Section 2: Personalities and Role Preferences in Teams

Section 2: Personalities and Role Preferences in Teams > Teamwork requires many roles > Teamwork requires many roles
Section 2: Personalities and Role Preferences in Teams > Belbin team role types > Role compatibilities and potential conflicts

Secondly you need a good understanding of how to best utilise these attributes in order for the team to meet its potential and the project outcomes to be achieved on time, on budget and to the client’s expectations.
There are many models of the various roles within teams and here we’re not talking about your title such as ‘Business Manager’ or even the specialist knowledge that you bring to the team such as business analysis.
He observed and studied numerous teams at the Henley Management College in the UK in the 1970s and created what is now known as the Belbin Team Inventory.
We’re coming at it in a different way by getting you to think about the Belbin team role types and to show you how they can be helpful for seeing off conflict and helping you and your team successfully reach your goals.
Thinking about the roles and deciding your preference isn’t meant to stereotype you – you will change over time and depending on your team’s composition and abilities.
It’s about recognising those roles and how your team members fit with them.
If your team identifies a gap in an area you may have to fill it and if someone fills the role you prefer you might drop back to your second preference.

When Belbin identified the different roles he also identified likely compatibilities and potential conflicts that may occur between roles, depending upon their work relationship.
This is the diagram that you refer to if you want to see how well your preferred team role relates to your boss’ preferred team role.
These are directed towards the preferred role of the other person.
So the arrows point to your boss’ role preference.
Solid coloured lines connecting roles represent a compatible relationship.
Dotted lines connecting roles indicate that there may be conflict between your role and another role.
If there is a solid or dotted line around a role, this indicates that people with the same preferred role type are either compatible or may have conflict working with other people with the same role preference.
The Plant role does not have a solid line or a dotted one around it.
Let’s look at another example – the Implementer role.
You can see there are three solid lines connecting it with the Plant, Coordinator and Shaper roles.
On the other hand, you can see that there is a dotted line around the Implementer role icon.
If you are an Implementer and your boss is also an Implementer one of you may choose to work in your second preferred role type.