Many companies are now faced with the challenge of virtual teams, whether as a future prospect or as an existing reality. From the large multinational with offices all over the world, to the SME encouraging remote working to save space and money, it seems clear that the web of teamwork is now being cast across the globe, rather than just across the office.
So how does Belbin tackle changing working patterns? How do you use Belbin with teams who rarely or never meet?
A good starting point is to consider what a team is set up to do and to look carefully at how work is distributed. Consider, for example, team leaders across the globe within an organisation who meet online to share information and advice on how their teams are performing. This situation is more accurately defined as a “collaborative group” rather than a team, since there is no definite outcome other than a general desire to improve performance in their respective teams.
Culture is another important factor to be taken into account. How does an individual’s country of origin or current working environment mediate his or her behaviour? If the organisation is primarily based in one country, do the expectations of that culture predominate as a foundation for teamworking practices?
The influence of technology also deserves due consideration. Working in different timezones means that colleagues may not ever speak to one another. Even before the advent of social media, e-mail had developed its own rules of etiquette. With the cues of body language and nuances of intonation lost, the chance to convey meaning faithfully has long been under threat.
It soon becomes apparent that the topics under discussion are immense, but at their crux is individual difference. What we are trying to do in business is to get along and get things done. Belbin is a language to help people understand themselves and each other better. As such, it is a shorthand which can cross cultural and linguistic boundaries, operating at the level of individuals. The core message is to enhance understanding and awareness of oneself and others.
The Belbin Self-Perception Inventory has been translated into many different languages, but when we meet our colleagues elsewhere in the world, the same behaviours are identified: the eccentric Plant, the intransigent Implementer, the myopic Specialist. There may be cultural variations but the behaviours repeat.
Some of our esteemed colleagues put their Team Roles in their e-mail signature and often in hindsight, the Team Role signs are evident throughout their emails, not just at the end! Is your proposal being met by an enthusing Resource Investigator or a circumspect Monitor Evaluator? Now you can find out! Why not do the same and make your Team Roles more visible to those outside your immediate environment? If they know about Belbin Team Roles, it will provide useful cues for your correspondent. If not, it will make an interesting talking-point!
