PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL 1

The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Belbin’s Team Roles

Self Perception Inventory

Warwick Manufacturing Group

PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL 2
The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Belbin’s Team Roles

A Self- Perception Inventory

Directions: For each section, distribute a total of ten points among the
sentences which you think most accurately describe your behaviour. These
points may be distributed among several sentences: in extreme cases they
may be spread among all the sentences or all ten points may be given to a
single sentence. Enter the points on the Points Table behind.

Section 1. What I believe I can contribute to a team:

(a) I think I can quickly see and take advantage of new

opportunities.

(b) My comments both on general and specific topics are well

received.

(c) I can work well with a wide range of people.

(d) Producing ideas is one of my natural assets.

(e) My ability rests in being able to draw people out whenever I

detect they have something of value to contribute to group
objectives.

(f) I can be relied upon to finish any task I undertake.

(g) My technical knowledge and experience is usually my major

asset.

(h) I am prepared to be blunt and outspoken in the cause of making

the right things happen.

(i) I can usually tell whether a plan or idea will fit a particular
situation.

(j) I can offer a reasoned and unbiased case for alternative courses
of action.

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The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Section 2. If I have a possible shortcoming in teamwork, it could be

that:

(a) I am not at ease unless meetings are well structured and

controlled and generally well conducted.

(b) I am inclined to be too generous towards others who have a

valid viewpoint that has not been given a proper airing.

(c) I am reluctant to contribute unless the subject deals with an area

I know well.

(d) I have a tendency to talk a lot once the group gets on to a new
topic.

(e) I am inclined to undervalue the importance of my own

contributions.

(f) My objective outlook makes it difficult for me to join in readily

and enthusiastically with colleagues.

(g) I am sometimes seen as forceful and authoritarian when dealing

with important issues.

(h) I find it difficult to lead from the front, perhaps because I am

over-responsive to group atmosphere.

(i) I am apt to get too caught up in ideas that occur to me and so

lose track of what is happening.

(j) I am reluctant to express my opinions on proposals and plans

that are incomplete or insufficiently detailed.

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The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Section 3. When involved in a project with other people:

(a) I have an aptitude for influencing other people without

pressurising them.

(b) I am generally effective in preventing careless mistakes or

omissions from spoiling the success of an operation.

(c) I like to press for action to make sure that the meeting does not
waste time or lose sight of the main objective.

(d) I can be counted on to contribute something original.

(e) One can be sure I will just be my natural self.

(f) I am always ready to back a good suggestion in the common

interest.

(g) I am quick to see the possibilities in new ideas and

developments.

(h) I try to maintain my sense of professionalism.

(i) I believe my capacity for judgement can help to bring about the
right decisions.

(j) I can be relied on to bring an organised approach to the

demands of the job.

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PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL 5
The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Section 4. My characteristic approach to group work is that:

(a) I maintain a quiet interest in getting to know colleagues better.

(b) I contribute where I know what I am talking about.

(c) I am not reluctant to challenge the views of others or to hold a

minority view myself.

(d) I can usually find a line of argument to refute unsound

propositions.

(e) I think I have a talent for making things work once a plan has to
be put into operation.

(f) I have a tendency to avoid the obvious and to open up lines that
have not been explored.

(g) I bring a touch of perfectionism to any team job I undertake.

(h) I like to be the one to make contacts outside the group or the
firm.

(i) I enjoy the social side of working relationships.

(j) While I am interested in hearing all views I have no hesitation

in making up my mind once a decision has to be made.

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The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Section 5. I gain satisfaction in a job because:

(a) I enjoy analysing situations and weighing up all the possible

choices.

(b) I am interested in finding practical solutions to problems.

(c) I like to feel I am fostering good working relationships.

(d) I can have a strong influence on decisions.

(e) I have a chance of meeting new people with different ideas.

(f) I can get people to agree on priorities and objectives.

(g) I feel in my element where I can give a task my full attention.

(h) I like to find a field that stretches my imagination.

(i) I feel that I am using my special qualifications and training to

advantage.

(j) I usually find a job gives me the chance to express myself.

Warwick Manufacturing Group

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The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Section 6. If I am suddenly given a difficult task with limited time and

unfamiliar people:

(a) I usually succeed in spite of the circumstances.

(b) I like to read up as much as I conveniently can on the subject.

(c) I would feel like devising a solution of my own and then trying
to sell it to the group.

(d) I would be ready to work with the person who showed the most
positive approach.

(e) I would find some way of reducing the size of the task by
establishing how different individuals can best contribute.

(f) My natural sense of urgency would help to ensure that we did

not fall behind schedule.

(g) I believe I would keep cool and maintain my capacity to think

straight.

(h) In spite of conflicting pressures I would press ahead with

whatever needed to be done.

(i) I would take the lead if the group was making no progress.

(j) I would open up discussions with a view to stimulating new

thoughts and getting something moving.

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The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Section 7. With reference to the problems I experience when working

with groups:

(a) I am apt to over-react when people hold up progress.

(b) Some people criticise me for being too analytical.

(c) My desire to check that we get the important details right is not
always welcome.

(d) I tend to show boredom unless I am actively engaged with

stimulating people.

(e) I find it difficult to get started unless the goals are clear.

(f) I am sometimes poor at putting across complex points that

occur to me.

(g) I am conscious of demanding from others the things I cannot do

myself.

(h) I find others do not give me enough opportunity to say all I

want to say.

(i) I am inclined to feel I am wasting my time and would do better

on my own.

(j) I hesitate to express my personal views in front of difficult or

powerful people.

----------- end of questionnaire ------------

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PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL 9
The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Belbin Self Perception Inventory

Answer Sheet

Check that the total for each row = 10.

Items
Section a b c d e f g h i j

II

III

IV

VI

VII

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The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Belbin Self Perception Inventory

Analysis Table

Check that the total for each row = 10.

Team Roles
Section
CO SH PL ME IM TW RI CF SP N/A

I e h d j i c a f g b

b g i f a h d j c e
II

a c d i j e g b h f
III

j c f d e a h g b i
IV

f d h a b c e g i j
V

e i c g h d j f b a
VI

g a f b e j d c i h
VII

Totals
Rank
1=high

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The Belbin Model: Self Perception Inventory

Team Balance Sheet

In the table below, enter the names of your team members alongside their preferred roles.
Their highest scoring one will go under “Primary Preference”, the second highest under
“Secondary Preference” and the third highest under “Tertiary Preference.” You can have
more than one name in any box.

TEAM PRIMARY SECONDARY TERTIARY TOTALS

ROLE PREFERENCE PREFERENCE PREFERENCE (rows)

Coordinator
(CO)

Shaper
(SH)

Plant
(PL)
Resource
Investigator
(RI)
Monitor
Evaluator
(ME)

Implementer
(IM)

Teamworker
(TW)
Completer
Finisher
(CF)

Specialist
(SP)

Missing Roles or Gaps:

Look at the rightmost column and write here the team roles that have a total of “0”.

Over-represented Roles or Surpluses:

Look at the rightmost column and write here the team roles with totals equal to or greater
than 50% of the number of people in your team.

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PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT CONTROL 12
Project Team Management

PROJECT TEAM MANAGEMENT

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

Project Team Management

When functional structures are transformed into project or matrix organisations, the
process must be carefully managed. Individuals in the organisation need to develop new
attitudes and ways of working in order for the organisation to take advantage of the
benefits the project structure has to offer.

Members of project teams need to be carefully selected and mobilised. The issue of team
leadership is also an important one to consider as the leadership role in a project team can
be quite different from traditional leadership in a functional organisation. Project team
leaders are not always functional experts, so they need to be skilled in coordination and
the drawing out of ideas from members of the team who are functional specialists. As
project teams will most likely need to work to tighter time schedules, team development
needs to be facilitated and members need to develop the skills to manage themselves and
their own processes.

Forming project teams has some unique advantages:

• It provides an opportunity for individuals to work with new people, possibly from
other functions or even from outside the organisation.
• It allows people to learn and demonstrate skills they do not normally use.
• It provides development opportunities for individuals.
• People are likely to respond positively to the challenge of project working.

However, it is equally important to be aware of some difficulties you may face:

• Time schedules are likely to be tight.

• You may need specialists in disciplines you know little about and, therefore, have
to take their technical competence on trust.
• Politics! Managers might refuse to release their best staff.
• Key people you need/want may be unavailable when you need them.
• Varying commitment from team members, some of whom may not even want to
be there.

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

Team Selection

When setting up a project team, it is important to start with an analysis of the technical,
management, administrative and finance skills, as well as team roles or personality styles
required for the project and subsequent identification of the project team members. Team
members need to have sufficient knowledge of the organisation, the project/product and
the customer.

A helpful checklist of questions, such as the one below can be used as an aid in project
team selection.

TEAM SELECTION CHECKLIST

• Who is interested in this project?

• Who has special technical skills/expertise/experience that are needed?
• Who can represent important interest groups, e.g., clients and end
users?
• Who will “fit in” with the way we work?
• Who has the organisational clout, credibility and connections to help
the project?
• Who represents the opposition?
• Who would benefit through self-development or corporate exposure
from being associated with the project?
• Who has external networks that might be useful to the project?
• Who has special non-technical skills, e.g., communication, facilitation,
political access, etc.?

A useful tool in team member selection is the Belbin Team Role Model.

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

Belbin’s Team Role Theory

Individuals who become members of teams have an important contribution to make in

terms of expertise, knowledge or experience. For example, they may be marketing or
finance experts or design engineers. The contributions they are expected to make are
fairly straightforward in this respect. What these individuals know and contribute to their
teams on the basis of their training, education or experience is encompassed by their
Functional Role.

They also have another part to play within their teams: This has to do with their
preferred ways of behaving and interacting with other people. People are unique: they
think, act and arrive at decisions in different ways. They relate with each other in
different ways as well. The behavioural and interactional patterns of individuals in
groups have considerable impact on the way the groups or teams perform. It is these
preferred styles of behaviour that Dr R Meredith Belbin refers to as individuals’ Team
Roles.

The work of Dr Belbin is widely acknowledged to be the most significant research done
on team effectiveness to date. Contrary to common assumption that the best teams are
composed of the most highly skilled individuals, Dr Belbin found that factors other than
excellent technical abilities were more important in determining the success of a team.
His research showed that certain combinations of personalities and styles in a team gave
it better chances for success and other combinations could be disastrous.

A key factor in team success is heterogeneity: skills, abilities and preferred styles of
behaving should be complementary rather than duplicated. The main implication is that
a more creative and complex strategy is required to weld a diverse group of people into a
cohesive team.

A good way to start is to identify each individual member’s style and behavioural
preference. Dr Belbin has developed a system by which individuals assess themselves
and are likewise assessed by the people they work with in terms of team role preference.
The initial assessment is aimed at developing these team role preferences into individual
strengths that can be used within a specified team. A clear awareness of one’s team role
preference makes helps the individual to understand why he responds or reacts to other
people the way he does.

It is important to bear in mind, however, that the team roles should not be misinterpreted
or misused as labels or stereotypes. Each team role consists of behaviour patterns that the
individual engages in or is comfortable with. People are capable of instigating change
in their ways of thinking, behaving and interacting and can therefore vary their team role
preference as well.

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

The Composition of the Ideal Team

There has been much argument over whether or not there is such a thing as an ideal team
as there are a number of situational factors which would determine the kind of team
required to do a particular task.

Assuming that the right technical skills and knowledge relevant to the task are present in
the team members, the ideal team is one which is well-balanced. This means that the
complementary behavioural ingredients required for the team to perform well need to be
present in the individual members.

In general terms, the activities required by a team are:

PREFERRED ACTIVITY/
TEAM CONTRIBUTION TEAM ROLE

Organising Implementer (IM)

Idea Generation Plant (PL)

Researching and Contacting Resource Investigator (RI)

Integrating Coordinator (CO)

Challenging Shaper (SH)

Accurate Standard-Setting Monitor Evaluator (ME)

Harmonising Team Worker (TW)

Precise Detailing Completer Finisher (CF)

Advising Specialist (SP)

Dr Belbin’s work has shown that the team composition should manifest this balance by
having all the team roles represented.

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

The question arises as to whether or not a team needs to have nine members for it to be
optimally effective. Dr Belbin’s work reflects the fact that individuals are multi-
dimensional: most people show preferences for more than one role. This means that one
individual can fulfil more than one function or activity within the team. If need be, an
individual with a preference for two roles can consciously focus himself on the one the
team is in need of and play down the one the team has a surplus of.

If the nine team roles are represented and balanced in the team does it mean that the team
will perform well? Dr Belbin’s description of the team roles includes the strengths of the
behavioural styles as well as the corresponding weakness of each. Any behavioural style,
when taken to the extreme, can be counter-productive for the team as well as for the
individual. Bearing in mind that a balanced team is based on complementarity rather
than similarity, there is a strong chance that conflict will occur due to personality
differences. A balanced team can only work well together if they:

• appreciate their own and each other’s strengths and weaknesses based on
their team role preferences.

• recognise the need to actively participate and complement each other’s

behavioural patterns.

• respect each other and respect the differences.

It is only in doing these that a team can gain confidence in themselves as a united group.

The Key Team Roles

The Implementer IM
The Implementer is a disciplined individual. Conscientious and aware of external
obligations, he/she also has a well-developed self-image and consequently, a high degree
of internal control. The Implementer is tough-minded, practical, trusting and tolerant
towards others and finally, conservative in the sense of being a respecter of established
conditions and ways of looking at things.

In Belbin’s research, Implementers tended to figure prominently in positions of

responsibility in larger organisations.

In behavioural terms, he/she identifies with the organisation and is a person who works
essentially for the company rather than in pursuit of self-interest. There is seldom ever a

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management
question that a job would not be done because he/she did not feel like it or it did not
interest him/her. The Implementer’s capacity for disciplined application is a function
more of attitude and character than of natural aptitude or intelligence. He/she has an
orderly approach to work and nearly always has a well-developed organizational ability.

Collectively, however, a group of Implementers is not likely to produce a good team

because, while it might be a picture of organisation and effort, there may be a lack of real
ideas. A team of IMs is prone to inflexibility once they have established a frame of
reference. They are strongly committed to anything they set in motion but are disturbed
by having to change plans.

To contribute most effectively to the team, the Implementer should learn to:

• Be flexible and accept different ways of working.

• Listen to new ideas.
• Help colleagues with practicalities.
• Define targets and responsibilities.

The Plant PL
Plants are ‘ideas’ people who are creative and tend to produce more novel and
unconventional ideas than most people. They tend to sit quietly on their own, thinking
things through and sometimes coming up with some winning possibility. Psychometric
profiles show that most Plants are introverted and may lack the social skills to persuade
other more forceful individuals to examine the ideas they present.

The Plant is seen as a “wayward genius” who is inventive and good at starting up
projects. While Plant managers are relatively uncommon in secure and established firms
and organisations, they are much in evidence in newly-formed companies. The abilities
and qualities they have are those that are needed to start up firms but are not those which
enable a firm to consolidate its success. A brilliant Plant may, therefore, become the
reason for both a firm’s rise and its downfall.

To maximise effective contribution to the team, Plants should learn to:

• Focus ideas on relevant issues.

• Concentrate on problems that are hard to solve.
• Listen to others’ views.
• Time their contributions carefully so they are made at relevant times
during discussions.
• Develop a “thick skin” especially when their teams are critical about new
ideas and discourage creative suggestions.

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

The Resource Investigator RI

Like the Plant, the Resource Investigator is innovative. New ideas are also a major focus
of interest. However, rather than standing out as the originator of ideas, the Resource
Investigator is more inclined to pick up the fragments of ideas from others and develop
them. He/she is particularly adept at exploring resources outside the group. The
Resource Investigator is in his/her element doing liaison work because this gives the
opportunity to come back with some new proposition which could often transform
company plans.

Resource Investigators are inquisitive and extroverted. They are uninhibited about
finding out what they want to know by making good use of other people. Their
conversation is skilfully directed towards creative ends. Resource Investigators are
skilled at finding out what’s going on and posing well thought-out questions. They think
on their feet and “get around.” As a consequence, they, at their best have the knack for
doing business.

Resource Investigators like to keep things moving along quickly and lose interest when
they have to work on the same thing for extended periods of time. They have difficulty
sustaining the burst of initial enthusiasm and may move on to start new projects even
before they have ensured the success of the ones that preceded them.

To maximise their potential contribution to the team, Resource Investigators should learn
to:

• Build up friendships and contacts.

• Find out what other teams are doing.
• Discover good practice and investigate it.
• Keep up to date in the team’s area of concern.
• Keep the team informed.
• Focus on the team’s purpose.
• Be supportive and encouraging to team colleagues.

The Coordinator CO
The successful Coordinator is characterised by his/her acceptance of other people as they
are, without jealousy or suspicion. Counterbalancing this acceptance is a strong basic
dominance and an equally strong and morally-based commitment to external goals and
objectives. Coordinators are calm and unflappable in the face of controversy and are
geared towards practical realism. They possess a basic self-discipline and a paradoxical
blend of natural enthusiasm that excites and motivates others and a detachment and
distance in social relations. This blend of personality attributes makes the Coordinator
well-equipped to lead a team. However, the same blend of attributes also lends itself to
skill in manipulating other people.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

From Belbin’s research, it would seem that the Coordinator with good average mental
ability is best placed. A Coordinator with low mental ability may have difficulty
controlling more intelligent or more forceful members of the team. He/she may become
indecisive and reluctant to make a stand because he/she cannot follow the ins and outs of
the discussion or conversely, take up a decision without exploring all options and be
over-ready to turn a view into a decision at the first opportunity. A Coordinator with
very high mental ability, on the other hand, tends to always be ahead of others but in so
doing, lose touch with others and end up on his/her own.

The Coordinator, it has been said, is a person who is “tolerant enough to always listen to
others but strong enough to reject advice.” In terms of the data Belbin has on the
Coordinator role, it is a set of commonplace characteristics put together in a very
uncommon way. It can be difficult to identify individuals with these skills because they
tend to appear to be deceptively ordinary people.

To contribute best to the team, the Coordinator should learn to:

• Organise well.
• Listen and summarise.
• Discover others’ abilities and use them.
• Incisiveness in moving others to make decisions once all relevant issues
have been covered.
• Gain consensus.
• Coordinate resources.
• Consult and delegate responsibilities.
• Exercise personal self-discipline.
• Refrain from dominating discussions.
• Encourage others to participate and contribute.

The Shaper SH
Shapers are often seen in executive and management teams because of their personality
attributes of extroversion, apparently boundless energy and a high need for achievement.
In many ways they appear to be the antithesis of team players: they challenge, they argue
and they disagree. They are impatient and easily frustrated. When their proneness to
aggression produces reciprocal reactions from other team members, they typically
respond with good humour and resilience as though they thoroughly enjoy the battle.
Winning is their primary objective and learning appears to be very much secondary.

In Belbin’s research, Shapers would question the rules and fairness of umpiring in
management games when their teams were doing poorly, but had no hesitation to pursue
their own goals by illicit means. The poorer the performance of their teams, the greater

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management
the intensity of their interest and the more likely they were to blame other members of
their own teams. Whether Shapers do well or poorly, they always create uproar.

It is understandable that a team of Shapers tend to end up arguing and never giving in to
each other when they have differences of opinion. Their conduct led one member of
Belbin’s team to create a new English collective noun: a SHOCKERY of Shapers.
However, when they have generated their own culture, they often achieve a high work
rate, are quick to explore possible avenues of approach and abandon what they do not
think will be rewarding. Even so, they seldom like working together. In spite of a great
deal of positive goal-directed activity, the damaging consequences of in-fighting tends to
lead to poor results.

As a leader, there is no doubt that a Shaper would galvanize his/her team into action.
Shapers are best suited to lead a team that is slow-moving and complacent because their
very nature would restore the balance. By being themselves and using their natural drive,
persistence and high pressure negotiating skills to advantage, Shapers are capable of out-
manoeuvring other teams and companies, but where these efforts fail, they have less to
fall back on than the Coordinator.

The Shaper can best contribute to a team by learning to:

• Give clear direction to the team.

• Coordinate members’ contribution without shooting anyone down.
• Set up appropriate control mechanisms.
• Use members’ abilities.
• Keep discussions on line.
• Set targets.
• Listen to others without interrupting.
• Keep team goals in sight.
• Establish priorities.

The Monitor Evaluator ME

A team that can draw on an ideal Implementer, Coordinator, Shaper, Plant and Resource
Investigator might seem well-equipped to cope with anything the future can offer because
it possesses potential for effective leadership, a wealth of ideas, an ability to work within
practical limitations and a capacity for quick action. The balance is, in fact, less complete
than it appears. When conflicting ideas are presented and all parties are totally
committed to their own and opposed to those of others, all sorts of political, emotional
and personal factors may enter into the field and detract from the team’s creative assets.
While it might be thought that the leader should sort out the best ideas, it has been shown
that the ideal Coordinator is likely to be no more than average in mental ability. The
other role that could quite easily be handed the position of leader is the Shaper because of

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management
his/her forcefulness. Unfortunately, forcefulness does not always go hand in hand with
cleverness.

The evaluation of conflicting proposals calls for a person who possesses a high level of
mental ability combined with a disinterested detachment - both characteristics of the
Monitor Evaluator.

A brilliant Plant and an enthusiastic Resource Investigator may be valued members of the
team but they are seldom the best people to judge the merits of any idea they are
canvassing because the ideas usually come from them. In an ideal team, the Monitor
Evaluator is frequently the only person who can hold his/her own intellectually in a
debate with a Plant. The Monitor Evaluator usually has a well-developed capacity for
critical thinking, so much so that the soundness of his/her judgement is rarely disturbed
by the introduction of emotionally-loaded material designed to play on prejudice.
Monitor Evaluators are serious-minded, prudent persons with a built-in immunity to
enthusiasm. Slow in making up their mind, they prefer to think things over. Their real
asset is their capacity to make shrewd judgements that take all factors into account. They
pride themselves in never being wrong, but make no claim to originality or imagination.
Their drive for achievement is low. This appears to be a negative team factor; however,
Belbin found that this had its advantages. Drive interferes with judgement. True
impartiality is best served by a lack of commitment.

To the outsider, a Monitor Evaluator may appear dry and sometimes overly critical.
Nevertheless, many MEs occupy strategic posts in commerce and industry and thrive in
high level appointments where success or failure hinges on a small number of crunch
decisions. This is the ideal territory for the ME, for a person who is seldom wrong is the
one who scores in the end. In contrast to the “seat-of-the-pants” manager who generates
many instantly made, high-risk decisions in a given period of time, the ME manager
generates few decisions in the same period of time, but these are most likely to be right.

In a team, the rule of thumb is that the more complex the decision-making process and
the more the conflicting ideas that arise, the more important the role of the Monitor
Evaluator becomes.

To contribute effectively to a team, the Monitor Evaluator should learn to:

• Make sense of complicated issues.

• Put ideas in simple language to aid understanding.
• Look for weaknesses in ideas and assess practicability.
• Put problem solutions in rank order.
• Listen to colleagues and make constructive remarks.
• Work with the ‘ideas person.’
• Help others identify weaknesses in arguments.

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Management

The Team Worker TW

The danger in many groups is that individuals strive competitively to make their voices
heard on any matter that comes up, to the point that they stop paying heed to each other.
It is when this happens that a team needs someone to avert friction and enable people
members to use their skills to positive ends. A person with this talent has a special part to
play in a team, especially one that contains one or more individuals of outstanding talent
who are unable to work harmoniously with colleagues. The Team Worker has the skill of
listening to others and coping with awkward people. He/She exercises a favourable
influence on team spirit by placing group objectives above self-interest.

In psychometric tests, the Team Worker emerges as a sociable but mild extrovert. Team
Workers are not dominant. They are trusting and sensitive persons with a strong interest
in people, especially in human interactions and communication.

Some managers are disappointed when they come out as Team Workers in the Belbin
inventory because they find it hard to envisage the Team Worker in any other than a
support job. However, TWs are not uncommon in top management. They are genuine
assets in environments dominated by Shaper-type managers or where authoritarian and
conflict-ridden managerial regimes run into trouble. In these atmospheres, the TW
manager is favoured by his/her peers as the person they would be prepared to work for.
TWs have a lubricating effect on their teams. Morale is better and people seem to
cooperate more when they are present. TWs exercise subtle influence in averting
potential conflict and make the problem-solving task an easier one.

To make an effective contribution to the team, the Team Worker should learn to:

• Be friendly and supportive to individuals.

• Nip destructive comments in the bud.
• Heal relationship breakdowns.
• Discover members’ interests and abilities.
• Consider individual development needs.

The Completer-Finisher CF
The ability to finalise anything that is started and to do so with thoroughness is a quality
important for any undertaking. Unfortunately, this quality is one that seems to be in short
supply. Many managers start off projects with much enthusiasm, but are not as excited
about completing what they start. The lack of a Completer Finisher on the team is a
common reason for teams that looked within certain grasp of their goals failing at the
very last hurdle.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Attention to detail is no trivial matter. Someone with the capacity for relentless follow-
through is a real asset to any team. Completer Finisher managers have this perfectionistic
attitude - indeed, one that is often indispensable to true achievement.

Although Completer Finishers are prone to anxiety, they are high in self-control and self-
discipline. They are introverted rather than extroverted and seem to look for and absorb
stress. Belbin’s research has shown that Completer Finishers are prone to ulcers because
of the amount of pressure they put on themselves.

Like the Team Worker and the Implementer, the Completer Finisher style of management
is underrated. Distortions arise in the public mind about the characteristics of top
management. Managers who are more dominant and flamboyant tend to be accepted as
representative of the genus. But behind the scenes, many top managers differ from this
stereotype. Their success is founded on the more sterling qualities of character and
discipline that underlie their capacity for hard, effective work. They finish everything
they start and are reluctant to undertake anything where there are any doubts about being
able to see it through. Completer Finishers are concerned not merely with finishing for
themselves but for the wider group. This concern might not be directly apparent and
Completer Finishers could easily be misinterpreted and branded as “naggers.” It is, thus,
ideal for a Completer Finisher’s qualities to be widened and socialised. Good finishing is
a valued art and the person who makes his mark in this area is recognised and appreciated
by his colleagues.

To contribute optimally to the team, the Completer Finisher should learn to:

• Keep an eye on progress and standards.

• Communicate expectations about quality work.
• Spot mistakes.
• Give encouragement to colleagues.
• Avoid being submerged in trivial details.
• Delegate work.

The Specialist SP
The Specialist is the team member who provides the expertise, skill and knowledge
which is often vital for effectively completing tasks. This role is somewhat different
from the others in that the Specialist’s personal attributes do not affect his inclusion in or
exclusion from the team. The Specialist plays a more functional role, with his
behavioural role being secondary in a team sense. He/She contributes to the team by
providing professional or technical information the team needs - but does not have - to
complete a specific project or assignment. Because his/her expertise is necessary, the
Specialist’s inclusion is a must and the rest of the team must learn to adjust. Due to the
nature of the role, the Specialist may not be a member of permanent or long-term teams,

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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but may be invited to join when the need arises. He/She is more likely to be found as a
permanent member of short-term or project teams.

Within his/her area of expertise, the Specialist is self-motivated, can be opinionated and
even sometimes dogmatic. The Specialist contributes in a focused area and tends to
concentrate on sometimes trying technicalities. This role is essential, however, when
specialised and technical decisions need to be made. The Specialist should assist other
team members in understanding technical problems and theoretical bases for solutions as
well as supply a professional perspective to problem-solving.

To maximise contribution to the team, the Specialist should learn to:

• Simplify complex concepts.

• Communicate effectively.
• Be patient with other members.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Summary Table of Strengths and Allowable Weaknesses

TEAM ROLE STRENGTH ALLOWABLE
WEAKNESS
Disciplined, reliable, Somewhat inflexible and
Implementer conservative, efficient. Turns slow to respond to new
(IM) ideas into practical action. possibilities.
Creative, imaginative, Ignores details; too
Plant unorthodox. Likes solving preoccupied with own idea
(PL) difficult problems. to communicate it
effectively.
Extroverted, enthusiastic, Over-optimistic. Loses
Resource communicative. Explore interest once initial
Investigator opportunities. Builds on enthusiasm has passed. Not
(RI) others’ ideas. Develops too interested in follow
contacts. through.
Mature, confident, trusting. Can be manipulative and
Coordinator Can be effective team leader. lazy, delegating even
(CO) Clarifies goals, promotes personal work.
decision-making, delegates
well.
Challenging, dynamic, thrives Can provoke others. Hurts
Shaper on pressure. Has the drive and people’s feelings. Blunt.
(SH) courage to overcome obstacles. Highly strung.
Sober, strategic, discerning. Lacks the drive and ability
Monitor Evaluator Sees all options. Judges to inspire others. Overly
(ME) accurately. critical and slow to make
decisions. Argues with self.
Cooperative, mild, perceptive Indecisive under pressure.
Team Worker and diplomatic. Listens well. Easily influenced when
(TW) Strives to avoid friction. others are forceful.
Painstaking, conscientious, Inclined to worry unduly.
Completer Finisher anxious to get things right. Reluctant to delegate. Can
(CF) Searches out errors and be a nit-picker.
omissions. Driven to finish
what is started.
Single-minded, self-starting, Contributes only on a
Specialist dedicated. Likes being the narrow front. Overlooks the
(SP) expert and providing big picture. Not interested
specialised knowledge. in what lies outside field.
May not always enjoy
working in a team.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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When Weaknesses Become Unacceptable

TEAM ROLE ALLOWABLE WEAKNESS UNACCEPTABLE

EXTREME
Adherence to the orthodox and Obstruction of change, even
Implementer proven. when it is positive. Too
(IM) large a comfort zone.
Preoccupation with concepts Strong ownership of ideas
Plant and ideas and neglect of the when cooperation with
(PL) practical. others would yield better
results.
Loss of enthusiasm when Letting internal and external
Resource initial excitement has passed. customers down by not
Investigator Disinterest in sustaining focus. making follow-through
(RI) arrangements.
Tendency to be lazy if work Taking credit for the efforts
Coordinator can be delegated. of the team.
(CO)
Irritation and proneness to Inability to recover the
Shaper frustration manifested in situation with humour and
(SH) temper outbursts or sulking. apology.

Monitor Evaluator Scepticism with logic. Cynicism without logic.

(ME)

Team Worker Indecision on crucial issues. Anticipating and avoiding

(TW) Agreement with everyone. situations that may entail
conflict or pressure.

Completer Finisher
(CF) Perfectionism. Obsession with minutiae.

Specialist Acquiring knowledge only for Ignoring factors outside of

(SP) its sake. own area of competence.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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Project Team Mobilisation

Once the project team has been put together, the challenge of mobilisation to a high
performance level must be faced.

Team development can be facilitated by engaging in the following activities.

• Creation of a project team identity.

• Development of teamworking arrangements, ground rules and methods of

communication.

• Agreement of roles and responsibilities of individual members of the team.

All teams – whether functional or project – go through stages of development. There

have been numerous theories outlining these stages.

Tuckman & Francis & Zapp Stott &

STAGES Jensen (1977) Young (1979) (1987) Walker (1995)

1 Forming Testing Development Polite Niceties

2 Storming In-fighting Politicking

Getting
3 Norming Organised Focusing Achieving

4 Performing Mature Performance Competence

Closeness
5 Adjourning Levelling -

Regardless of the framework used, it is quite clear that newly formed teams need some
time for adjustment. They do not communicate their thoughts and feelings too openly as
they are “testing the waters” and trying to figure out the best ways to deal with each
other. Informal “away days” and early teambuilding events can aid team members in
getting to know each other and facilitate their movement as a team to the next stages. It
is often useful if the team values, mission and purpose are the focus of early teambuilding
activities.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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USEFUL STRATEGIES FOR HELPING A TEAM THROUGH

PHASE 1

• Provide opportunities for the new team to get to know each other
in different settings.
• Provide opportunities for the new team to have fun together.
• Encourage individuals to express how they really feel and think.
• Ask members to state their concerns about the project, the team or
their role in it.
• Encourage members to reveal their strengths in terms of
personality and experience.
• Encourage people to share some details of their lives away from
work.
• Focus on building up trust and confidence.

As team members get to know each other better, they will go through a phase of
competition and sometimes, conflict. The more complex the task, the greater the chances
that arguments, ill-feeling and competition for power will occur. A great deal of micro-
political activity may occur as a result of differences of opinion. It is important at this
stage to come to an agreement to set ground rules for engagement and move on to the
next stage.

USEFUL STRATEGIES FOR HELPING A TEAM THROUGH

PHASE 2

• Encourage openness about feelings.

• Do not ridicule anyone’s ideas. Discuss them seriously.
• Celebrate even the smallest successes.
• Identify and expose conflicts: aim for collaboration or compromise and
seek reconciliation.

The team should set norms for managing their processes. They should agree upon:

• Methods of communication amongst each other and with external groups.

• Methods of handling conflict of ideas and personality differences.
• A rational method for solving problems and arriving at decisions.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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The third stage is the point at which ground rules should be set and the team must
constantly review their performance to check whether goals were met and rules for
engagement observed.

USEFUL STRATEGIES FOR HELPING A TEAM THROUGH

PHASE 3

• Analyse strengths and weaknesses, viewing individual differences as

strengths.
• Try out new ways of doing things.
• Develop required individual skills.
• Clarify each individual’s role in tasks and the overall project.
• Establish link-ups with other teams.
• Continue to celebrate team successes.
• Review the team’s operation regularly.

At the fourth stage, a project team should have developed a high level of maturity and the
challenge the team faces is no longer that of convergence, but rather, dealing with the
issues of “sameness”, routine and potential stagnation. This danger of these is increased
if the team has enjoyed success after success as this often breeds a sense of infallibility.

USEFUL STRATEGIES FOR HELPING A TEAM THROUGH

PHASE 4

• Allow leadership to rotate when possible.

• Include and treat opposing views from inside or outside the team
seriously.
• Change routine occasionally.
• Invite someone from outside the team to comment on its performance.

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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The Big Picture

Project Teams, by their very nature and for reasons of structure, are not always
permanent and do not always have a lifespan as long as a traditional functional team.
Project managers must understand the dimensions of team development and the fact that
ways of managing project teams change in emphasis as they grow increasingly mature,
with a view to sustaining their teams’ work performance.

INDIVIIDUAL
Motivation
Commitment
Attitudes
Abilities
Participation

TASK
Goals
Target Setting
Systematic Processes

TEAM
Leadership
Behavioural Roles
DEVELOPMENT Communication TASK
STRATEGIES Interpersonal Relationships PERFORMANCE
Influencing Skill
Conflict Management
Problem Analysis
Decision Making
Team Meetings
Coordination
Cooperation
Cohesiveness
Norms and Values
Conformity
Boundary Management

ORGANISATION
Structure
Climate
Culture
Support for Development
Reward System

(Adapted from Buller, 1986)

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Warwick Manufacturing Group
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The figure above shows the four dimensions towards which development strategies can
be aimed: the Individual, the Task, the Team and the Organisation. The figure below
shows where the emphasis for development should be, considering team maturity.

Model of Team Development Emphasis

According to Team Maturity Levels
(Stott and Walker, 1995)

TEAM MATURITY TEAM DEVELOPMENT DIMENSIONS

LEVEL Individual Task Team Organisation

Immature Team

Maturing Team

Effective Team

Essential to develop

May need to develop

References

Belbin, R Meredith. Management Teams: Why They Succeed and Fail. Oxford:
Butterworth Heinemann, 1981.

. Team Roles at Work. Oxford: Butterwoth Heinemann, 1993.

Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management. Boston: Harvard Business

School Publishing, 1999.

Harvard Business Review on Managing People. Boston: Harvard Business School

Publishing, 1999.

Stott, Kenneth and Walker, Allan. Teams, Teamwork and Teambuilding. Singapore:
Simon& Schuster, 1995.

DRNicholls
Warwick Manufacturing Group