Leadership Styles and Belbin

Become a better leader with Belbin Team Roles

Understanding Leadership Styles in relation to Belbin

In this short guide, we explore how different Leadership styles and Belbin Team Role theories can be combined.  Providing practical insight for leaders, managers, or supervisors to help them lead and build high performing teams. From the recruitment process onwards.

We appreciate there are many different types of leadership psychometric tests, personality tests, aptitude tests, and team performance metrics or measures. 

What Belbin offers is a “gold standard” team evaluation and collaboration tool that accurately measures the behavioural strengths and weaknesses of both individuals and the team.

Belbin Leadership
9 Belbin Team Roles

Introduction to Belbin Team Roles

Belbin’s Team Roles theory is at the heart of successful teamwork. Dr. Meredith Belbin’s pioneering work identified nine distinct roles played within a team. Each contributing a unique mix of strengths and attributes. From the creative flair of the Plant to the meticulous, detailed focus of the Completer Finisher.

Gaining a complete understanding of Belbin theory and the Team Roles can be highly beneficial, if not crucial, for leaders who aim to improve team performance and create a genuinely collaborative, high-performing team.

Overview of Leadership Styles

From the inspirational charisma of the Transformational Leader to the structured approach of the Transactional Leader, similar to Belbin, each team leadership style brings its own set of characteristics, strengths, and potential weaknesses.

Before looking at any potential synergy, here’s a summary of some commonly recognised Leadership styles;

Transformational Leadership

Inspires, motivates and builds a sense of purpose and shared vision.

Transactional Leadership

Focuses on projects/tasks, performance-based rewards, defined structures and clear accountability.

Autocratic Leadership

Centralised decision-making with limited input from team members.

Democratic Leadership

Encourages participation and collaboration through the decision-making process.

Laissez-Faire Leadership

Offers increased creative freedom for team members to make decisions and work with greater autonomy.

Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership

If we link these to a well-known leadership model, Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership, it looks something like this;

Telling:

Autocratic Leadership

Selling:

Transformational Leadership

Participating:

Democratic Leadership

Delegating:

Transactional Leadership

Laissez-Faire leadership

Undertaking ongoing leadership assessments, where we consider the style required for a specific situation at a given time, can provide a great starting point for us as leaders.

However, linking this with the Belbin Team Roles theory can offer even more excellent opportunities, benefits, and results.

Leadership Styles and Belbin Roles

So, how might Belbin Team Roles align with different leadership styles?

Let’s look at some examples, thinking about Belbin Team Roles that may be well suited to each style;

Belbin Aligning Leadership Styles

Telling / Autocratic / Transactional Leadership Style

Shaper:

Action-orientated. Provides focus, drives change, and is results-oriented with a direct “telling” communication style; Tells the team what to do. They tell them how to do it and tell them the deadline. No nonsense.

Specialist:

They know the job inside and out using expert knowledge, including technical specifications, legislation, regulations, theories, and practices. Their subject matter knowledge…matters. Their telling style is quite literal because they “know how”.

Completer Finisher:

They are the ultimate in attention to detail. If you need to know exactly how something should be done, ask them. Expect very specific, clear, and detailed instructions. One of their challenges can be delegating tasks and projects, as nobody might deliver quite as well as they would.

Belbin Ideas

Selling / Transformational Leadership Style

Resource Investigator:

They come into their own as transformational leaders. Their naturally outgoing and enthusiastic style is ideally suited to “Selling.” Built in optimism helps carry the team forward, focusing on what could be rather than what is or was. Having a persuasive approach helps with team engagement strategies and buy-in.

Plant:

The creative spark, painting a visionary picture of a very bright, “light bulb” lit future, full of ideas and innovation. Obstacles in the way? No problem. We’ll work through them, over them, round them or under them.

Belbin Team collaboration

Participating / Democratic Leadership Style

Implementer:

Like the Shaper or Completer-Finisher, they bring an action-oriented approach but with more of a practical, pragmatic, hands-on style. They help define a clear transactional delivery process and methodical execution of work to “get the job done” with their “sleeves rolled up.”

Team Worker:

The “oil” of the “team engine”. An empathetic listener who strives for team harmony, fairness and, of course…democracy. The ultimate collaborator – always puts “We” ahead of “Me”. As we all know, effective teamwork strategies and leadership “helps make the dream work”.

Belbin report generated

Delegating / Laissez-Faire Leadership Style

Co-ordinator:

The more prominent big picture thinker, with a focus on delivering future goals and objectives as a collective. Adept at steering people towards achieving common goals through a high level of collaboration and empowerment. As the well-known saying goes, “There is no I in team”. Co-ordinators also would argue there is a stronger case for being a “We” not “Me” in Team…

Monitor Evaluator:

By definition, they are more detached and objective. They have an analytical ability to examine the bigger picture, weigh up all the options, and figure out the very best way forward. Once the planning is done, they can be happy to let others get cracking, Provided they are on the correct path and heading in the right direction.

Actionable Strategies for Leaders

Armed with knowledge of your Belbin Roles preferences, you can start implementing some of the following strategies to enhance your approach to leadership.

Understanding your preferred Belbin Team Roles can help you best tailor your leadership style, playing to strengths and developing strategies to manage potential weaknesses.

 

Here are some top tips to get you started.

Communication Mastery

Where practical, tailor your communication style and approach to better align with each team member’s preferences. “Treat everyone the way they would like to be treated” (not the way you would like to be treated).

Situational Leadership

Adapt your leadership style based on the task or project’s requirements. Think also about the team’s stage (Tuckmans Forming – Telling, Storming – Selling, Norming – Participating, Performing – Delegating). Also, take into account your team’s technical and behavioural strengths.

Resolving Conflict

Understanding Team Roles can help to address and minimise conflict rather than avoid it by proactively building team conflict resolution strategies. Instead of considering Belbin’s opposite types, can you consider these as complementary strengths when resolving the conflict?

Motivation

As a leader, you can help build a more motivated and engaged team by recognising, valuing, and celebrating each team member’s unique Belbin Team Role contributions.

Optimal Role Allocation

Great leaders help a team to deliver not just the what but also the how. Assigning tasks that are better suited to individual strengths and managing weaknesses through sharing work between the team differently can also help to create a more rounded, balanced team.

Collaborative Decision-Making

A more democratic leadership style can deliver more inclusive and effective decision-making by considering everyone’s views before making a decision. Collaboration underpinned by Belbin can help develop greater “team cohesion strategies.”

Team Dynamics and Leadership

An adaptive, situational-based leadership style can help deliver fluid / flexible team structures, which improve team dynamics by effectively aligning project or task requirements with preferred team roles.

In summary;

We think great leaders are adept at getting;

“The right people.
In the right place.
At the right time.
Working on the right things.
In the right way.”

9 Belbin Team Roles

Belbin Scotland Case Study

In December 2022, Aberdeen Foyer approached Belbin Scotland to support the development of their Management Team. The organisation had recently restructured, with several people stepping into new leadership / management-related roles.

Belbin was used for both individual and team assessment / feedback, helping to open up conversations between the team, build trust and confidence in each other, and reveal people’s strengths and preferred styles of leadership / management. 

Sarah Hartless, HR Manager Aberdeen Foyer, said,

“Feedback from the management team was overwhelmingly positive. They felt the Belbin reports helped them understand their behavioural strengths and weaknesses and how to manage them and build an understanding of other managers’ preferred working styles.

Our management team felt they left the session with practical tools and techniques they could apply back in the workplace, such as preparing for and holding supervision meetings with staff and giving and receiving feedback.

I would recommend Belbin for any leadership or management teams keen to improve self-awareness and how this can be used to improve their ability to develop their staff and work more cohesively as a team.”

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Want to learn more?

Whether you’re a seasoned Chief Executive, Managing Director, Head of Department, newly promoted Line Manager, or Supervisor, Belbin Reports, free resources, workshops and our expert support can help you become an even more effective leader. Truly understanding your strengths and weaknesses can enable you to improve your leadership and team management skills.

For a no-obligation consultation, contact Belbin Scotland to find out how we can support your Leadership and Management development journey through the delivery of the Belbin Test and Reports, Leadership and Management Courses, Team-Building Workshops, Facilitated Team Sessions, Coaching, and much much more…

Completing a Belbin Self-Perception Inventory to generate your own Belbin Self-Perception Report enables you to assess how your preferred Belbin Team Roles may impact your leadership style.

You can use the data in your fully personalised report to help you understand which styles suit you best. Self-awareness can be improved and can help you determine when you might need to adapt your natural leadership style or in what situations you may need to seek support to manage your least preferred roles.

Using your Belbin Report can help you build on your natural leadership qualities, and make a positive impact for those you lead, your team and organisation.

Learn more or purchase a Belbin Individual Report here.
Contact us to discuss how we can help you.