The Business Book

84 ORGANIZING TEAMS AND TALENT

is encouraged by new challenges,

since they help to keep the work

fresh and engaging.

Successful roles

Individuals offer different talents

and attributes, and these need to

be taken into account when putting

together teams. UK management

theorist Meredith Belbin claims

there are nine distinct roles within

a team that are essential to team

success, and that the key to a well-

organized team is balance. For

example, Belbin found that teams

without Plants (creative,

unconventional thinkers) struggle

to come up with ideas; but if there

are too many Plants, idea generation

starts to take precedence over

action. Similarly, if there is no

Shaper (a dynamic, driven person

who pushes the group toward

decisions), teams lack drive and

direction. But in a team with too

many Shapers, arguments occur

frequently and will lower morale.

Now an established business

tool, the Belbin Team Inventory is

frequently used by companies to

maximize team effectiveness.

However, many companies make the

mistake of using it after teams have

been formed; to work successfully, it

must be used before creating a team.

Managing talent

Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager

of Manchester United, one of the

world’s best-known soccer teams,

is a master of building winning

teams over and again, and his

methods can be applied to the

business environment. His team

was bonded by a strong sense of

shared mission—a desire to win.

Players were cohesive on the field,

because Ferguson demanded

cohesiveness off the field. An

exceptional team culture ran

through the veins of every player

Belbin Team Inventory

Team role

Plant

Resource

investigator

Coordinator

Shaper

Monitor/

evaluator

Teamworker

Implementer

Completer/

finisher

Specialist

Talent

Creative, unconventional

thinker who excels at

solving problems

Communicative extrovert

who develops contacts and

explores opportunities

Mature, confident person

who is able to clarify goals

and promote decision

making

Dynamic, outgoing, highly

strung person who will

challenge, pressure, and

find ways around obstacles

Sober, strategic, discerning

person able to see and

judge options objectively

Social, mild, perceptive and

accommodating, this

teamworker averts friction

Disciplined, reliable,

conservative, efficient

person who can turn ideas

into practical actions

Painstaking, conscientious

person who is always able

to meet deadlines

Single-minded, dedicated

self-starter who brings

knowledge or technical

skills that are in rare supply

Weakness

Not good at managing

(or communicating with)

less creative people

Loses interest once initial

enthusiasm has passed

Can be manipulative and

appear aloof

Prone to provocation and

short-lived bursts of temper

Lacks drive and ability to

inspire others

Indecisive in crunch

situations

Somewhat inflexible, slow

to respond to new

possibilities

Inclined to worry unduly,

reluctant to delegate

Contributes only on

a narrow front