Team Roles at Work

(taken from "Team Roles at Work" by M. Belbin, 1993)

The Nine Team Roles
Roles and descriptions - team role contribution		Allowable weaknesses
	Plant: creative, imaginative, unorthodox. Solves difficult problems	Ignores details. Too preoccupied to communicate effectively.
	Resource Investigator: extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities. Develops contacts	Overoptimistic. Loses interest once initial enthusiasm has passed.
	Co-ordinator: Mature, confident, a good chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decision-making, delegates well	Can be seen as manipulative. Delegates personal work
	Shaper: Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.	Can provoke others. Hurts people's feelings
	Monitor Evaluator: Sober, strategic and discerning. Judges accurately	Lacks drive and ability to inspire others. Overly critical.
	Teamworker: Co-operative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction, calms the waters.	Indecisive in crunch situations. Can be easily influenced
	Implementer: Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions	Somewhat inflexible. Slow to respond to new possibilities.
	Completer: Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and omissions. Delivers on time.	Inclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate. Can be a nit-picker.
	Specialist: Single-minded, self starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply	Contributes on only a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities. Overlooks the big picture.
Strength of contribution in any one of the roles is commonly associated with particular weaknesses. These are called allowable weaknesses. Executives are seldom strong on all nine team roles

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