‘Team Role’ of the participants

The term 'Team Role' refers to one of nine clusters of behavioral attributes, identified by Dr Meredith Belbin's research at Henley, as being effective in order to facilitate team progress.

Tree communication-oriented roles:

1. Resource Investigator: Uses their inquisitive nature to find ideas to bring back to the team. They are outgoing and enthusiastic. Explores opportunities and develops contacts. Allowable weaknesses are that they might be over-optimistic and can lose interest once the initial enthusiasm has passed. Don't be surprised to find that they might forget to follow up on a lead.
2. Team Worker: Helps the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on behalf of the team. They are co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens and averts friction. They can be indecisive in crunch situations and tend to avoid confrontation. They might be hesitant to make unpopular decisions.
3. Coordinator: Needed to focus on the team's objectives, draw out team members and delegate work appropriately. They are mature, confident and identify talent. Clarify goals. They can be seen as manipulative and might offload their own share of the work. They might over-delegate, leaving themselves little work to do.

Tree knowledge-oriented roles:

1. Plant: Tends to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways. They are creative, imaginative, free-thinking, generate ideas and solve difficult problems. They might ignore incidentals and may be too preoccupied to communicate effectively. They could be absent-minded or forgetful.
2. Monitor Evaluator: Provides a logical eye, making impartial judgements where required and weighs up the team's options in a dispassionate way. They are sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately. They are sometimes lacking the drive and ability to inspire others and can be overly critical. They could be slow to come to decisions..
3. Specialist: Brings in-depth knowledge of a key area to the team. They are single-minded, self-starting and dedicated. They provide specialist knowledge and skills. They tend to contribute on a narrow front and can dwell on the technicalities. They overload you with information.

Tree action-oriented roles:

1. Shaper: Provides the necessary drive to ensure that the team keeps moving and does not lose focus or momentum. They are challenging, dynamic, thrive on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles. They can be prone to provocation and may sometimes offend people's feelings. They could risk becoming aggressive and bad humored in their attempts to get things done.
2. Implementer: Needed to plan a workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible. They are practical, reliable and efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organizes work that needs to be done. They can be a bit inflexible and slow to respond to new possibilities. They might be slow to relinquish their plans in favor of positive changes.
3. 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. They are painstaking, conscientious and anxious. Searches out errors. Polishes and perfects. They can be inclined to worry unduly, and reluctant to delegate. They could be accused of taking their perfectionism to extremes.