There are several roles that any one person can take on in a team.

According to Belbin’s team roles these are:

1. Shaper – drives work forward and gets things done, has a clear idea of the desired direction of travel
2. Implementer – also gets things done, looking for ways to turn talk into action and generate practical activity
3. Completer-Finisher – focuses on completing tasks, and tidying up all the loose ends
4. Coordinator – manage the group dynamics, often in a leadership role
5. Team Worker – helps the team to work effectively by supporting personal relationships
6. Resource Investigator – gathers external resources and information to help the team
7. Plant – generates ideas and creative solutions, not all of them practical
8. Monitor-Evaluator – good at critically assessing ideas and proposals, and at making decisions
9. Specialist – brings expert knowledge to the group, not always necessary to effective functioning

Research shows that the most effective teams have someone who can take on each of the nine key roles. That doesn’t mean that a team must contain nine people, as most people can take on two or even three roles at a time.

Teams that struggle to operate effectively tend to lack one or more of the nine key roles.