In my semi-retirement I am still asked pertinent questions which I duly try and answer in between signing a stack of accreditation certificates which seem to land on my desk from all corners of the world in ever increasing numbers. One relevant question I attempted to answer recently was:


Since self-awareness seems to consistently come out as a key to management and leadership, I am wondering whether Belbin research shows support for having a coherent profile when it comes to successful management and successful leadership.

Coherence relates to seeing the self as others see you.  It is a straightforward notion and I endorse it both for managers and leaders.  To allow a gap to open up between the two perceptions is to mislead either the self or others.  In relation to the latter, one might call it the “Madoff Effect”: something one can get away with for a time but not forever.  But to mislead oneself creates another form of damage.  It is to project an image that, however desirable in itself, is one the self cannot live up to.  It is a way of building up stress in order to satisfy the immediate situation.  At the same time, the inner self knows that the true self will eventually emerge.

Here at Belbin, we advocate that managers and leaders find out their salient characteristics and project what is real and try to develop themselves as role models of the type.  That may be an ideal, but it is not always possible.  Inevitably, individuals in responsible positions need to take on different roles when engaging with different people at different times.   Such versatility is a mark of highly effective behaviour.  There are two separate objectives here, each of which needs to be addressed.  One should not detract from the other, and finding a middle way is not always easy, but then managers who are worth their salt should thrive on the need to address what is difficult.