For this week's Industry Insight, Team Challenge Company co-director Gerard Crowley shares his thoughts on psychology-based frameworks and their relevance for businesses today.

The psychology of team building: Belbin's Team Roles 

At Team Challenge Company, we know there's plenty of debate around the effectiveness and relevance of certain psychology-based team building models. Having trained in Belbin and seen it support leaders across various industries, team sizes and demographics, I believe Belbin remains as relevant today as when Meredith Belbin first shared his model with the world in 1981. 

If you're new to Belbin, it can be a powerful tool for understanding team dynamics. I believe it offers a flexible framework to support learning and development, rather than being a rigid set of rules. 

This summer, we have been sharing articles on Belbin's Team Role Theory and this week we're continuing with two more role categories that Belbin proposed in addition to action-oriented roles: social roles and thinking roles.

What Is a Belbin Team Role?

According to Belbin, a Team Role is a natural tendency to behave, contribute and interact in a particular way within a team. Each role brings strengths and weaknesses. Teams tend to perform better when all roles are represented and well balanced.

To identify which roles people naturally take on, Belbin recommended a mix of self-assessment and peer feedback. This helps teams build a clearer picture of an individual's true behaviour, not just how they perceive themselves.

Most people display a blend of roles rather than just one and may take on different roles depending on the task or situation.

Social Roles

Social team members help build trust and encourage cooperation. Belbin identified three key roles in this category:

• Coordinator - a confident leader who clarifies goals and delegates tasks effectively
• Teamworker - a supportive team player who helps reduce conflict and keeps morale high
• Resource Investigator - a natural networker who explores opportunities and brings new ideas into the group

Thinking Roles

These team members focus on analysis and innovation. Their thinking often helps shape strategy and solve complex problems. The three roles are:

• Plant - a creative problem solver who often generates original ideas
• Monitor Evaluator - a logical thinker who makes impartial decisions
• Specialist - someone with deep expertise in a specific area who contributes technical knowledge

Why Belbin Still Matters

Belbin's model continues to be relevant because it's simple, flexible and based on real team behaviour. It helps you understand the dynamics in your team and spot any gaps. By encouraging teams to value a mix of working styles, the model supports stronger communication, better decision-making and healthier working relationships.

Whether you're leading a small project group or managing a large organisation, understanding these roles can help your team perform at its best.

Our team building experiences are designed to suit a variety of roles and personalities. If you'd like to learn more or discuss what might work best for your team, please contact us.