Keeping your team onside

People who ërock the boatí can be as vital to a successful management team as like-minded individuals, according to a business psychology company.

Research suggests team members willing to express differences with other colleagues often contribute key strengths to corporate decision-making.

ìPeople will frequently get up your nose, and vice versa, and if this isnít managed properly, it can make any team dysfunctional,î says Roger Mottram, the author of a new team role instrument developed in conjunction with Manchester-based business psychology consultants Robertson Cooper.

ìYet without such individuals, teams sacrifice critical input. Effectively managed, different approaches and attitudes can become a valuable asset to a team.î

Managing diversity is a key element of Teamable, a ënext generationí team role assessment instrument of which Roger Mottram is the author. More so than earlier products such as the ëBelbiní model, developed 30 years ago, Teamable is highly flexible.

By allowing team members more than one role, and avoiding pigeon-holing, Teamable helps organisations build balanced, high-performance teams.

ìThe importance of a balanced team, which avoids gaps and overlaps, can hardly be overstated,î adds Roger Mottram, who was part of the Industrial Training Research Unit which developed the initial team role concept.

ìFor example, Roy Keane is a very effective captain for Manchester United, but you wouldnít want two ëdriversí like him in the same team because they would compete with one another.

ìTeamable also helps to get the best out of teams which arenít in perfect balance ñ so a manager with limited resources, like Sam Allardyce at Bolton Wanderers, would benefit because players would be able to develop transferable roles.î

Teamable is a short, straightforward questionnaire which can be completed in hard copy format or online. Its sophisticated reporting system analyses, in plain English, the interplay of strengths and weaknesses, as well as providing development options.

ìThere are a number of development exercises available to maximise peopleís contribution to the team, and to help them develop skills for roles they might not be ideally suited for, but which are nonetheless required,î adds Prof Ivan Robertson, managing director of Robertson Cooper.

Teamable is the result of rigorous research and validation by staff under the supervision of Ivan Robertson. It aims to make teams work more effectively by building team spirit.