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Belbin, R. (1981) Management Teams
Could be seen as a functionalist – someone who saw a team as made up of constituent parts or roles – an organic group which needed all the roles filled to be effective.
What follows comes with the necessary academic critique – a health warning that because it is a good theory it will not always work – providing the perfect balanced team is not a guarantee of results.
Teams, especially in public services are not necessarily so focussed on the finished product – focus often has to be on a quick solution that is only a temporary solution – a means to an end.
Public services are often involved in a product that is not going to be marketed – they rescue someone or shoot someone in quick time
Belbin (1981) does though provide a framework to understand a team – particularly when a team is not functioning well
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Not an exact fit for many
Individuals– Your own skills– How you used them in the team
Individuals could have a 'secondary' team role they could display – In debates– If no other team member had them – Or people were missing on the day
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Overall
Absence of any role weakens the team
Too many ‘plants’ can mean too many ideas that are never completed
Too many completer finishers and the team may lack inspiration
Too many team workers and the team may lack the necessary dynamic of conflict to produce ideas/results
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Team Roles
Co‑ordinator Ashley Dan Howard CPlant LeeAshley DanShaper Katie KerryHoward J Katie, Lee Kerry Phil Monitor‑Evaluator Jason Implementer Howard j Resource Investigator JasonHoward CTeam Worker PhilDan Completer‑Finisher Specialist (added later).
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Team Roles
Co‑ordinator James Will DanniPlant Alex Shaper Charlene Aaron KayleighMonitor‑Evaluator Darren Ben Implementer Resource Investigator Nic Simon Matt BenCompany worker Charlene Andrew AaronTeam Worker Nic Adshana Darren Matt James Ben
KayleighCompleter‑Finisher Andrew DanniSpecialist
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Team Roles
• Co‑ordinator• Plant• Shaper• Monitor‑Evaluator• Implementer• Resource Investigator• Team Worker• Completer‑Finisher• Specialist (added later).
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CoordinatorCoordinates the efforts of the team to achieve its taskPreoccupied with achieving the taskWant to involve all members of the team as if they have the same motivation/preoccupationGood at recognising people’s strengths and weaknessesActive listeners, sum up people’s feelings and can articulate the group’s viewsNot necessarily assertive people
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Mature
Confident
Clarifies goals
Use individuals in the team effectively to achieve the recognised goal
Can be manipulative
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Plant
The ideas person
Source of original ideas
Bring originality – an ability to think outside of the box
Likely to be intelligent
Ignore details concentrate on the objective
Uninhibited – extrovert
Can be prickly – cause and take offence
Can even switch off if their ideas are questioned
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Creative – good at problem solving
Need to be flattered
Can loose sight of the objectives
May just enjoy creating new ideas and this can be problematic when a task needs to be finished
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ShaperFull of nervous energyOutgoingEmotionalImpulsiveCan be impatientOften seeking to prove they can be leaderQuick to challenge Enjoy being challengedHave arguments but quick to forgetCan be paranoid-see conspiracy where there is noneAppear self-confident – as a cover for self-doubtCompulsiveCan be arrogant but they make things happen
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Dynamic
Outgoing
Challenging
Tenacious
Prone to outbursts
Insensitive
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Monitor evaluator
Likely to be intelligent
Serious – lack charisma
Dispassionate analysis
Not an ideas person but someone who may stop dangerous idea – hold the team in check
Unenthusiastic - Do not get carried along
Objective - Team should listen to them – they are seldom wrong
Can be too critical and negative - depressing
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Shrewd
Objective
Boring
Lack drive
Too negative
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Implementer
Effective systematic and methodical Practical organiser
Identify the objectives – puts the team on track
Once decisions are made will chart the way to achieving it
Sees the reality – what can be done
Will be phased/threatened by sudden changes
Can be negative about new ideas (challenge the plant)
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Disciplined
Reliable
Efficient
Inflexible
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Resource InvestigatorNeeds to be amongst the technology – gadget personWorks within and outside of the teamNetworkerRelaxed sociableSalespersonNeed to be motivated by others (within or outside)Enthusiasm can be of the momentVital in keeping the team in the real world – in touch with othersStable controlledMay help to avoid ‘group think’ (Janis 1972)
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Gregarious
Good communicators
Enthusiastic
Easily bored
Send too many emails
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Team Worker
Sensitive to emotional undercurrents
Active internal communicator
Know about the team and their private lives
Loyal to the team
Will support ideas rather than be innovative
Counterbalance any friction (caused by ‘shaper’ ‘plant’ or ‘monitor evaluator’ with attempts to achieve unity
Can be a bit woolly as a result of their team perspective
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Keeps relationships going
Interested in people within the team
Non threatening
Accommodating
Can be indecisive because of desire to maintain unity
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Completer Finisher
Worries about what might go wrong
Good at checking detail
Attention to detail can make them loose sight of the objective
A sense of urgency or importance about the work
Can be impatient with any casual approach – can find ‘plant’ infuriating
They are compulsive about meeting deadlines
Can lower moral with their worries
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Thorough - Attention to detail
Meet deadline
Worrier
Get bogged down in detail
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Specialist
A bolt on member of the team
Accountant, IT, Designer, Statistician
Comes in to do one job
Focussed
Unaware of the bigger picture
Out of the politics
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Strengths - Weaknesses
Single minded
Knowledgeable about their area
Can only contribute in their specialist area
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Overall
Absence of any role weakens the team
Too many ‘plants’ can mean too many ideas that are never completed
Too many completer finishers and the team may lack inspiration
Too many team workers and the team may lack the necessary dynamic of conflict to produce ideas/results
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Strengths - WeaknessesThere can be a weakness in thinking that providing the right balance will actually produce the right resultAlthough we can all recognise traits – does anyone actually fit any individual roleIs it more likely that we fit a number of rolesHowever without the ideas people and the details people and the team people and the finisher, teams engaged in routine tasks are unlikely to be successfulThere may well be an argument that special teams need more of one traitIn public service where the outcome is not always so clear then there can be a need for more different balancesDuring quick time incidents - too many thinkers can bog down the process – but a lack of thinking can result in wrong decisions The shooting of potential terrorists as opposed to the Stephen Lawrence murder
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Bibliography
• Belbin, R. (1981) Management Teams: why they succeed or fail, Oxford: Butterworth-Heinnemann.
• Janis, I. (1972) (1972) Victims of Groupthink, Houghton: Mifflin Company.
• Tuckman, B. (1965) 'Developmental sequence in small groups', Psychological Bulletin 63(6): 384-399.
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Co‑ordinator
Plant
Shaper
Monitor‑Evaluator
Implementer
Resource Investigator
Team Worker
Completer‑Finisher
Specialist (added later).