posters reflect both SPI and Observer data.
