Belbin Framework
TEAM ROLES: BELBIN FRAMEWORK
Over the last few years, work teams have become a common and increasing characteristic of organisational life. Organisational successes, gains in productivity, quality and profitability are all attributed to team working. There are a number of factors which contribute to the performance of teams; for instance, the organisational structure within which the team works, the type of task to be accomplished, resources available and the characteristic of the team and the team members. The last, the characteristics of team members, is the subject of this note.
Common wisdom dictates that if the best people are put together, a high performance team would inevitably result. Traditionally, the most skilled people, therefore, would be selected for the team. This approach is still prevalent in most organisations and there are many examples: a committee which comprises distribution experts; and urban redevelopment task force which comprises the best architects in the field. In all these cases, people are chosen for their membership of teams because of the job and task skills they possess; in other words, because of the functional role they perform. It has been found, however, that such an approach does not guarantee success. While it may be necessary that a team should comprise people who have relevant knowledge in the task area, it has been discovered that factors other than technical ability were more important in determining the success of a team.
Dr. Meredith Belbin, an UK based scholar in the field of management, applied the notion of behavioural roles to teams and identified nine sets of `team roles’. His concept of team roles was based on a study of successful and unsuccessful teams competing in business games. During a period of over nine years, a team of researchers based at Henley Management College, U.K. studied the behaviour of managers from all over the world, while they engaged in a complex management exercise. Their
Over the last few years, work teams have become a common and increasing characteristic of organisational life. Organisational successes, gains in productivity, quality and profitability are all attributed to team working. There are a number of factors which contribute to the performance of teams; for instance, the organisational structure within which the team works, the type of task to be accomplished, resources available and the characteristic of the team and the team members. The last, the characteristics of team members, is the subject of this note.
Common wisdom dictates that if the best people are put together, a high performance team would inevitably result. Traditionally, the most skilled people, therefore, would be selected for the team. This approach is still prevalent in most organisations and there are many examples: a committee which comprises distribution experts; and urban redevelopment task force which comprises the best architects in the field. In all these cases, people are chosen for their membership of teams because of the job and task skills they possess; in other words, because of the functional role they perform. It has been found, however, that such an approach does not guarantee success. While it may be necessary that a team should comprise people who have relevant knowledge in the task area, it has been discovered that factors other than technical ability were more important in determining the success of a team.
Dr. Meredith Belbin, an UK based scholar in the field of management, applied the notion of behavioural roles to teams and identified nine sets of `team roles’. His concept of team roles was based on a study of successful and unsuccessful teams competing in business games. During a period of over nine years, a team of researchers based at Henley Management College, U.K. studied the behaviour of managers from all over the world, while they engaged in a complex management exercise. Their