sporting, religious, hobbies, social, and so forth), and these informal groups do not need to have a goal or a specific intention; they are simply people enjoying being together. In contrast, a team is defined by the National Health Service (NHS) Leadership Academy (2013) as a group of people who work together towards a common goal. When people run in a race, for example, they are a group, and when they work together to achieve a certain finish time, they are a team. A team can be of any size depending on the task required. To be functional, a team needs to utilise the best qualities of each member, and in order to do that, it is essential that these qualities are recognised.
Working in a team is a complex process and it is important to understand the details of this (Salas et al. 2018). There are many different roles within a team, and it is important to understand these. If everyone did the same thing at the same time, the end goal would not be achieved. Different people with different strengths are needed to make sure a goal can be achieved. Keeping with the running example, some runners are stronger in the first part of the race, some are good finishers and some are good on hills. If their different strengths are utilised at different times, the goal for the team is more likely to be met. For effective teamwork, understanding these strengths and utilising them is essential. It is therefore helpful to look at the different personality types and how their strengths can be utilised best.
Touch Point
There are several types of teams and groups
1 How many teams are you in?
2 How many groups are you in?
3 What is the difference between a team and a group?
Take note
Personality Types
Belbin (1981) stated that an effective team needs nine different roles in order to be successful (see Table 4.1). This does not mean that each team needs nine members as one person could perform two or three roles. Each role is of equal importance to the other ones, and the different roles are needed at different points in achieving the task. What is essential is that people are comfortable in the roles they are given, and this will allow them to perform well.
Take Note
Which role(s) do you think you fit into?
Carl Jung (1921) was a psychoanalyst who believed that people were either an introvert or an extrovert and that they acted instinctively on feelings or thoughts. He stated that in a team it is best to have a variety of personality types and to understand that no one type is better than any other. It is important to understand the team members and use their natural strengths. Knowing a preferred working style and being able to utilise it will strengthen the team. The colour types are outlined in Table 4.2.
This theory was expanded upon by Myers and Briggs in 1926 to make it more accessible to individuals. They created a short questionnaire to help discover a person’s personality type.
Table 4.1 The roles.
Source: Based on Belbin (1981).
| ACTION | PEOPLE | CEREBRAL |
|---|---|---|
| Shaper: keeps momentum +challenging +dynamic ‐can offend people ‐aggressive | Coordinator: delegates work load +mature +confident ‐over delegates ‐manipulative | Plant: highly creative problem solver +creative +generates ideas ‐absent minded ‐poor communicator |
| Implementer: planner +practical +reliable ‐inflexible ‐stubborn | Team worker +co‐operative +diplomatic ‐can be indecisive ‐avoids confrontation | Monitor: makes logical judgements +strategic +discerning ‐overly critical ‐indecisive |
| Completer: scrutinises at the end +conscientious +perfectionist ‐worrier ‐controlling | Investigator: idea finder +outgoing +enthusiastic ‐might be overoptimistic ‐can lose interest | Specialist: in‐depth knowledge +dedicated +single minded ‐too much information ‐narrow expertise field |
Table 4.2 Introverts and extroverts.
Source: Based on Jung (1921.
| INTROVERT THINKERS ‘LET’S DO IT RIGHT’ | EXTROVERT THINKERS ‘LET’S DO IT NOW’ |
|---|---|
| Cool Blue | Fiery Red |
| cautious precise deliberate questioning formal | competitive demanding determined strong‐willed purposeful |
| INTROVERT FEELERS ‘LET’S DO IT IN A CARING WAY’ | EXTROVERT FEELERS ‘LET’S DO IT TOGETHER’ |
| Earth Green | Sunshine Yellow |
| caring encouraging sharing patient relaxed | sociable dynamic demonstrative enthusiastic persuasive |
Figure 4.1 The team cycle.
Source: Based on Tuckman & Jenson (1977) in Bonebright (2010).
Take Note
Touch Point
Regardless of where you work in any scenario that calls for teamwork to accomplish specific tasks, this will bring out the best and also the worst of the personalities in those who are participating. Competitive energies, communication skills as well as the respective levels of commitment to the project are all factors that will affect how effectively team members can work together.
We have seen that there are many different personality types, and a mixture of them is ideal for a successful team. In an ideal