Belbin Team Inventory: What Are the Nine Team Roles?

You can play a big part in making your whole team more successful! The Belbin Team Inventory can give you clear ideas about how.

It's your own personal playbook that shows you what drives teams to succeed. This playbook has guided many groups forward. Each role brings something good to the table.

What's interesting is that mixing up all of these roles in the right way can get you fantastic results! Teams that balance their roles can hit their targets 43% more often than teams where everyone plays the same part.

I'll cover all nine of these practical roles (and you'll love them). Let's talk about how these team roles can make your team more effective than ever.

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What's My Team Member Style

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Resource Investigators

As a Resource Investigator you're a natural social butterfly who brings so much energy and beauty to your team. You excel at building strong connections inside and outside of your organization, and it really shows!

Your superpower is finding opportunities that others might miss. You can get excited about new ideas, and you love reaching out to people who can help your team win. Your natural curiosity drives you to ask lots of questions!

Your talents shine during those early project stages. You can easily share fresh ideas from your giant network of trusted contacts. The whole team especially appreciates your thoughtful input during brainstorming sessions and project kickoffs.

In crisis situations, you can see your true impact. You can quickly tap into your network for information when you need it most. Your dependable relationships help smooth everything over during tough times.

You thrive in roles that put you face-to-face with people outside the organization. Trade shows and client meetings are your ideal playground! Your natural way with words makes you perfect for negotiations.

Just watch out for overselling opportunities when excited. You might lose some steam once the initial excitement fades. You work best when partnering with detail-focused colleagues who help keep you on track.

Your biggest talent is your connection to the outside world. You bring fresh perspectives and possibilities others would miss. Your network typically saves the day when the team needs resources quickly!

Coordinators

Your natural leadership skills as a Coordinator can help you keep teams moving toward their goals. You excel at seeing the big picture while handling all of the facts. Think of yourself as an orchestra conductor. You make sure each section plays its part at exactly the right second.

You have a natural talent for finding what makes each team member tick and matching them with tasks they'll excel at. In a marketing agency, you might notice that Amy is skilled with numbers while Mike is talented with words. So, Amy works with analytics while Mike works with writing.

Projects can get chaotic, but that's where you shine brightest. You step up during meetings to keep everyone focused and moving toward decisions. This helps during long projects where it's easy to lose sight of priorities.

Getting your message across is one of your superpowers. You make sure everyone knows their role and how it fits into the bigger picture. You keep all higher-ups informed about the progress and address any concerns early.

Being a Coordinator has its challenges. Sometimes, you might delegate too much instead of rolling up your sleeves. Teams might see you as controlling – even when you're just trying to help everyone succeed.

The best Coordinators find that balanced spot between taking charge and letting teams work independently. You guide without micromanaging and support without taking over. You help split up coding work while trusting developers to code their own way.

When situations go sideways you're at your brightest. If deadlines shift or requirements change you help the team adapt. You keep everyone cool under pressure. That's why you're perfect for project management and team leadership opportunities.

Plants

You'll usually find some creative powerhouses among the teammates who love to think outside the box. These wonderful people can come up with fresh ideas that others might miss. Their natural and curious drive leads them to check out new possibilities. This makes them helpful when you have to deal with challenging problems.

Watch how these innovative thinkers can address problems in unexpected ways. They might recommend virtual reality training when traditional methods fall flat. They might suggest a complete workspace makeover to boost collaboration. When you follow their uncommon thinking, it can lead you to breakthrough solutions.

These teammates can be at their finest during brainstorming sessions. They need time to process before sharing ideas that help you see challenges in a new light. Their creative spark can turn meetings into fun and energetic innovation sessions!

When you work with creative thinkers, it comes with distinctive challenges. Their abstract ideas can be hard for you to follow if you're more practically-minded. They typically like working solo. Traditional team members might resist their seemingly radical solutions.

Give these colleagues the space they need to think and create. You can find them sketching new designs or mapping improved systems. They thrive when tackling big-picture problems that need innovative thinking. Their contributions can change how you address challenges.

Watch out for them getting lost in their thoughts or missing key details while chasing big ideas. They might pitch plans without thinking about practical limits. You'll need to help ground their ideas in reality.

Your creative teammates bring fresh energy to projects. They can spot opportunities where others see roadblocks. While they might need help with practical details, their innovative thinking drives projects forward.

Monitor Evaluators

You can bring your analytical skills and logical mindset to team discussions. You can easily detect hidden problems before they become real issues! Your natural instinct is to step back and look at the entire picture instead of jumping into arguments.

A big part of your strength is thinking critically without emotional involvement. You can look at all of the different options and think about their consequences before picking one. This careful strategy helps save your team from expensive mistakes!

You can play devil's advocate in team discussions about fresh ideas. This really helps the team to succeed.

You thoroughly analyze project proposals from every angle for financial dangers. You can identify many resource limits and potential roadblocks. This complete review helps your team make fact-based decisions.

While your careful nature might sometimes dampen the team energy, you help to balance the feedback with team morale.

Your sharp eye for detail catches serious flaws in seemingly perfect plans. Whether it's about budget shortfalls or customer difficulties, your input helps create stronger strategies.

You prefer working with reliable data over simple hunches – that's brilliant! When situations get chaotic, you stay calm and methodical. That can guide your team through challenges with thoughtful analysis.

Implementers

As an Implementer, you can play such a big part in any team! You turn those abstract ideas into clear and useful steps. The team can definitely count on you to bring some structure and reliability when the results are needed.

Take a website launch – you'll break it down into specific and detailed tasks. You create complete timelines that show what needs to happen and exactly when. You make sure everyone knows their duties! You monitor progress closely. Your attention to detail helps to catch problems early before they grow.

Your organizational abilities keep all of the things moving ahead. You record the facts and set up better work processes. When situations become chaotic, you restore stability. You help the team start with what drives success.

Unexpected changes might challenge you at times. You prefer proven methods over untested ideas. You work best when you're brought in after all of the brainstorming ends. A solid plan lets you start with your strengths without getting frustrated by non-stop changes.

You're excellent in roles requiring steady project progress and consistent results. Like a manufacturing supervisor streamlining production or an IT manager maintaining systems. These positions showcase your talent for maintaining high standards while moving projects forward.

You're at your best when improving processes and keeping the operations running smooth. You turn those complex ideas into clear and useful steps. Your practical thinking and drive to finish make you a huge asset to any team!

Completer Finishers

You can always count on the Completer Finishers to take a complete and thorough look at your team's work. These meticulous and careful experts will check and recheck until everything turns out perfect. Their pride in having tasks done exactly right shines through immediately!

Do you need someone who catches everything? A Completer Finisher will methodically review all of the items, from tiny footnotes to major deliverables. They possess a natural talent for finding the errors that others miss during these final review stages.

Give them a clear goal and deadline, and then watch them be at their best! They're typically the last ones to leave when they're perfecting their presentations. They run through their detailed checklists. When quality matters, these dedicated members will exceed all your expectations.

Just remember that your perfectionist teammate might need some extra input from you. They typically prefer to manage their own tasks alone instead of sharing the work. Their focused search for perfection can sometimes extend the deadlines.

Success needs some balance with your detail-oriented colleague. Help them to see when complete is complete enough. Be clear about the level of accuracy you want for each specific job.

Your Completer Finisher's strength comes from their steady commitment to excellence. They're your quality guardian angel! Their eagle eyes catch those embarrassing mistakes before they can become public.

Watch how much care they put into every single job. Their dedication to excellence shows that your team's work will always be at its absolute best.

Teamworkers

As a natural Teamworker, you truly love bringing people together to create more workplace harmony. You can spot the tension between coworkers early and step in to smooth things over!

Your natural people skills make you stand out. You pick up on how your coworkers feel - even their unspoken feelings. You skillfully manage different personalities and work styles to help boost team collaboration.

Your effective communication skills help others be their best. You create a welcoming space where everyone shares thoughts in team meetings. Your coworkers look to you for advice because you help them get through work challenges!

You always prioritize team harmony over personal recognition. You're the first one to help others complete their tasks. Your supportive and caring nature makes teammates comfortable sharing ideas.

However, your desire for harmony can be limiting sometimes. You might stay away from difficult conversations or hold back feedback that could enhance team performance.

Your challenge is balancing peacekeeping with tackling problems directly. Sometimes, the team grows most from handling issues head-on with your natural diplomatic skills!

Your emotional intelligence sets you apart from others. You read the team process clearly. You adjust your strategy to avoid conflicts and resolve tensions.

You're at your best when different personalities need to collaborate. Your presence makes the difference between a group that works together and one that delivers outstanding results.

Shapers

As a Shaper, you can definitely give your team the energy and drive they need! Your natural motivation pushes everyone to aim higher and think bigger. You excel at turning many strong ideas into action plans that deliver excellent results.

When your team hits obstacles, you can leap in to clear the way forward. You spot potential problems early and turn them into opportunities. Your contagious and positive enthusiasm gets all your teammates fired up about new challenges!

You're direct with your thoughts, and you question the established methods (which is refreshing). Your strong personality helps to push through external resistance. Your drive keeps projects moving past barriers.

Remember to balance your passion with sensitivity. Your intense drive might overwhelm some of the more quiet teammates. It takes practice to push for progress while keeping everyone comfortable.

You can be at your absolute best during crises and demanding challenges. While others might feel defeated, you look deep for innovative solutions. You keep pushing ahead. Your ability to keep energy and excitement strengthens long-term projects.

Your sense of urgency energizes the team and prevents complacency. You push harder when teammates settle for average results. Your determination helps the team find breakthrough solutions.

Master Shapers know how to be assertive while staying open to other views. You excel at moving from discussion to action. Your goal-focused and flexible approach makes you a big part of any high-performing team.

Specialists

As a Specialist, you can share all of your deep knowledge with the team. You can help the team by staying up-to-date in your field. It matters a lot!

Your expertise makes a real difference when you help out with tricky challenges. A software team needs your database skills to help improve performance. A marketing team relies on your social media knowledge to manage platform changes.

Your dedication to learning helps the team avoid issues before they come up. The team counts on your expertise to stay away from costly mistakes. This helps them make well-educated decisions.

But watch out for tunnel vision (it can happen to the best of us). You might forget other project details or dismiss ideas from non-experts. You could start with safety notes while missing the wider user experience.

To maximize your specialist role, you can schedule regular knowledge-sharing sessions. Break down complex and difficult concepts without overwhelming others with technical details. When you set up specific consultation times, it keeps projects flowing.

Partner with others who can help translate your expertise. An experienced project manager can make your technical knowledge accessible to everyone. When you work with outgoing teammates, it helps you better connect with the group.

Balance your expertise - while your knowledge assists, the team shouldn't depend only on you. Share through training and documentation so others can learn, too.

You perform best when you have freedom in your expert area while staying lined up with team goals. Your knowledge creates the biggest results when it fits into the team's workflow.

Build Better Teams

Different people naturally fill some different roles on your team. They fit together like challenge pieces creating a complete picture! Some teammates take charge naturally. Others excel at catching problems or building up new ideas. When you and the team know these natural tendencies you can all work together more smoothly.

Take a closer look at your team right now. You can probably see how one person always notices those small details that everyone else misses. Another teammate brings fresh and innovative ideas to every meeting! The real magic starts happening when you learn to embrace these different working styles. Don't try to force everyone to work exactly the same way.

You can find your team's natural roles with our What's My Team Member Style assessment at HRDQ.

You'll discover specific qualities about your team's strengths and working styles. You can create better communication and an environment where team members can truly grow. Start building your high-performing team by checking out our practical assessment tools and training materials.