Groups and teams - part 2

In this lesson

1. 0:00 Two main approaches to organising teamwork
2. 0:57 Project teams versus product and process teams
3. 2:10 Building effective teams: selection criteria
4. 3:00 Five key characteristics of effective teams
5. 5:04 Belbin's nine essential team roles explained
6. 8:57 Assembling teams with all nine roles present

About this lesson

You'll explore the distinction between multidisciplinary teams (people from different departments) and multi-skilled teams (generalists within a single department), and when to use each. You'll also discover how to choose team members based on task performance and group maintenance, and understand Belbin's nine team roles—from coordinators and shapers who drive direction, to plants and monitor evaluators who generate and critique ideas, to implementers and completer finishers who execute and deliver. This knowledge is essential for E2 Managing Performance and helps you design teams that balance skills, personalities, and functional roles to achieve organisational objectives. The lesson covers five key characteristics of effective teams: specialist skills with clear division of labour, organisational power or influence, access to necessary resources, functional personalities that work well together, and a healthy balance of complementary skills and traits. You'll learn why personality fit matters—some individuals may excel working alone but struggle in team settings—and how to avoid skill duplication and personality clashes that undermine performance. Belbin's framework provides a practical toolkit for identifying which roles your team needs and ensuring all nine are represented, whether through individual team members or people who naturally embody multiple roles.

Duration: 10m