Predicting team performance requires an evidence-based and pragmatic approach
For success, it's important to ensure that a team has access to all necessary Team Role strengths.
However, even in a carefully-composed team, the promotion of behavioural strengths (and managing of weaknesses) will likely have a great impact on the speed and quality of the team's deliverables.
Understanding Team Role contributions can help the team to exploit opportunities to advantage, and predicting stumbling-blocks may well help them to avoid any major problems.
Simple team-building activities alone often don't reach depths required to predict team performance.
This is where Belbin reports reports come in. They provide the evidence-based insights you need to predict and hone team performance.
In short, carefully measuring and analysing strengths and weakness in the context of the team’s actual mission, will help teams chart their best course.
There are 7 key points to take into account when predicting team performance
(You'll need: a Belbin Individual report, a Belbin Team Report, a Belbin Team Role Circle)
1. Look at the Team Roles present and note the strengths or main contribution that each of the Team Roles bring to the team.
2. Examine the contributions that will be vital, or at least extremely important, to the team's successful completion of its objective.
3. Consider each of the Team Roles present in the team and read through the potential problems that may arise in terms of the allowable weaknesses.
4. Once you've examined any potential problems, look at those that may directly impact the team in its current environment. Some problems will be more of a hindrance to the team's activities, whilst others will be tolerable.
5. Having now listed the contributions and potential problems, you will be in a good position to evaluate the criteria upon which the team will succeed or fail.
6. Articulate your listings like this:
This team will do well if...
The vital contributions you listed are made. (Specify)
The team avoids the most detrimental potential problems listed. (Specify)
Any extra factors that you feel need to be specified – e.g. a new member might be required for certain inputs.
This team will do badly if...
The team members fail to make these vital contributions (Specify)
The team fails to avoid the most detrimental potential problems listed (Specify)
Any extra factors that you feel need to be specified – e.g. a member failing to work well with another owing to a working relationship issue.
7. The Culture of the Team
Dominance of particular Team Roles will undoubtedly have an effect on how the team approaches decisions, issues or problems. Conversely, a lack of certain Team Roles will impinge on factors such as the team's ability to respond to new opportunities, plan effectively or act decisively.
Consider the very strong and weak Team Roles of Individual and Team Averages when reaching your conclusion.
Now your team is ready to proceed. Good luck!
Talan Miller is the official Belbin Distributor in Australia
