Teaming: Everyone has a role to play

Abstract

Dr. Belbin's 1981 book, Management Teams, summarized this work. He postulated that for a team to be effective, it needed to have members who could fulfill a number of key roles. He originally defined eight key roles, but a ninth - the specialist role - was added later (Table 11.1). The same person could naturally fulfill several roles, as they often cluster behaviorally within individuals. Other roles are less compatible and would likely reside within different team members. Of note is that to fulfill these nine roles, a team does not need to have nine members - in fact, according to Dr. Belbin, the optimal team number is 4. As you review the roles in Table 11.1, reflect back on the various teams of which you have been a member - the successful and unsuccessful ones. What roles did you typically play? What roles did you see in others? The roles in Table 11.1 should have face validity for you in terms of being important characteristics of well-working teams - you look at the nine factors and think oh yeah, that's right, that's who should be in our team.