Energising employees and setting them on the right career path

At the 2024 Belbin International Team Conference, much of the focus was on data – forming an evidence base, collecting and disseminating the data teams need for sustainable business improvement, and proving ROI.

A personal story was shared by Gary Shewan, Learning and Development Business Partner at Legal & General. It illustrated how using Belbin had made a direct, measurable and lasting difference to graduates on the 12-month ‘Step Forward’ talent development programme.

This is the story of how Belbin Team Roles helped Vicki to discover the career path at Legal & General that ‘energises her every day’.

(And as a result of the programme, Legal & General were awarded the Princess Royal Training Award - twice!).

Focusing on behaviours to develop self-awareness

The StepForward programme was a 12-month development programme designed to help top talent at entry-level grades. Its objective was to focus on developing self-awareness so that individuals can build on their strengths and channel their efforts towards their chosen career path.

Successful applicants worked in pairs on a non-business-critical project. Each is assigned a project partner and a learning buddy, and was supported by their manager. Each also interviews a selection of senior leaders before choosing one as a mentor.

The programme is described as having ‘a relentless focus on behaviours’. According to Gary, this makes Belbin a natural choice for an assessment tool.

Creating informed Personal Development Plans

Delegates completed the Belbin process and received a Belbin Individual report at the beginning and end of the course to measure impact.

In the first instance, delegates attended a full-day workshop to help them understand their Belbin Individual report. This session, designed to raise self-awareness and confidence, focused on exploring strengths and identifying allowable weaknesses, with a view to creating a personal development plan.

Delegates continued with a number of face-to-face workshops covering a range of issues (such as project management, coaching and difficult conversations) from a behavioural, rather than a technical, perspective.

Observer Feedback to go beyond self-perception

At the start, Vicki lacked confidence and was afraid to put her ideas forward. Feedback from colleagues in her Belbin report (called Observer Assessments) offered valuable insights and provided the evidence base from which Vicki could devise her personal development plan.

Using the List of Observer Feedback, Vicki was able to identify specific characteristics that she wanted to work on.

In particular, she wanted to be seen as more confident and relaxed. Her colleagues saw her strengths in the role of Resource Investigator (the outgoing enthusiastic individual who brings in key information from outside the team) and this working style energised her, but she didn’t have many opportunities to play this role in her current position.

Vicki wanted to continue to be seen as creative, positive and encouraging, but she challenged herself to set aside her self-doubt and put forward more original ideas and solutions, especially in the presence of senior leaders.

Team dynamics: exploring complementary roles

As part of the StepForward programme, Vicki attended a three-day experiential learning at Bowles Rocks.

Delegates were asked to divide into teams, using Belbin Team reports to inform and justify their decisions on the basis of team dynamics. During this time, they came to understand the importance of complementary roles (working with others who demonstrate different strengths) and gained an understanding of how to handle challenge relationships using the language of Belbin Team Roles.

In addition, Vicki received Belbin Working Relationship reports exploring how her behavioural styles differed from those with whom she worked closely and giving her an appreciation of these complementary working styles in action.

As she had a low score for the forthright and driving Shaper role, Vicki identified that she needed direction and focus from her Shaper project partner. She observed that her learning buddy, an objective and discerning Monitor Evaluator, had a calming effect and acted as a sounding board.

In each case, the Belbin methodology was used to foster a learning mindset and open up dialogue between delegates.

Visible results and a lasting impact for Vicki

When Vicki received feedback from other delegates at the end of the programme, the results spoke for themselves. Vicki noted a marked change in her List of Observer Words.

As a result of the programme, Vicki was promoted twice, and moved to a business development role that allows her to play to her Resource Investigator strengths more frequently and voice her ideas. She reports that she is ‘energised every day’.

"I never would have been on the journey I have, had it not been for Belbin"

Vicki kindly shared more about her personal experience of using Belbin Team Roles during the StepForward programme with us in a short interview.

She also explained what for her was a key 'lightbulb moment':

"Seeing how others saw my Teamworker so strongly enabled me to explore that further and push it forward. The other role it also allowed me to explore was my Research Investigator and this was a lightbulb moment. I discovered that working with, talking to and understanding people is what brings me joy, and that was the sort of role I needed to be pursuing for my future career.

I firmly believe that there is no other way of using data to back up your personal characteristics and strengths other than with Belbin."

Read the full interview with Vicki here.

Case study: Measurable development and lasting impact through 'a relentless focus on behaviours'