Belbin Team Dynamics Essay

When I think of team dynamics, the leader-follower relationship comes to mind. Leadership is both an art and science. Belbin’s theory on team dynamics (i.e., nine roles in three distinct categories related to action, people, and thought) and his 40 years of research (Limos-Heroes, 2012) are certainly to be considered when creating a team or making adjustments to one’s current team. It does seem logical that a team would be defined as a whole by the strengths and weakness most common among its members (i.e., if everyone had the same weakness, then the team would be defined by that weakness and vulnerable to attack and subsequent failure) (Limos-Heroes, 2012). However, “artistry is neither exact nor precise; the artist interprets the experience,

7). Life is not black and white, all or none, good or bad. Character strengths are multidimensional and holistic in its conceptual framework. One’s strength in the current environment could be expressed to a much lesser degree in another context or environment (Niemiec, 2018). I am not sure if this was a consideration in Belbin’s

“The 24 character strengths (i.e., the strengths defined by the VIA character institute) are a common language that describe what is best in human beings” (Niemiec, 2018, p. 2) and at the heart of positive psychology, the arm of psychology hosting sport psychology. According to Niemiec, it is important, as well, to understand that there are other types of strengths, such as talents (what we do naturally well), skills (what we train ourselves to do), interests (our passions), resources (our external support), values (what we internally hold dear). What hit home to me is the driving force. “Character strengths cut across each of the strength categories as a driving force, catalyzing or intimately connecting with the other strength domains” (p. 17). Here is a new term to consider as we study with an open-mind, the power zone. This zone is created when there is “the successful alignment of talents, character strengths, resources, and interests” (p. 17). For example, “a superstar home-run hitter or a world-class pianist could not have developed their talent without intense use of the character strength of perseverance and self-regulation, and it is likely that in order to learn a new skill and build up a proficiency, one would be driven by the character strength of hope” (p. 15). Note that there is no discussion here of