feAture

PeArL D’SOUZA

O

ne of the most exciting

and fascinating discovery

expeditions we will ever be on

is the discovery of ourselves.

Getting to know ourselves better,

realizing what we are good at, the

talents we are blessed with and

the impact we can create truly is

interesting and life-giving!

Erik Erikson was a German-

American developmental

psychologist known for his theory

on psycho-social development of

human beings. He speaks of how

at different stages of life we are on

an exploration. He says how we

engage with life experiences helps us

build trust, autonomy, initiative and

intimacy — all helping us to build a

strong sense of identity and purpose

that then allows us to live fully and

contribute to society.

Ages 12-18 are particularly

interesting as Erikson says this is the

time when we begin to ask questions

like ‘Who am I?’, ‘What do I want

to do with my life?’. This is the time

when we try on different ‘selves’ in

a way to see which one fits. It’s the

time when we are truly making our

first conscious journey to knowing

ourselves and all the treasures that

we maybe gifted with.

In the U.K. in the 1960’s, well-

known researcher and management

consultant, Dr Meredith Belbin,

sought to study group and

individual behaviours. Dr Belbin

was able to identify different clusters

of behaviours that are important for

success of teams and projects. These

clusters of behaviours came to be

called ‘team roles’ or behavioural

talents. For example, one cluster

of behaviour referred to the ability

to come up with ideas, another to

the ability to focus on details, still

another to the ability to be sensitive

to people’s needs and feelings. Dr

Belbin’s research showed that each

one of us is gifted with two to three

team roles or behavioural talents that

we are very good in. There are some

we find stressful but can do a decent

job of leveraging them, and there are

some behavioural talents that each of

us are just not great at. Knowing our

strengths truly helps us realize how

we can make a unique contribution

wherever we go.

Discovering one’s behavioural

talents is one of the most fascinating,

empowering and energizing

journeys that one can embark on.

While Dr Belbin is today known as

the ‘Father of Team Roles’ and the

Belbin philosophy is used widely in

organizations across the globe, the

team roles and behavioural talents

Leadership Treasure

Discovery...

the way!

begin to show during our teenage

years and this knowledge can be

very valuable.

Experiences during high school,

college and university help us on

our discovery journey of getting to

know ourselves. The Belbin team

roles therefore prove to be a deeply

researched and fascinating guide on

what Erikson possibly describes as

the ‘quest of finding one’s identity’

when one is a young adult.

But how can the two merge?

That’s where The Leadership Treasure

Discovery session comes in. PrePearl

Training, the India representatives

for Belbin UK, had been looking

(from l to r) Pearl D’Souza, Director, PrePearl Training Development Pvt Ltd, Dr Meredith Belbin

and Leslie D’Souza, Chairman & Managing Director, PrePearl Training Development Pvt Ltd.