what are Belbin Team Roles

What Are Belbin® Team Roles?


Belbin Team Roles—Hard Science for “Soft Skills”

Have you ever wondered why certain teams run smoothly and others just limp along? Three decades years ago, British social scientist R. Meredith Belbin wondered precisely the same thing.

After nine years of research with management teams at Henley College, UK, Belbin realized that selecting teams according to commonly assessed traits—intelligence, for example, or personality type—was no guarantee of a team’s success.

In fact, he discovered that teams made up of similar people tended to do worse than teams that were picked according to other criteria.

Eventually, he developed a list of nine skill sets that, when combined, made the difference between teams that achieved consistent success—and teams that struggled to meet expectations. These became known as Team Roles.

Using Team Role Theory, Belbin was able to predict the success of a team with an accuracy rate of 86%—even when he hadn’t picked the team members.

Now you can do the same—building and developing teams whose performance isn’t simply a matter of chance, but a matter of science.

If you’re interested in finding out more:

contact-phone Call us toll-free in North America at 877.333.3606 or phone us at 416.483.7380.

contact-email Email us at info@belbinnorthamerica.com.

   About the Author

Max is the CEO of Belbin North America. 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.