Belbin Team Roles

"As we move into a more globalised workforce...we can use Belbin to really connect our teams and be better at being collaborative in the workplace."

Candice Collier shared her thoughts at the Belbin International Team Conference. She explains how Belbin is a relational tool which really helps understand behaviours using a safe and positive language. This helps connect teams, even those that may be feeling a bit disconnected in an increasingly globalised workplace.

Watch the short video (link in comments).

Do you want to get more from the teams you work with?

Are you working remotely, and need exercises and activities that can be used in an online environment?

Could you benefit from having a practical, evidence-based programme in your toolkit, to help get your team working more effectively?

Using the Belbin Team Roles methodology promotes self-understanding, strengths-based working and more effective communication within teams.

Discover how you can apply this proven, research-based methodology to realise the potential within your teams.

Join our next online workshop:

📅 1st & 2nd October 2024
⌚ 10.00 hours to 13.15 hours each day
📍 Online (via Zoom)

Here’s what you’ll take away:

🟢 A resource pack to help you implement your learning when back at work.
🟢 Your own Belbin Individual report.
🟢 Exercises that can be replicated and used online / back in the workplace.

This is the last one scheduled for this year, so reserve your place - find the form here -https://bit.ly/3pATs0N - or get in touch!

"People are our everything when it comes to success".

Harry Thuillier, co-founder of Oppo Brothers Ice Cream, shared his story with delegates at the Belbin International Team Conference in July.

It included what he has discovered along the way as the 'key ingredients' for a successful start-up.

Oppo Brothers Ice Cream | B Corp™ has gone from start-up to successful SME, with their products winning taste awards and being stocked in 6,000 stores across some 13 countries (and counting!).

Harry shared his 'key takeaways' with us, including one of his most valuable realisations around leadership and empowering teams.

Watch the short (1 minute) video: https://bit.ly/4gcf5Kd

Hybrid working looks set to stay with 44% of workers preferring a hybrid working arrangement.*

What does this mean for organisations and managers?

Our research reveals that Team Role strengths can affect attitudes and approaches to hybrid work, and impact individual and team engagement.

When developing hybrid and remote working strategies and practices, organisations can benefit from considering behavioural factors.

To help attract and retain talent, and develop high-performing teams, a successful hybrid working strategy needs to have team engagement at its centre, along with individual performance and engagement.

Discover why and more about our research findings with our free download here: https://bit.ly/49VqkmH



(*Source: HR News, May 2024).

Belbin Remote and Hybrid Working Survey Download the research exploring how remote and hybrid working has affected individual effectiveness, productivity, team engagement and connection to organisational culture.

"I feel Belbin has lots to offer to any organisation in terms of delivering aspects around people, culture and keeping it sustainable."

Sharing his 'key speaker takeaways', Deepak Deshpande from Tata Business Excellence Group, talks about how Belbin can be used within an organisation to develop people, culture and support business performance.

Watch the short video (1 minute) to learn all three of Deepak's key takeaways: https://bit.ly/3X9sLwI

Here are 5 simple tricks to become a more effective team player.

1️⃣ Discover your strengths:
Good teamwork begins with understanding what you as an individual can contribute to the team.

When we work to our strengths, it boosts engagement, productivity and wellbeing.

2️⃣ Understand what others think:
If you’re part of a team, it makes sense to ask others about your skills too.

Improvement comes from learning, and we learn by asking for feedback from others. Perhaps you have hidden talents that others see?

3️⃣ Learn to appreciate all contributions:
When we’re used to working in a particular way, we can – even without thinking – neglect, devalue or even reject other approaches and ways of doing things.

Being respectful of the contributions others are making and appreciating the difference of approach (in Belbin terms, we call it behavioural diversity) is so important to get teams working effectively.

4️⃣ Clarify roles and responsibilities:
A good team has a common goal; a shared objective. And that objective comes with a body of work.

Once you understand who is best suited to which kinds of tasks, it becomes easier to know where to look for help.

5️⃣ Talk about the problems and celebrate success:
An effective team is good at problem solving when things go wrong and marking the occasion when things go right.

Even when we understand our strengths and are working on cultivating what we do best, problems occur. There are misunderstandings, territorial clashes over work, arguments over which approach to take.

When we understand one another’s perspective, we can begin to depersonalise and unpick the conflict.

*** *** ***
👉Find much more detail about improving teamwork skills in the short article here: https://bit.ly/4dFcA1q

How to improve teamwork skills: 5 simple tricks How to improve teamwork skills: We all understand the importance of teamwork in the workplace and the value of good communication. Here are 5 simple tricks to making yourself a more effective team player

Back to work after the Bank Holiday and you've likely got meetings in your calendar later this week. You may even have already attended one this morning.

We know that meetings are an essential communication tool in projects and teamwork.

If done right, meetings also help us to collaborate, nurture relationships and exchange information.

But meetings can have drawbacks too if not managed effectively, such as:

⏳ Time consumption: preparation, attendance, participation, and managing follow-ups.

📉 Inefficiency: lack of clear agenda or purpose, was a meeting really necessary?

🗣️ Communication barriers: do certain voices dominate the conversation, preventing others from making valuable contributions?

So how can using the language of Belbin Team Roles make meetings better?

Join us for the FREE live webinar on 5th September at 2.00pm BST to discover ways to make your meetings more effective.

REGISTER HERE: https://bit.ly/4dEXEQY

If you register then you will receive a link to the recording afterwards. Handy just in case you end up having to go to a meeting and miss it....

How to design and run more effective meetings with Belbin We know that meetings are an essential communication tool in projects and teamwork. Meetings keep us informed about progress and enable us to make better decisions. If done right, meetings also help us to collaborate, nurture relationships and exchange information. So how can we use Belbin to make m...

Arguing can be good for your teams.

It may seem counter-intuitive, but functional conflict can actually be good for teams. As long as it is managed in the right way.

How do you and your teams address conflict?

Is it actively ignored or avoided? Rather than address or talk about disagreements are they 'swept under the carpet', in the hope they will disappear?

Failure to process conflict causes untold problems for teams and businesses.

Unresolved issues and disagreements can build and intensify. It can become difficult for people to speak up. Opportunities to stop and change course when things aren't working can be missed. New perspectives and ideas are not explored.

📉 By avoiding conflict, teams can become stuck in the ‘honeymoon phase’ which limits productivity and creativity and stunts growth.

Conflict is crucial for effective teamwork - addressed constructively it can help with building cohesion in the team and reaping the performance benefits.

Benefits to taking a proactive approach to help your teams to 'argue better', include:

✨ better working relationships and job satisfaction
✨ more creative, better-considered solutions
✨ appreciation of diverse behaviours and perspectives
✨ listening to, and integrating, feedback, to help the team evolve
✨ improved collaboration

Discover how using Belbin can help you help your teams
👉https://bit.ly/4fMOcfB

Research from Deloitte has revealed that the cost to employers of poor mental health is £51bn per year*

Burnout can manifest in a number of ways, such as exhaustion, detachment from work, reduced performance.

Understanding and being able to spot the signs of burnout sooner rather than later holds benefits for employers and employees alike.

👉 Free webinar: How to tackle burnout with Belbin

During this webinar, we’ll talk about the causes and signs of burnout, how to spot them within patterns of observable behaviour at work, and preventing burnout in teams using the Belbin methodology.

📅 Join us on Thursday, 22nd August at 2.00pm BST

Register to join the webinar (and get a link to the recording afterwards if you can't attend when we're live).

(* research published 17/05/24)

How to tackle burnout with Belbin Under pressure, we revert to type – to behaviours that come most naturally, that feel most familiar to us. When that pressure is long-term, those behaviours develop into coping strategies, which can mask a real problem, such as burnout. Burnout is sometimes misunderstood as being synonymous with ....

"Experiential learning is far more than string and bucket games at an away day..."

Talan Miller from Sabre Team Building (who knows a thing or two about the value experiential learning can provide) explains more in the short video below.

He kindly shared his key takeaways from his keynote at the recent Belbin International Team Conference.

Experiential learning can deliver lasting benefits, if done the right way and tailored to the needs of the business...

Watch here: https://bit.ly/4cuauQD

Busyness.

Often there is an assumption that high levels of activity equate to high productivity. It can become a status symbol - something to be admired.

However, a culture of busyness can present a number of problems which can diminish individual and team effectiveness, leading to poor organisational culture, stress and burnout.

👉 Why do cultures of busyness tend to go largely unchallenged?

There are a couple of psychological effects at work:

1. Effort justification. Effort can bias our perceptions. When we invest significant effort to achieve something, we attach a higher value to it, in order to justify our efforts.

2. Idleness aversion. Many people are afraid of being idle – or being seen to be idle.

👉 What does a culture of busyness actually mean for organisations?

Over time, a culture of busyness can result in problems for the company’s bottom line, as ineffective working practices, extended leaves of absence and high employee turnover take their toll.

Those who stay are likely to experience a negative impact on their wellbeing, reducing individual and team performance.

👉 What can be done?

Take a look through the article below to discover:
- 7 problems with a culture of busyness
- how to fix them

Link in comment👇

How do you delegate? It could make a difference to the success of your teams.

Traditionally, delegation has gone down hierarchical lines.

Managers delegate to their teams, not the other way around. We often think in terms of the 'right to delegate': the implications being that delegation is associated with status and job role.

👉 What if we changed the way we look at delegation?

Considered delegation is needed for a team to function effectively. This means thinking outside job descriptions and acknowledging individual differences in behaviour.

Research tells us that employees who play to their strengths are 6 times more likely to be engaged, boosting both individual and team performance.

✅ For the team to succeed, its members should be aiming to spend as much time as possible working to their preferred roles.

As Dr Meredith Belbin observes:

"Delegation does not refer here merely to an off-loading in the volume of work and the responsibility attached to it, but to the choosing of what to delegate and what to keep. You should not delegate those things that you are good at doing. You delegate in a field where your strength is lacking."

✅ Ideally, each person in the team should end up with more of the type of work that engages them, and should feel more confident in seeking help from others when required.

Organisations of all sizes across the globe successfully use Belbin Team Roles to help their teams identify and understand their individual and collective behavioural strengths to delegate work and engage their teams.

Discover how and explore sample Belbin reports here: https://bit.ly/3MokNuZ

After 2 days of 'conferencing' our MD, Jo Keeler sat down with Brian Kingston from Essential Training to record a podcast discussing "What makes a successful team?".

We were delighted Brian could join us for the Belbin Conference, and recording this podcast at the end of such a busy couple of days provided plenty of inspiration to start the conversation...

Brian and his dad also add their reflections at the end on how they successfully use Belbin as a tool with their clients. They also share how they apply the increased self-awareness they have of both themselves and each other to improve their own working relationship for the better!

Find the podcast on Spotify here:https://bit.ly/3SHjECc

Have a great weekend!

In turbulent and challenging times, people increasingly turn to business leaders for guidance and direction.

When the only certainty seems to be more uncertainty, how can leaders best serve their teams?

At Belbin, we have seen many teams through highs and lows. Here are our five tips for effective leadership in a crisis.

1. Authenticity is key
2. Be prepared to become many different leaders
3. Foster psychological safety
4. Don't try to go it alone
5. Learn when to trust your instincts - and when to question them

Discover the details in our short article: https://bit.ly/3WTIW2f

It's August already - where is the time going this year?

The school holidays have started and it's holiday time!

🏖️ As we gear up for the holiday season, here's a just for fun look at how each Belbin Team Role might approach the important topic of suncream.

Recognise yourself??

https://bit.ly/3Wx2Hv8

[Of course, we are all our own unique blend of Team Roles so more than one may sound familiar 😉].

A Team Role Guide to Suncream We are sweltering here at Belbin HQ, and dreaming of our summer holidays by the pool...

Last Wednesday, Jo Keeler joined Chris Webber from Foxleigh Commercial Performance on his podcast, 'The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People.'

Chris was interested in exploring the importance of accountability, and how you can build accountability into teams.

It wasn't quite the conversation Chris was expecting - "It was a totally different angle in terms of accountability", he observes.

Hear details of how it became a 'circular conversation', covering the power of contracting, how to overcome any 'eye rolling' at the start, the power of individual team members sharing what they are good at, and what they are not so good at.

Having really open conversations.

And through this increased understanding, you can start to share accountability.

Chris has succinctly condensed the key discussion and learning points in his bite-size podcast (a tiny bit under 6 minutes).

Have a listen here;
https://bit.ly/4do5P3w

Creating Accountability in Your Team by The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People As a leader, one of the key challenges is ensuring your team takes responsibility for tasks. Jo Keeler works with teams around the world to help them operate more effectively. She shares her advice for leaders who want to get more from their people through creating accountability and sharing skills....

Teams matter.

In an increasingly complex and uncertain world, teams can offer organisations various advantages.

As opposed to an individual or working group, they can respond better to the complexities and challenges faced by their organisations.

Teams can adapt and flex, quickly build, disband and reform accordingly.

And when team members understand both their individual, and their collective strengths, they can combine more effectively.

Discover:
🟢 Seven advantages teams have over individuals
🟢 How you can capitalise on the advantages of teamwork, while avoiding the pitfalls

Link: https://bit.ly/Why-Teams-Matter

Watch the highlights from the recent Belbin International Team Conference 2024 which brought together experts and professionals from across the globe, from multinationals to SMEs, from industry to academia.

7 keynote speakers and 24 workshop facilitators shared with delegates their real-world experiences, knowledge and expertise in transforming organisations and their teams with Belbin.

There was plenty of networking too. Loads of networking!

🗣️ What delegates had to say:

✨ "Belbin in an organizational perspective was an eye opener on how to work on the culture of an organization with Belbin."

✨ "Thank you to the Belbin Team for creating an engaging and impactful conference, I've left feeling energised and full of ideas on how Belbin can support wider goals of the organisation."

✨ "The spirit of the event was one of community and connection, in a way I have not experienced before."

✨ "Belbin is truly a language and I saw so many people from different cultures and countries using it fluently."

Discover more about what delegates had to say - watch the video:
https://youtu.be/3gt6N0WQilU?si=CIt_a6lmtTmFsBWG

Huge thanks to all the speakers and our thanks as well to all the team at Hinxton Hall Conference Centre - an inspiring venue to hold this unique event.

The Belbin International Team Conference 2024 - highlights Hear what delegates had to say about the Belbin International Team Conference 2024.The Conference was held at Hinxton Hall Conference Centre, part of the Gen...

Here at Belbin HQ we are exhausted. Happy, inspired and full of ideas, but tired.

It's been quite a week. We're all pleased it's Friday!

The Belbin International Team Conference 2024 was this week and what an event it was.

We met with old friends, and made plenty of new friends. Delegates heard from inspirational speakers from across the globe and made valuable new connections. People linked on LinkedIn and there were business cards exchanged. Ideas and experiences were shared in a truly positive, open and supportive atmosphere.

Attendees left energised, enthused and ready to implement all they had learned.

And now it's over.

Now seemed the perfect time to share a 'Belbin Team Role Guide to organising a conference'.

We've got plenty of recent experience...

🔵 Implementer: They have planned the event from start to finish. The timings and breakout rooms, the highlighted spreadsheets. The conference wouldn't have happened without them.

🟤Completer Finisher: Still getting over the typo that no-one else noticed. They have been checking, double checking, and in some cases triple checking, all of the slides, biogs, badges. Now they can breathe.

🔴 Shaper: They asked the attendees to walk with purpose from conference room to breakout room and loved the bells that were being used to hurry people along. The conference finished on time. Job done.

🟢 Teamworker: Didn't like the bells so much, as they could see everyone enjoying their conversations. Not that they could have many of their own, as they were helping out whenever and wherever they were needed.

🟣 Resource Investigators: So many opportunities and ideas that could be 'borrowed'. Responsible for posting on the socials, and making connections between delegates so they could make the right introductions.

🔵 Co-ordinator: Kept calm and unflustered. Didn't get distracted by any details, and encouraged the team. Sometimes absent...

⚪ Monitor Evaluator: They had already made the contribution needed months ago - yes, the venue was excellent. We will need to wait until next week for their impartial feedback.

🟤 Specialist: Came into their own whenever someone needed a reference, a study, some detail about the research. Didn't like the bells either.

🟡 Plant: Meredith Belbin popped in for lunch each day. Listening in to the far-ranging discussions he was having, it is safe to say he fulfilled the free-thinking and imaginative role well.

Communication isn't just about talking. It's also about listening.

Listening is key to effective communication.

In teams, failing to listen to one another is a common cause of conflict and other difficulties.

Teams cannot achieve high performance unless all members actively listen to one another.

Team and group settings place different demands on the listener, because we are not responding directly to the speaker, as we would do in interpersonal situations.

Researchers have identified four different listening styles:

✨ People-orientated
✨ Action-orientated
✨ Content-oriented
✨ Time-orientated

Each type of listener tends to receive and interpret information differently.

Once we are aware of these different styles, we can begin to identify which messages might draw our attention, as well as devising strategies for listening in ways which do not come as naturally to us.

👂Today (18th July) is World Listening Day.

Do you know who's listening in your team? Do you know how they're listening?

👉 Take a look at our article where we've provided some ideas and pointers for applying Belbin Team Roles to understand and identify different listening styles.

Link: https://bit.ly/4cNIyb6

❓What's your listening style?

They are on their way!

From all corners of the globe and everywhere in between.

Professionals from organisations of all sizes, covering a range of industries. All with something in common.

They have all used Belbin Team Roles to transform teams and their organisational results. And they want to share the details of how with you.

Hear from keynote speakers:
✨ Some have won Princess Royal Training Awards - not once but twice.
✨ Others describe Belbin as a 'catalyst for organisational change'.
✨ A start-up has grown to become a successful SME with a highly engaged team.
✨ Real-world examples of how Belbin plus experiential learning can unleash the power of teams.

Experienced workshop facilitators will explore with you:

✅ Team Psychological Safety (TPS)
✅ Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
✅ Elevating Team Performance
✅ 'Perfect Team' talent Strategy
✅ Unveiling the Power of Team Dynamics
✅ Better decision making in recruitment

And many more topics.

The Belbin International Team Conference begins one week today at Hinxton Hall Conference Centre near Cambridge.

It's not too late but you need to act now to secure one of the final tickets.

Can you, your teams or your organisation afford you to miss this unique opportunity?

Here's the link https://bit.ly/3wHM2fp

90,000 hours

This is the estimated number of hours that the average person will spend at work over a lifetime.

Managing difficult working relationships is key to ensuring team success.

However such relationships manifest themselves - as hidden conflicts and 'silent fails', or the more obvious raised voices and palms on desks - they are just as potentially harmful to the wider team as they are to those directly involved.

But addressing such problems is not easy. We know.

To begin with, it’s important to identify the scale of the problem. Ask the questions:

- Is it difficult for you, or difficult for everybody?
- Are individuals too different, or too similar?
- Are individuals playing to their behavioural strengths?

Take a look at our article which explores these questions, and offers some guidance on how the understanding provided by Belbin reports can help you to manage difficult working relationships.

Link here: https://bit.ly/ManagingDifficultRelationships

The pandemic has seen a major shift in the talent strategy of Chinese hi-tech giants, such as Alibaba and Tencent.

Instead of purchasing expensive individual talent, the focus has moved to building the perfect team to boost productivity and increase market share.

At our upcoming International Team Conference, we will welcome Quinli Chen who will demonstrate how Belbin can change company perspectives on talent strategy and facilitate this shift.

Quinli's workshop is on Day 2 - Wednesday 17th July 2024.

Quinli studied and worked in the UK for eight years, before returning to Shanghai. As an HR professional in China and overseas, she has worked closely with business leaders in e-commerce, live broadcasting, new retail, market search, and the video and content industry.

More recently, she has moved to the hi-tech sector, witnessing considerable transformation in this arena.

Join us to hear more. It's easy to reserve your place - link here: https://bit.ly/3yAWczh

Organisational health is a key consideration for enhancing organisational capabilities, improving efficiency and achieving performance goals.

Especially in a VUCA environment.

Two weeks today, on Day 1 of the Belbin International Team Conference, we will explore with Lv Yanping (formerly of Sanofi) how to use the Belbin Organisational Diagnostic Tool to help organisations to collaborate and allocate work more effectively, fully leveraging Team Role strengths.

In this workshop Ms. Lv will share intervention measures and practical case studies, and will discuss how to implement, promote, track and evaluate the impact of Belbin in this context.

Ms. Lv has been in the pharmaceutical industry for 25 years, working for Pfizer and Sanofi Pharmaceuticals.

As well as being Belbin Team Roles accredited, Ms. Lv is an IAOL certified team coach, organisation coach and leadership coach, and a Certified Performance Technologist.

Reserve your place today. Details you need here (and details of all the other workshops): https://bit.ly/3yAWczh

Congratulations to our Head of R&D, Victoria Brown on her 18th work anniversary as part of the Belbin team 👏

An integral part of the team, Victoria oversees and manages all the ongoing research we do here at Belbin.

P.S. If you would like to make Victoria's day even more special, please complete the really short questionnaire to share what is important to you when choosing a personality or behavioural test? And you could win £400 Belbin reports!

Thank you 🙂 https://bit.ly/3L3Qnxc

(You don't need to have used Belbin to take part in the survey, and you can still enter the draw).

Belbin Team Roles - Implementer / Completer Finisher ⚙️⚙️🔎

Recognise yourself, or anyone you work with?

Happy Friday!