Leadership and Teamwork in the Public Services
Team Building and Cohesion
Roles in teams, and how team building leads to cohesion in two public services
The public services, and indeed any other workforce, have many diferent types of team which are used in a
variety of diferent operatonal and practcal circumstances. Each team requires diferent kinds of members -
having the right members performing the correct roles in a team ensures efciency, efectveness, and the
completon of objectves. Meredith Belbin, Peter Honey, and Bruce Tuckman were three well known theorists
who produced detailed studies on team roles and development.
Meredith Belbin
In the 1970’s, Dr Meredith Belbin, a Britsh management theorist, recognised that people adopted diferent
behaviours when put in a team together. He wrote up nine diferent roles from what he had observed, and
noted that teams worked at their optmum when each team role was present. He also included that an
individual can adopt more than one role. Below, each of Belbin’s team roles is defned. 1
The Co-ordinator: This team member is also known as the chair. They adopt a team leader kind of role, guiding
the rest of the team, setng an agenda, and clarifying objectves. They identfy the strengths and weaknesses
of the team and suggest ideas without dominatng discussion. The co-ordinator has great listening skills and is
usually calm, however there is a risk they might manipulate team members and pass on too much
responsibility.
The Shaper: The shaper looks for paterns in discussions, considers each idea the team present practcally, and
sets objectves and goals. They strive for high quality work, pushing others when they are not performing to
their optmum. However, they can become aggressive in an atempt to get things done and ofend team
members, provoking confict which decreases team efciency.
The Plant: The plant is a creatve individual, innovatve, and the source of original ideas. This team member
can fnd group discussions difcult, as they prefer to work alone. They can also be absent minded and too
preoccupied during a team task to communicate efectvely, sometmes becoming ofended and upset if their
ideas are not accepted by their team.
The Monitor Evaluator: The monitor-evaluator contributes a measured, dispassionate analysis to their team,
stopping them if they become misguided. They weigh up the pros and cons of each scenario, approaching tasks
critcally and strategically. This team member can be prone to over-reactng, and ofen lack the ability to
inspire others. They can be slow in decision making, and too critcal.
The Resource Investiator: This team member searches outside of the team to gain ideas and developments.
They are diplomatc and optmistc, inquisitve by nature and knowledgeable – however, the resource
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htp:////www.belbin.com//about//belbin-team-roles//, Public Services Level 3 Book 1, Pg. 54 Author Debra Grey
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