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The Nine Belbin Team Roles

Gain clarity on who contributes what, and turn individual strengths into collective performance.

Ever wondered why some projects stall even when your team is full of talented people? The problem isn’t skill — it’s alignment. When your team lacks a voice to evaluate, someone to finish, or someone to drive action, even good teams struggle. The nine Belbin Roles reveal how people truly contribute — so you can see who’s missing, who’s overlapping, and how to bring balance back to the team.

What Is A Team Role?

A ‘Team Role,’ as defined by Dr. Meredith Belbin, is a cluster of behavioral attributes that people bring to a team. Through his research at Henley Business School, Dr. Belbin identified 9 such roles that are critical for effective teamwork and progress. He found that the most successful teams were made up of a diverse mix of behaviors. Representing each of the 9 Team Role behaviors at the right time improves collaboration, productivity, and engagement – delivering measurable results. 

The nine Belbin Team​ Roles are grouped into three categories: Resource Investigator, Teamwork and Co-ordinator (the Social roles); Plant, Monitor Evaluator and Specialist (the Thinking roles) and Shaper, Implementer and Completer Finisher (the Action roles).

Every team needs access to all nine Belbin Roles — but not necessarily nine people. Most individuals contribute in several ways, while others may naturally fill the gaps. Each role represents a way of contributing that keeps teams effective and balanced. By mapping your team’s Belbin profiles, you’ll uncover overlaps, identify gaps, and see how to bring out the best mix of strengths for lasting performance.
Social Roles
CoordinatorCoordinator
TeamworkerTeamworker
Resource InvestigatorResource Investigator
CoordinatorCoordinator
Needed to focus on the team’s objectives, draw out team members and delegate work appropriately.

Strengths: Mature, confident, identifies talent. Clarifies goals.

Allowable weaknesses:
Can be seen as manipulative and might offload their own share of the work.
CoordinatorTeamworker
Helps the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on behalf of the team.

Strengths: Co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens and averts friction.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be indecisive in crunch situations and tends to avoid confrontation.
CoordinatorResource Investigator
Uses their inquisitive nature to find ideas to bring back to the team.

Strengths: Outgoing, enthusiastic. Explores opportunities and develops contacts.

Allowable weaknesses: Might be over-optimistic, and can lose interest once the initial enthusiasm has passed.
Thinking Roles
PlantPlant
Monitor EvaulatorMonitor Evaulator
Specialist Specialist
PlantPlant
Tends to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways.

Strengths: Creative, imaginative, free-thinking, generates ideas and solves difficult problems.

Allowable weaknesses: Might ignore incidentals, and may be too preoccupied to communicate effectively.
Monitor EvaulatorMonitor Evaulator
Provides a logical eye, making impartial judgements where required and weighs up the team’s options in a dispassionate way.

Strengths: Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately.

Allowable weaknesses: Sometimes lacks the drive and ability to inspire others and can be overly critical.
Specialist Specialist
Brings in-depth knowledge of a key area to the team.

Strengths: Single-minded, self-starting and dedicated. They provide specialist knowledge and skills.

Allowable weaknesses: Tends to contribute on a narrow front and can dwell on the technicalities.
Action Roles
ShaperShaper
ImplementerImplementer
Completer Finisher Completer Finisher
ShaperShaper
Provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum.

Strengths: Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be prone to provocation, and may sometimes offend people’s feelings.
ImplementerImplementer
Needed to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible.

Strengths: Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organizes work that needs to be done.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be a bit inflexible and slow to respond to new possibilities.
Completer Finisher Completer Finisher
Most effectively used at the end of tasks to polish and scrutinize the work for errors, subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control.

Strengths: Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors. Polishes and perfects.

Allowable weaknesses: Can be inclined to worry unduly, and reluctant to delegate.

How To Find Out Your Roles

Choose Your Report
We offer Individual and Team Reports. Select what you need now — you can always add team mapping later.
Complete the Assessment
Finish a short self-perception questionnaire and invite colleagues to provide observer feedback for a 360° view.
Receive Your Report
Get a clear, practical report showing preferred, manageable, and least-preferred roles — with guidance for everyday teamwork.
Apply Insights
We offer multiple ways to help you understand your reports — individual debriefs, team workshops, and ongoing coaching — so insights turn into results.
Start Your Assessment See a Sample Individual Report See a Sample Team Report

The Belbin Report

A Belbin Report will help you to understand your strengths and weaknesses in relation to the nine “Team Roles.” In a Belbin report, you’ll learn:

  • Which Team​ Roles you have a preference for and which ones you may be weaker in
  • How your team or observers see your strengths and weaknesses for each role
  • Team Role feedback to help you play to your strengths
  • Suggested working styles and placements base on your Team​ Roles

Compiling a team’s Belbin Reports into a Team Report provides deeper insight into team dynamics and effectiveness. It highlights patterns such as overlapping strengths, missing roles, and potential gaps that can impact collaboration and results. To take collaboration further, Belbin North America’s Team Collaboration Mapping helps teams see how their dynamics play out in practice — turning awareness into action and insight into sustained performance.

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Proven and Trusted Worldwide

Belbin has been trusted by thousands of organizations in over 70 countries to unlock the full potential of their teams. Rooted in decades of research and validated through real-world application, the Belbin framework helps teams communicate more effectively, align behavioral strengths, and deliver measurable improvements in collaboration and performance.

Organizations that integrate Belbin report stronger trust, clearer accountability, and more balanced teams that sustain high performance under pressure.

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Want to Find Out More?

Just give us a shout and we’re happy to answer your questions.
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Lindsay Lalla

Lindsay Lalla is the VP of Marketing and Client Support for Belbin North America. Most recently, she has been spearheading the introduction of the Belbin Team Role methodology into North America. Lindsay is a skilled facilitator, and also runs the Belbin Accreditation classes where she certifies others in the Belbin method.
Lindsay’s formal education is in instruction and performance. Combined with her 17 years of adult education experience, she brings a depth of understanding in how to deliver the highly experiential workshops that are a hallmark of the Belbin North America approach to education and organizational development.

Patrick Ballin

Patrick offers more than 25 years of experience with some of the most successful businesses in Europe as a consultant, change manager and executive coach.

He has helped many well-known organisations to get their ideas and projects off the ground by working with business leaders and their teams to optimise interaction, strategy and execution.
Patrick was Global Head of Supply Chain and Logistics Development for The Body Shop, an international retailer of ethical health and beauty products, and managed its change programme across 52 countries. In 2009, he set up the national redundancy coaching service, Rework, for the UK industry charity, Retail Trust. Patrick spent his earlier career with ACWL Group, one of the pioneering UK Apple Centres, where he was a divisional Director.
He holds an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, is a Visiting Lecturer for Brighton Business School, a Fellow of the RSA and coach for social enterprise incubator On Purpose.

Max Isaac

Max is the CEO of 3Circle Partners. He brings a depth of knowledge and experience from his career in general management and consulting in North America, England, Europe and Asia.
Max has assisted CEOs and senior leaders within client organizations with the design and implementation of Interaction Planning processes, team based organizational development programs and Lean Six Sigma initiatives.
Prior to moving into the field of organizational development, Max was the CFO for the Retail Division within The Molson’s Organization, where he took a lead role in growing the business to over $1 billion in revenues, doubling its size in four years through acquisitions and internal growth.
Max is co-author of Close The Interaction Gap, The Third Circle – Interactions That Drive Results, Setting Teams Up for Success and A Guide to Team Roles. He is also the contributing author of the Organizational Change sections of Mike George’s books Lean Six Sigma published in May 2002 and Lean Six Sigma for Service published in June 2003. Max is a registered CPA, CA in Canada. His undergraduate degree was earned at Witwatersrand University, South Africa.