Why Belbin?
Managers and leaders have a tough job right now. In addition to the challenges of managing up and out, you’re tackling your own deliverables and rising to meet the demands of hybrid teams.
This is where Belbin can help. In the 1970s, nine years of research demonstrated that, although people displayed an infinite number of behaviours at work, there were only a finite number of useful behaviours that helped to facilitate team success. Nine clusters of useful behaviours were identified, and each one was termed a Belbin Team Role.
How can Belbin help you?
Using the language of Belbin helps people to understand which behavioural contribution is required, and when. In other words, Belbin enables managers and teams to work together and communicate openly and effectively, building trust and psychological safety and defusing conflict, even when teams are not co-located.
This starts with discovering which of these clusters of useful behaviours – these Belbin Team Roles – are the most natural fit for you. It begins with you completing the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory, a questionnaire to help pinpoint your preferred styles.
But this is just the first step.
A wealth of research demonstrates that honest, objective feedback is crucial to effective management and leadership. And it’s also at the heart of what we do at Belbin. Each of us needs a reality check – evidence that the strengths we see in ourselves are also seen and valued by others. That’s why we ask for people who work with you and know you well to complete an Observer Assessment. Once we have all this data, we produce a Belbin Individual Report.
The Belbin Individual Report
The Belbin Individual Report offers practical guidance and advice which incorporates feedback from everyone in the team in a balanced and constructive way. Armed with this report, you can better understand your preferred Team Role behaviours and how these might shape your leadership style.
- The Individual Report helps leaders and managers to measure the distance between perceived and observed strengths, so that you can devise strategies to bridge the gaps.
- It also gives granular detail so that you can see how effective you are in adapting your style – when managing up, for example.
- Your team’s responses are collated to give you a list of characteristics which they feel best describe your style, which can be an invaluable tool for leadership development.
- Our in-depth feedback page describes your Team Role behaviours, the latent talents you might want to cultivate as you develop as a leader, and the areas where you might call on your team for support.
Sample Individual Belbin Report
Sample of an Individual Report containing both the Self Perception and the Observer feedback to give the full 360 perspective
The Belbin Team Report
The Belbin Team Report takes up the baton by aggregating individual data to help you:
- Delegate more effectively;
- Get to grips with how to manage each team member according to their strengths;
- Troubleshoot potential blind spots in the team or organizational culture.
The Team Report makes suggestions of team members who might be suited to different kinds of work and gives an at-a-glance view of the team’s behavioural diversity:
Sample Belbin Team Report
The Belbin Team Report assesses how a group of individuals will work together as a team, detailing who will take on which role within the team, and where there may be gaps or overlaps in behavioural contributions.
Want to know more?
See how entrepreneurs and founders of Oppo Brothers Ice Cream, Harry and Charlie, used Belbin to gain insight into their distinct leadership styles and took the first steps towards fostering behavioural diversity in their teams.
Get in touch
If you’re a leader or manager, we’d love to hear more about the specific challenges facing you right now. Get in touch!
Purchase Belbin Reports
If you would like to purchase the Belbin Individual Reports for yourself and / or your team, fill in the form and we'll get back to you. The Belbin Individual Reports cost just £35 + VAT per person, so an affordable option for all.