Belbin Team Roles Model

Belbin and his team began to identify separate clusters of behavior, each of which formed distinct team contributions or “Team Roles.” They defined a team role as: “A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way.”
Belbin’s work uncovered nine archetypal team roles, all of which have essential parts to play in successful team work over time. Belbin’s research also gives team members a common language to help individuals form productive working relationships, develop high-performing teams, raise self-awareness, identify talent, and aid in recruitment.

Chairman or Implementer - needed to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible
Strengths: Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas

Shaper - provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum
Strengths: Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles
Allowable weaknesses: Can be prone to provocation, and may sometimes offend people's

1. If you have a large group, divide participants into "teams" of approximately five or six. If you work with a smaller group, avoid splitting it up.
2. Ask each team to draw a circle, to divide it equally into nine sections, one for each of Belbin's team roles, and to enter their names in the segments that correspond to their top two roles.
3. Encourage discussion among the team members by asking them to list five main areas where they think their strengths and weaknesses lie, and how these match, overlap or contrast with those of their co-workers.
4. Ask your team to come up with three action points based on its findings, focusing on helping the team to perform more effectively.
Remember not to depend too heavily on this idea when structuring your team – this is only one of many, many factors that are important in getting a team to perform at its best.
That said, just knowing about the Belbin Team Roles model can bring more harmony to your team, as team members learn that there are different approaches that are important in different circumstances and that no one approach is best all the