Teamwork is crucial to any enterprise, and the first step in assembling a project team is to enlist the Meredith Belbin theory of management. It's likely that any person on a team can easily tell you the pros and cons of working with each of her team mates. People quickly get reputations for being shirkers, micromanagers, doormats, idea people, organizers, etc. Despite this ability to label their teammates, few people understand the true dynamics of teamwork.

Meredith Belbin studied teams in the 1970s, and in 1981 he published a book called Management Teams. In it, he outlines the nine types of team worker, with pros and cons for each. In Belbin management theory, what's important is understanding that these nine reactions to working as part of a team are basically unavoidable, and the smart manager will learn to manage them to best advantage. Here are three ways to use Belbin team management theory in your business:

1. Understand Belbin's theory of teamwork dynamics.

2. Find ways to implement Belbin's management theory in your workplace.

3. Hear from experts on implementing Belbin's theory of group roles.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Map the minds of your team players using Belbin's theory on teamwork

Most of the terms we come up with to describe our fellow team-mates are negative or positive (and mostly negative). Belbin's theory deepens that thinking, showing that people react in complex ways to teamwork, based on their personalities, their perception of others' personalities, and how they feel they are perceived.

I recommend: Go to Mind Tools for a short course on Belbin's Team Roles, and 12manage for a useful chart. The "Belbin Team Roles Training Bite" at YouTube outlines the nine types of team workers with illustrations.

Put Belbin's theory into practice

Belbin's team management theories are widely practiced in Europe, particularly in the U.K., where Belbin did much of his research. But there are plenty of outlets in the U.S. offering Belbin's management tools.

I recommend: The Richardson Company has "Building the Perfect Team," a half-hour video putting the management theory of Meredith Belbin basics into practice. Find a variety of materials at Belbin Associates, and download the Belbin Team Roles or Self-Inventory at FileCluster.

Hear from experts who put Belbin's management theories in perspective

While there are ways to implement Belbin team management theory on your own, you don't have to to it alone. There are many consulting firms that offer Belbin-based services, and experts who bear witness to the benefits of Belbin.

I recommend: Strachan Consulting offers Belbin-based consulting. At Sabre Corporate Development, corporate psychologist David Marriott explains the benefits of taking Belbin's theory into account.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Remember, one person can exhibit multiple team roles. The trick is to figure out the primary role they play, according to Belbin's theory, and help them hone that role to make them easier to predict and direct.

Meredith Belbin's research into worker behavior led to his widely regarded team management theories. Based on his long-term observations of group behavior, he developed his Belbin Team Roles concept. The model is based on the nine roles that Belbin determined contribute to effective teamwork. He divided his nine roles into three categories: Action-Oriented Roles, People-Oriented Roles, and Thought-Oriented Roles.

According to Belbin, his team roles do not represent personality types, though certain personality types might be better suited to particular roles. Rather, team roles are those necessary functions that must be fulfilled by individual team members (with each member sometimes assuming multiple roles) for the team to function effectively as a whole and successfully meet its objectives. Belbin delineated the characteristics of each role, describing what each role contributes to the team. He also outlined some of the weaknesses inherent in each role. He believed that, by understanding these, team members could consciously work on maximizing the strengths of each role's contribution to the overall team effort and minimize the impact of the weaknesses that tend to accompany them. Belbin's nine team roles are these:

1. Shaper

2. Implementer

3. Completer-Finisher

4. Coordinator

5. Team Worker

6. Resource Investigator

7. Plant

8. Monitor-Evaluator

9. Specialist (though Belbin theory doesn't require all roles in every team)

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Build a thorough understanding of Belbin's theories on team roles

Numerous websites provide valuable information about Belbin management theory. In addition to diagrams and summaries of Meredith Belbin principles, you'll find various videos and instructional materials that can help you develop the background knowledge and practical expertise to put Belbin's theories to work for your company.

I recommend: 12Manage provides a helpful chart of Belbin’s Team Roles, including a description of each, along with tips for applying Belbin theory to your workplace teams. YouTube offers a Belbin Team Roles Training Bite video. The video describes the nine team roles covered by Belbin's theory of group roles, presenting the strengths (or contributions) and weaknesses of each type of team member role.

Consult an expert to make Belbin management theory a reality for your business

Consultants with knowledge and experience in the management theory of Meredith Belbin can guide you in maximizing the benefit of his principles in your own company's unique environment.

I recommend: Catalyst Advancement, LLC, is a Belbin-accredited consulting firm that can help you make the most of Belbin's management theory. International Leadership Associates also offers consulting and coaching services based on the Belbin theory of management.

Investigate Belbin theory resources which can help you implement his advice

Widely available online tools and resources can help you more easily implement Belbin team management theory. Games, software and other products designed around Belbin's theory on teamwork let you choose the resources most valuable to your business.

I recommend: Team Building provides instructions for a dozen team building games that you can use to put Belbin's theories into practice. Belbin Team Roles or Inventory software is shareware offered by 5StarShare.com for free trial download.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You'll likely find the many facets of Belbin theory fascinating, as you delve more deeply into them. Take advantage of the wealth of information available online. It will be well worth your while, as you learn to put Belbin's theory into practice to help your teams grow.

When Meredith Belbin's book Management Teams was published in 1981, it completely revolutionized the field of team management theories. Belbin's theory of group roles changed how managers looked at their teams and how to best form a team for optimum results. By learning more about Belbin management theory, you too can have better, more productive teams helping you improve your numbers.

If you want to learn more about Belbin theory, it's important to find training opportunities that fit both your needs and available time. You can find this training from many sources as long as you take the time to set out your criteria ahead of time. Management theory of Meredith Belbin education and training can come in a variety of ways, including:

1. Classes or seminars that teach Belbin's theory.

2. Self-study training opportunities on team management theories.

3. Products that allow you to train your own team on Meredith Belbin while you yourself learn.

Action Steps
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Find classes and seminars that teach managers about Belbin's management theory

Many different groups offer classes and seminars to help you better understand Belbin's theory on teamwork and how this applies to your team. By taking these classes in a group setting, you can both learn the theory and make important industry contacts that can serve you well.

I recommend: The Belbin Team Role Accreditation Course is recommended for anyone who wants to use Belbin's theory of group roles in their business. The James Thornton Institute of Leadership & Team Development offers a seminar to help managers learn about team roles and how Belbin's theory helps to create team synergy.

Take advantage of self-study options on Belbin's theory on teamwork

When you're crunched for time, self-study training can be your best option to learn more about Belbin's management theory. By studying on your own time and in a location of your choosing, you're more apt to take in the knowledge you need rather than thinking about what you could be doing instead.

I recommend: Spiral Training & Associates offers a strong synopsis on Belbin's use of team roles in their YouTube video presentation. Multi Media HRD sells a DVD that outlines the Belbin method of selecting the perfect team.

Bring your team on-board with training that teaches team management theories to others

Since Belbin management theory is entirely focused on teamwork, it would make little sense to be trained yourself on his theories without training your team as well. There are a wide variety of products available that will help you learn more about Belbin's theories while you're teaching your team members how their role is integral to the functioning of the team as a whole.

I recommend: CERT offers a variety of activities on Belbin team management theory from their location in the UK, home to Meredith Belbin. Purchase one of the new Belbin DVDs and accompanying facilitator's guide through Personneltoday.com.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Meredith Belbin is a British management theorist. His theories have now made their name worldwide, but most consultants are still based in the United Kingdom. It can therefore be sometimes difficult to find domestic resources for his products. Be sure that you know the exchange rate if you choose to purchase goods or services from one of these British consultants.

Meredith Belbin believed that, in order for a business to be successful, all of its employees must work well together as a team. His theories are being used to determine which employees work well together through the use of personality tests and even board games.

The purpose of this guide is to introduce you to elements of Belbin's management theories and help you understand them more thoroughly so your business can successfully put them into practice.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Team Roles Model

Meredith Belbin calls his management theory the Team Roles Model. Basically, Belbin believes that each member of a team has a specific role to play. There are nine roles within his model, under three different categories. A successful team needs at least one role from each category.

I recommend: Mind Tools provides a thorough explanation of Belbin's Team Roles Model.

Action-oriented roles

The first category of team roles within Belbin's theory are action-oriented roles. These are individuals that make sure the job gets done and are essentially born leaders. The roles within this category are the shaper, implementer and finisher/completer.

I recommend: Visit 12manage for more details on each of the action-oriented roles.

People-oriented roles

People-oriented roles involve those individuals that tend to let feelings dictate their actions. These individuals can be leaders, but prefer a more participative leadership. The roles within this category are the chairman or coordinator, the teamworker and the resource investigator.

I recommend: Changing Minds provides a description of the people-oriented roles.

Cerebral roles

The final category in Belbin's Team Roles Model are the cerebral roles, also known as the thinking, problem solving or intellectual roles. These individuals bring creativity, imagination and strategy to the table. The roles within this category include the planter, motivator/evaluator and the specialist.

I recommend: Visit the Team Building Portal for more information on the cerebral roles category.

SPI

SPI stands for Self Perception Inventory. You may also see this referred to as TRSPI, or Team Roles Self Perception Inventory. This is a test developed by Meredith Belbin in which individuals determine their own team roles so they can better apply their strengths to team projects within their jobs.

I recommend: Read information and an evaluation of SPI testing offered by Goliath.

Contribute

Contribute is a team-building game developed by Meredith Belbin. Four to nine people participate in nine exercises in an attempt to collect all nine Team Role Awards within a certain time frame. It helps business teams determine what roles individual members have as they contribute to the task.

I recommend: Visit the Belbin Associates website for more details on Contribute.