Effective Management Techniques

EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

Team Working WEEK 11

Vivek Chitran

Learning Objectives  Explain the concept of team and its development

 Explore Belbin’s nine team roles and its effectiveness and drawbacks

 Discuss factors affecting team roles

Importance of Team Development ‘To remain competitive organisations need to make optimum use of equipment and people if they are to thrive or even survive…. In a general sense people talk of teamwork when they want to emphasise the virtues of co-operation and the need to make use of the various strengths of employees.’ ACAS

Belbin’s Team-Roles A team-role is a pattern of behaviour, characteristic of the way in which one team member interacts with another whose performance serves to facilitate the progress of the team as a whole. “No one’s perfect, but a team can be”

Belbin’s Nine Team-Roles  Plant

 Teamworker

 Resource investigator

 Implementer

 Co-ordinator

 Completer

 Shaper

 Specialist

 Monitor-evaluator

The Plant Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Creative

 Ignores details

 Imaginative

 Too preoccupied to communicate effectively

 Unorthodox  Solves difficult problems

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

The Resource Investigator Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Extrovert

 Over-optimistic

 Enthusiastic

 Loses interest once enthusiasm has passed

 Communicative  Explores opportunities  Develops contacts

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

The Co-ordinator Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Mature

 Can be seen as manipulative

 Confident

 Delegates personal work

 A good chairperson  Clarifies goals  Promotes decision- making

 Delegates well

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

The Shaper Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Challenging

 Can provoke others

 Dynamic

 Hurts others’ feelings

 Thrives on pressure

 Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

The Monitor-Evaluator Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Sober, strategic and discerning

 Lacks drive and ability to inspire others

 Sees all options  Judges accurately

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

 Overly critical

The Teamworker Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Co-operative

 Indecisive in crunch situations

 Mild

 Can be easily influenced

 Perceptive and diplomatic

 Listens  Builds  Averts friction  Calms the waters Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

The Implementer Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Disciplined

 Somewhat inflexible

 Reliable

 Slow to respond to new possibilities

 Conservative and efficient

 Turns ideas into practical actions

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

The Completer Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Painstaking

 Inclined to worry unduly

 Conscientious

 Reluctant to delegate

 Anxious

 Can be a nit-picker

 Searches out errors and omissions  Delivers on time

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

The Specialist Team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

 Single-minded

 Contributes on only a narrow front

 Self-sharing  Dedicated  Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply

Source: Belbin, R.M., Team Roles at Work, Belbin Associates (1993), p.23

 Dwells on technicalities  Overlooks the ‘big picture’

Backup and Functional Roles  Back-up Roles: – Team members may be able to play more than one of Belbin’s Roles.

– These back-up roles can come into play if particular roles are missing from the team.

 Functional Roles: – These are the roles played by members in relation to specific technical needs. – Functional roles are based on experience and knowledge, not on team-role characteristics.

Building Successful Teams Managers should be aware of the importance of:

– Clarification of objectives and resources – Organisational processes and clarification of roles – Empowerment, decision-making and channels of communication

– Patterns of interaction, task and maintenance functions – Social processes and the informal organisation – Management systems and leadership style

– Training and development

Skills for Successful Teamwork  Self management

 Strategic planning

 Communication

 Shaping successful meetings

 Leadership

 Resolving conflicts

 Responsibility

 Enjoyment

 Supportiveness of diversity  Feedback and evaluation

Learning Objectives  Explain the concept of team and its development

 Explore Belbin’s nine team roles and its effectiveness and drawbacks

 Discuss factors affecting team roles

Reference  Mullins, J. L. (2005) Management and Organisational Behaviour, 7th ed., Prentice-Hall