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This Belbin Team Role and Work Role information site is sponsored by CERT Consultancy & Training
It is edited by Barrie Watson, a member of Belbin Associates. The purpose of the site is to provide free information for people using or planning to use Meredith Belbin's Team Role model and other Belbin tools techniques and philosophies.
Please Note: The answers and information provided on this website represent my own personal views and opinions, except where stated otherwise.
Belbin Assessments and Reports for Young People
Many people have asked about using the Belbin assessments with young people to help them with career planning and personal development. Unfortunately I have had to advise people that the assessments are not really ideal for this as they were designed for workplace use and both the language and context makes them far from ideal for use by young people who have not entered the workplace.
I am therefore pleased to announce that a special version of the GetSet version of the Belbin assessments which are specially designed for use by young people are now available from CERT Consultancy & Training. For full details contact: Ann Watson by clicking here.
FAQ’s relating to the Belbin Team Role assessments
Q Is it compulsory to be accredited or certificated to use Belbin Team Role profiling
assessments?
A No, it is not compulsory, because Belbin Team Role assessments are
of a behavioural rather than psychological nature and the reports are generated by
a computerised expert system. It is highly recommended however that consultants,
trainers, facilitators and others involved in giving advice and feedback attend an
approved Belbin accreditation course. (For more details click here)
Q In the past
I have used a self-scoring Self Perception Inventory can I still use it?
A There is
much misunderstanding about this so let me provide you with an extract from a Belbin
communication put out in October 2001: "Many of our telephone calls request information
on the copyright of Belbin materials, in particular, the use of the self-scoring
Self-Perception Inventory published in Meredith's book Management Teams Why They
Succeed Or Fail (1981). To clarify our position, we own the copyright and do not
allow this questionnaire to be reproduced in any form. Certainly individuals may
purchase the book and complete the SPI for their own personal development, but any
wider usage is an infringement of copyright. In fact, we do not recommend the use
of this questionnaire anymore, as it is obsolete (no Specialist Role), lacks the
balance of Observer input, and most importantly, does not offer responsible advice."
I hope that makes it clear but if you still have any doubt about the copyright of
any material you are using do contact me and I shall be pleased to clarify things
with Belbin Associates.
Q What's the name of the book containing the Belbin Self Perception Inventory and
information about the Team Role model?
A The original book written by Dr Meredith
Belbin describing the development of the Team Role model and containing the self-scoring
Self Perception Inventory was called Management Teams - Why They Succeed or Fail.
(Publisher: Butterworth Heinemann) The third edition of this book was published in
2010. This contains additional material, including some case studies and comes with
a free offer of a Belbin profile using the latest computerised methodology.
Q The original edition of the inventory included 8 team roles and the specialist
role was not included. I have recently seen a copy of the inventory where each of
the 7 sections contain 10 items. Are there now 10 team roles?
A The Specialist Team
Role did not become apparent until the methodology was applied in the business world,
a few years after the publication of Management Teams - Why They Succeed or Fail
which described the original experiments of Dr Belbin.
The current version of the
Self Perception Inventory has 10 statements in each section because they include
a 'control' element - a statement that is used to provide some indication of the
robustness of the results. There are still only 9 Team Roles.
On this page you will find FAQ’s relating to the Belbin Team Role assessments. For more FAQ’s relating to the Belbin Team Role model and using the Belbin reports etc please use the navigation bar or the search facility.
Q Where can I get the latest Belbin assessment forms?
A Click here to obtain the latest
assessment forms free of charge.
Q I understand computer software is available for producing Belbin profiles, how
can I find out more about it?
A Click here and ask for a free Interplace brochure.
Q How can I obtain the new computer generated reports?
A There are three ways to obtain
the reports generated by the Belbin Interplace computer system. For further information
to help you to decide the most cost-effective approach for you please click here.
Q I have been told there is now a facility for adding 360 degree feedback. Is this
true?
A Yes, the facility now exists for adding Observer Assessments to provide feedback
on how others see you. This is one of the big advantages of the Belbin Interplace
system as it provides a much more robust profile than methods based on self reporting
only. If you would like to see examples of some of the reports based on the feedback
of observers click here and ask for "Example Reports".
Q Why is the observer assessment different from the self assessment?
A The two assessments
have a different perspective and purpose. The Observer Assessment is constructed
to elicit what behaviours have been observed by work colleagues using a practical
evidential approach. This is not so appropriate for use by the self as many people
are not able to stand back and realistically assess their qualities in this way.
The Self Perception Inventory is therefore designed to provoke people to think how
they would naturally behave in given situations as a way of eliciting their Team
Role tendencies using a degree a self reflection.
Q Can you please explain the advantages and disadvantages of Belbin profiling?
A I
think the main advantage is in how it provides a non-confrontational and non-hierarchical
language to describe a person's natural behavioural tendencies. The fact that it
is behavioural based (rather than a psychometric assessment) and easily understood
and used by people at all levels in an organisation is of course a big advantage,
plus of course the facility for observer feedback.
The main disadvantage is that as
behaviour is more open to change the assessments need to be done a reasonably regular
intervals. This may however be regarded as an advantage and something that should
be encouraged.
Q If I answer the questionnaire again, in a different frame of mind or with different
emotions, will my results change significantly?
A Obviously, when a person completes
the Belbin Self Perception Inventory it will be influenced by recent events and circumstances
but it still provides a useful indicator of their natural workplace behavioural tendencies,
providing the person has been honest when completing the inventory.
Generally speaking
this behavioural pattern is quite enduring as it is influenced by DNA and genetics
and related to a person’s established personality and although the way a person manages
their behavioural pattern may change the order of their natural behavioural preferences
does not normally change that much.
It is not unusual however for people to believe
or claim to have changed a lot when in fact they haven’t. This is one of the reasons
we have provided a facility to add observer feedback using the Observer Assessment
which involves work colleagues reporting observed behaviour. This feedback is very
powerful and enables a more robust profile and additional reports to be provided
by embracing the profound conclusions of Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do.”
Q Are the Belbin Team Role assessments available in languages other than English?
A Yes. The assessments and reports are available in a number of languages including: Danish, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Swedish. Other languages are currently being translated and up to date information can be obtained by clicking here.
If you would like to obtain
a single Belbin Team Role profile report Click Here and follow the instructions.
For details of all the other options for obtaining multiple report and to find the most cost-effective option for you Click Here.