Team Time...Time Team...

During feedback sessions we were given the information that in the second year there would be a team task. The subject unknown but we had to give our thoughts on the idea, and our possible roles. Who would want to be the big time boss!? And who wants to let the credibility fly by and just be the ground hog worker!? Though in actual fact there is more to the idea of just putting your hand up, and volunteering or bossing your way into the Leaders position. As this role would take part in less practical work and designing and if the volunteer was the strongest designer or somebody with the most skills, then would you not want these kinds of people more hands on!? And so you’re with the idea of the weakest person in charge? Well would these "Stronger" people listen to a weaker link? I guess this then comes down to your team’s strength in depth and the respect you would and should show each other. Mixed roles would have to be taken on surely!?

After leaving the feedback room, we were told to visit http://www.belbin.com/downloads/Belbin_Team_Role_Summary_Descriptions.pdf, this is a table of Team Roles, showing the team role members strengths and of course weaknesses. If you check the table out you can see that there are nine roles, or brackets that you could be placed in. Reading through the list and the strengths and weaknesses I would probably regard myself to be in the "Team worker" role, contributing skills such as co-operative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. With general downsides being indecisive in a crunch situation, although I don't feel I’m actually that bad. I would say that the weakness I have would be under another category. This being "Specialist" (contributes on only narrow front, dwells on technicalities).

I feel this because I don't feel I have the skills to be a lead designer somebody in charge of the designing and the technical part of a project, but the basics I can do. I would accept responsibility and do what I was asked to do, nothing special, just acceptable. I wouldn't either class myself as being a great leader in a task, as the organising of time wouldn't be of a great and accurate standard.
I take on a leader’s role at work and football, but these are my strengths. I'm good at what I do in both of these so I have the respect factor from my workers, and players and I take the leaders role and make it myself. I enjoy the power of telling people what to do, and in that case I guess that because of this I show the weaknesses of a co-ordinator. At work I tell people to do things that I myself could do, and in many cases when they do these wrong I have to make up there mistakes and fix wrongs. This also applies to football, I like nothing better than to shout my mouth of all game long telling people what to do and what they should of done, I like motivating my players and making them feel the fire in there bellies to give that extra mile that is needed, I like it when it all comes together and I see what the team has achieved at the end of the game and how well we did, leaving me never without a loss of words when something goes wrong and I feel they need to know about it. But doing this in something I’m not established in is a different game all together, would somebody who is and they know are considerably more talented and skilled than me in this business listen to what I had to say and tell them? And would I have suitable and appropriate things to say? I don’t think that I would.

All of this is definitely worth thinking about in deeper depth, and its something I should definitely do, as I have only cracked the surface and it would be an advantage to know a bit of background knowledge in different roles that you would need to be taken on within a group. And what roles would gel and stick together to create a smooth running operation. Jamie