Learn about Team Role Profiles

Proponents of personality tests suggest one of the most effective ways to get a job done is if you first understand yourself and those who work closely with you. Formally using tests to categorize personality traits dates back at least as far as the Ancient Greeks, who looked to the four temperaments to understand behaviour. Today that job is usually done by specially trained consultants, using theories developed by psychologists, who are hired to take a look at a company’s workforce and its leaders in order to better understand their relationships on the job. But what will we find if we put our political leaders through a personality test?

Dr. R. Meredith Belbin, from Cambridge University, created a model for personality testing that bears his name. He was particularly interested in how various personalities worked together as a team. He spent nine years doing in-depth research which enabled him to accurately predict which teams would succeed and which would fail. His research showed that for a team to work best, it needs to have two crucial elements – (1) the right makeup of people and (2) team members who are contributing to their potential.

His research identified nine distinct team roles, each of which is required to have a truly high-functioning team. (See description of roles below). But, of course, not every team has nine people or the right makeup of the nine behaviours. People can have more than one role in which they are strong contributors. They also have certain roles in which they are particularly weak. The idea is that people learn to identify their strengths and play to these, while avoiding those roles in which they are highly likely to fail. Thus, one person can assume more than one team role

The following are the nine team roles, with their strengths and weaknesses. When reading them, try to guess the team role to which Belbin believes most successful political leaders belong -- and which ones are most likely for successful business leaders. Also: Can you guess Nicolas Sarkozy or Margaret Thatcher’s natural team role – or Ronald Reagan’s ? Answers are below.

The nine team roles are:

- Plants
They are creative, imaginative and unorthodox.
Their contribution to the team is to solve difficult problems.
Their weaknesses: They can ignore details and be too preoccupied to communicate effectively.

- Resource Investigators
They are extroverts who are enthusiastic and communicative.
Their contribution to the team is to explore opportunities and develop contacts.
Their weaknesses: They can be overoptimistic, and can lose interest in things once their initial enthusiasm has passed.

- Co-ordinators
They are mature, confident and make good chairpersons.
Their contribution to the team is to clarify goals, promote decision-making and delegate well.
Their weaknesses: They can be seen as manipulative and sometimes can delegate work they should do themselves.

- Shapers
They are dynamic, challenging and thrive on pressure.
Their contribution to the team is to overcome obstacles.
Their weaknesses: They can provoke others and hurt people’s feelings.

- Monitor Evaluators
They are sober, strategic and discerning.
Their contribution to the team is to see all options and judge accurately.
Their weaknesses: They can lack drive and the ability to inspire others, and can be overly critical.

- Teamworkers
They are co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic.
Their contribution to the team is to listen, build, avert friction and calm the waters. Their weaknesses: They can be easily influenced and indecisive in crunch situations.

- Implementers
They are disciplined, reliable, efficient and conservative.
Their contribution to the team is to turn ideas into practical actions.
Their weaknesses: They can be somewhat inflexible and slow to respond to new possibilities.

- Completers
They are conscientious, painstaking and anxious.
Their contribution to the team is to search out errors and omissions and to deliver on time.
Their weaknesses: They can be inclined to worry unduly and be reluctant to delegate. They can also be nitpickers.

- Specialists
They are the experts on a subject, and are single-minded, self-starting and dedicated. Their role in the group is to provide knowledge and skills otherwise in rare supply.
Their weaknesses: They contribute only on a narrow front and can dwell on technicalities, overlooking the big picture.

Historically the Shaper and Coordinator roles, being the two power-based roles, have been prominent amongst politicians. Who is to say that dominance as demonstrated in the Shaper and Coordinator roles makes for a good leader? What is probably more important is how well people play their roles and combine the qualities of their top two or three roles. Mandela, for example, is very adept at playing the unusual combination of Team Worker and Shaper roles.

In in-depth looks at two former leaders, Belbin found that Margaret Thatcher’s natural team role was a Shaper “with one of the strongest scores we have seen in that direction.” She also demonstrated the focused approach associated with the Specialist role. Ronald Reagan’s strong roles were Resource Investigator and Coordinator, which fits in with the widely held view of him as The Great Communicator. Nicolas Sarkozy, as it turns out, is also a Shaper. (So is Tiger Woods and Donald Trump. Bill Gates is a Specialist and Oprah Winfrey is a Resource Investigator.) Where do you think the two candidates for U.S. President will end up?

Learn about Team Role Profiles

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