Page 86 - (DK) The Business Book

84 ORGANIZING TEAMS AND TALENT

is encouraged by new challenges,
Belbin Team Inventory
since they help to keep the work
fresh and engaging.
Team role Talent Weakness
Successful roles
Plant Individuals offer different talents
Creative, unconventional Not good at managing and attributes, and these need to
thinker who excels at (or communicating with) be taken into account when putting
solving problems less creative people
together teams. UK management
theorist Meredith Belbin claims
Resource there are nine distinct roles within
investigator Communicative extrovert a team that are essential to team
who develops contacts and Loses interest once initial
explores opportunities enthusiasm has passed success, and that the key to a well-
organized team is balance. For
example, Belbin found that teams
without Plants (creative,
Coordinator
Mature, confident person unconventional thinkers) struggle
who is able to clarify goals Can be manipulative and
and promote decision appear aloof to come up with ideas; but if there
making are too many Plants, idea generation
starts to take precedence over
action. Similarly, if there is no
Shaper
Dynamic, outgoing, highly Shaper (a dynamic, driven person
strung person who will Prone to provocation and who pushes the group toward
challenge, pressure, and short-lived bursts of temper
find ways around obstacles decisions), teams lack drive and
direction. But in a team with too
many Shapers, arguments occur
Monitor/
evaluator Sober, strategic, discerning frequently and will lower morale.
Lacks drive and ability to
person able to see and Now an established business
inspire others
judge options objectively tool, the Belbin Team Inventory is
frequently used by companies to
maximize team effectiveness.
Teamworker
However, many companies make the
Social, mild, perceptive and
accommodating, this Indecisive in crunch mistake of using it after teams have
situations
teamworker averts friction been formed; to work successfully, it
must be used before creating a team.
Implementer Managing talent
Disciplined, reliable,
conservative, efficient Somewhat inflexible, slow Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager
person who can turn ideas to respond to new of Manchester United, one of the
possibilities
into practical actions
world’s best-known soccer teams,
is a master of building winning
Completer/ teams over and again, and his
finisher Painstaking, conscientious methods can be applied to the
person who is always able Inclined to worry unduly,
to meet deadlines reluctant to delegate business environment. His team
was bonded by a strong sense of
shared mission—a desire to win.
Specialist Players were cohesive on the field,
Single-minded, dedicated
self-starter who brings Contributes only on because Ferguson demanded
knowledge or technical a narrow front cohesiveness off the field. An
skills that are in rare supply exceptional team culture ran
through the veins of every player