MBTI (a personality type test) was developed by Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers, and the first manual was published in 1962. Dr Meredith Belbin conducted his research in the 1970s. The methodology is tried and tested, but in comparison to other theories, Belbin is quite young. Behaviour is how you ‘show up’ at work, and others can observe it, so it gives us a meaningful handle on how one person might influence the team.

Whilst personality is relatively fixed, behaviour can (and does) change according to different situations. Each role is made up of different characteristics which are commonly found together and constitute a meaningful contribution to a team. Team Roles are tendencies to behave, contribute and interrelate in a particular way.

Belbin measures clusters of observable behaviour, called Team Roles. Here are the eight most common misconceptions about Belbin.īelbin isn’t a psychometric or personality test. It measures roles found in businesses and management teams throughout the world in many cultures.So, you think you know Belbin? Perhaps, but we’re often misunderstood when it comes to the fundamentals. The free team roles test of 123test ® is inspired by ideas on team roles theories, generalized competency frameworks and recent knowledge of the Big Five personality theory. The application of team roles however seems to be primarily directed at management teams nowadays. Not just only in working life but also the roles people play in life, family and military. In the last 30 years interest in team composition has increased and many different team roles tests have been developed.Įssentially though, team roles are equal to 'persona' (masks) or specific competency profiles and have been mentioned explicitly since ancient Greek history. A team consisting of only specialists may loose track of the big picture.Īny team that is aware of the different roles required to reach a specific goal and is able to fulfil those roles within the team will perform better. For example, a team consisting of only creative individuals will generate many ideas of which none gets implemented. When the composition is not ideal the team may run into problems. These roles can be either functional, organizational, personal or even skillful.Įach team should be an ideal mix of different team roles depending on the specific goals the team wants to achieve.

According to team roles test theories there are specific and different team roles that a team requires.

Free belbin team role test