An effective team utilises the various personality types of its members in order to best fulfill different roles. For instance, some individuals are better in thought-oriented or action-oriented positions, while others may excel in people-oriented roles. Understanding the different roles in the Belbin Team Inventory test can help you assign team roles by identifying each individual's motivations and objectives.

What is the Belbin test?

First devised by Dr. Meredith Belbin through a study at Henley Management College, the Belbin Team Role Inventory test is a behavioural test to assess how an individual operates in a team environment and their preference for any of the nine team roles. The test combines self-assessment with feedback from observers, contrasting how individuals perceive their own behaviour with how others see them. Belbin’s approach differs from psychometric personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test in that rather than categorising people into a defined personality type, Belbin Team Roles measure how strongly an individual exhibits traits from the nine identified roles. It is common for a person to express traits from multiple roles.

Using Belbin team roles in the workplace

Even though there are nine Belbin Team Roles, an effective team doesn’t necessarily need nine members. In fact, Belbin himself believes that the optimum team size is around four people. Beyond this number, individuals may not collaborate closely enough as a team should, but function more as a group. The key is to determine the team objectives in a job and identify the tasks to be carried out. This helps determine which team roles to use for each task and how to utilise each member’s strengths.Understanding which Belbin team roles individuals align with can also help assess how well a team might work together and help identify the best candidates to fill specific roles in a team. A team with members of similar styles or behaviours should be avoided as this can lead to an imbalance. A well-balanced team is one with complementary strengths that help offset each other’s weaknesses and work more effectively together.

The nine Belbin Team Roles

Through his study, Belbin identified the following nine team roles:

• The Plant
• The Monitor-Evaluator
• The Specialist
• The Resource Investigator
• The Team Worker
• The Co-ordinator
• The Shaper
• The Implementer
• The Completer / Finisher

Providing the Science Behind Teamwork

Belbin Team Roles isn't just a theory, it's a practical tool to help individuals, teams and organisations work more effectively to improve business performance through more effective teamwork.

The Belbin reports provide actionable insights to transform the way Teams work together, driving measurable results in both Individual and Team performance.

Using the Belbin reports can give people a greater understanding of their strengths, which leads to more effective communication in the team. Managers can put together great teams, enhance the performance of existing ones, and ensure that everyone feels that they are making a difference in the workplace.

To find out more, click here. Our fully accredited Belbin practitioner will guide you through the process and help you to get the best out of your team