Team work theories refer to the effectiveness of a team as being dependant on various factors such as leadership, team roles, good communication etc. My team for assignment 3 and 4 was a functional team as we had factors that allowed us to work together and create a coherent report and seminar, thus creating an effective team. We were a team where leadership operated democratically. The leader created a supportive environment where members were encouraged to speak openly and honestly, which according to Elder’s theory is a key feature of an effective team. We were a team where tasks are evenly distributed according to skill and personality in order to maximise everyone’s abilities and desires. We were also one …show more content…
According to Belbin’s theory our group initially consisted of a “co-ordinator,” a “shaper,” a “implementer,” and a “complete finisher.” However, the co-ordinator appeared to be better suited to the role as a “resource investigator” because his work ethic lacked motivation and he wasn’t able to dictate any tasks. This caused our first meeting to be reasonably unproductive as we all walked away having gained little understanding of what we were to each do. Tasks were only delegated when one member stepped up and organised them (partly through an email she sent out after the first meeting and during our second meeting), which is why she was the ‘shaper’ according to Belbin’s theory. The organisation of the shaper allowed me as the implementer to immediately begin brainstorming ideas, of which I took to the next …show more content…
Initial leadership was our greatest weakness, however, this issue was solved and instead leadership became our greatest strength. This is because we were exposed to each others strengths and weaknesses, allowing our roles to develop and change. The leadership role shifted from one team member to another because our initial leader did not have enough drive or commitment so fell short of the role. This is why he became a ‘resource investigator’ according to Belbin’s theory. The role of the editor, a completer finisher in Belbin roles, also changed, we added another vice editor (the implementer) and then as the report progressed and most of our individual tasks were completed, to all of members. We found that this worked effectively as it wasn’t just one set of eyes critiquing the report, but five sets. We each did tasks that were suited to our personality’s and abilities which is why we were able to complete 99% of each week’s objectives and were able to produce an excellent