UX teams are typically multidisciplinary, consisting of designers, researchers, developers, and product managers. Each member brings a unique set of skills and experiences to the team. However, the success of the team depends on how well these individuals work together and complement each other's strengths.
When a team is performing at its best, you'll usually find that each team member has clear responsibilities. Just as importantly, you'll see that every role needed to achieve the team's goal is being performed fully and well.
But often, despite clear roles and responsibilities, a team will fall short of its full potential.
Teams can become unbalanced if all team members have similar styles of behavior or team roles. If team members have similar weaknesses, the team as a whole may tend to have that weakness. If team members have similar teamwork strengths, they may tend to compete (rather than cooperate) for the team tasks and responsibilities that best suit their natural styles.
The Belbin Team Role Model is a framework that was developed by Dr. Meredith Belbin to help individuals and organizations understand their team roles and create more effective teams. He defined a team role as "a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way," and named nine such team roles that underlie team success.
Understanding Belbin's Team Roles Model
Belbin identified nine team roles, and he categorized those roles into three groups:
Action-oriented roles ( Shaper, Implementer, Completer/Finisher )
People-oriented roles ( Coordinator, Team Worker, Resource Investigator )
Thought-oriented roles ( Plant, Monitor-evaluator, Specialist )
Each team role is associated with typical behavioral and interpersonal strengths. The Belbin model can help UX teams understand their team roles and ensure that they have a balance of the different roles required to be successful.
Action-oriented roles
Shaper - The Shaper's role is essential in ensuring that the team stays focused and motivated to achieve its goals. This role can be fulfilled by team leaders who provide direction and motivation to the team.
👍 Strengths: Problem-solving, ambition
👎 Weaknesses: Potential to cause friction
Implementer - The implementer's role is crucial in ensuring that the team can turn ideas into tangible products. This role can be fulfilled by developers who can build and implement the UX design.
👍 Strengths: Task completion, dedication
👎 Weaknesses: Resistant to change
Completer/Finisher - The Completer/Finisher role is essential in ensuring that the team delivers high-quality work and meets its deadlines. They’re meticulous about avoiding error, and sticklers for meeting deadlines. This role can be fulfilled by project managers who ensure that the team meets its deadlines and delivers quality work.
👍 Strengths: Meeting deadlines, quality assurance
👎 Weaknesses: Over-worrying, reluctant to delegate
People-oriented roles
Coordinator - The role of the coordinator is similar to that of a traditional leader. The role is crucial in ensuring that the team stays on track and meets its goals. In a UX team, this role can be fulfilled by product managers who delegate tasks to the right people in a controlled and proficient way.
👍 Strengths: Project management, effective delegation
👎 Weaknesses: Avoiding responsibility
Team worker - A catalyst for collaboration and unity within groups, the role is critical in ensuring that the team works together cohesively and effectively. This role can be fulfilled by anyone in the team who has excellent interpersonal skills.
👍 Strengths: Perceptiveness, mediation
👎 Weaknesses: Indecisiveness
Resource investigator - The Resource Investigator role is critical in UX teams because it involves seeking out new opportunities and building relationships with stakeholders. This role can be fulfilled by UX designers who conduct user research and engage with users.
👍 Strengths: Wealth of contacts, negotiation
👎 Weaknesses: Overly optimistic
Thought-oriented roles
Plant - The Plant role is critical in UX teams because it produces interesting and original ideas for the benefit of the team. They’re typically introverted, preferring to work alone when developing new ideas and coming up with solutions to problems. This role can be fulfilled by designers who bring fresh ideas to the table.
👍 Strengths: Creativity, innovation
👎 Weaknesses: Sensitive to criticism, may ignore constraints
Monitor-evaluator - The Monitor-evaluator role enjoys gathering data and evidence to consider the advantages and disadvantages of every option. The role is important in ensuring that the team makes well-informed decisions based on research and data. Researchers and data analysts can fulfill this role in a UX team.
👍 Strengths: Analysis, strategy
👎 Weaknesses: Poor leadership
Specialist - A master in their chosen field, the specialist prides themselves on their knowledge and expertise in a given subject area. They use their specialism to aid the team, acting as the authority on all technical and practical considerations relating to their topic. This role can be fulfilled by someone who specializes in a particular area of the UX process.
👍 Strengths: Subject-specific expertise
👎 Weaknesses: Too focused on technicalities
How to Use Belbin's Team Roles
Knowledge of Belbin's Team Roles model can help you to identify potential strengths and weaknesses within your team, overcome the conflict between your co-workers, and understand and appreciate everyone's contributions.
It comprises four steps:
If you have a large group, divide participants into "teams" of approximately five or six. If you work with a smaller group, avoid splitting it up.
Ask each team to draw a circle, divide it equally into nine sections, one for each of Belbin's team roles, and enter their names in the segments that correspond to their top two roles.
Encourage discussion among the team members by asking them to list five main areas where they think their strengths and weaknesses lie, and how these match, overlap or contrast with those of their co-workers.
Ask your team to come up with three action points based on its findings, focusing on helping the team to perform more effectively.
As a manager, remember not to depend too heavily on the team roles theory when structuring your team. This is only one of many, many factors that are important in getting a team to perform at its best.
The Belbin Team Role Model is a useful framework for UX teams to understand their team roles and ensure that they have a balance of the different roles required to be successful. By understanding each team member's strengths and weaknesses, the team can work together effectively, leading to higher productivity, creativity, and innovation. By implementing the model, UX teams can improve their collaboration, communication, and overall performance.
There are, however, some limitations to this model. The roles outlined by Belbin are primarily concerned with collaborative work and don’t necessarily describe how individuals perform on independent projects. Nor do team roles necessarily reflect an individual’s personality outside the context of a team.
That said, just knowing about the Belbin Team Roles model can bring a bit more harmony to your team.
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References
Belbin Associates (2012-15). 'The Nine Belbin Team Roles' [Accessed August 4, 2016.]
Prichard, J.S. and Stanton, N.A. (1999). 'Testing Belbin’s team role theory of effective groups,' Journal of Management Development, 18(8), 652-665.