{"id":1899,"date":"2020-07-24T13:00:41","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/?p=1899"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T14:16:20","slug":"what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-team-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2020\/07\/24\/what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-team-player\/","title":{"rendered":"What does it really mean to be a team player?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You probably know the value of being a team player, and how important it is to showcase this on your CV. But did you know there are numerous different ways to function within a team? Have you thought about what kind of teamwork you\u2019re particularly good at? Drawing on the research of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.belbin.com\/about\/belbin-team-roles\/\">R. Meredith Belbin<\/a>, here are some of the different roles you might fulfil in a workplace team.<\/p>\n<h2>People-Oriented Roles<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s no \u2018I\u2019 in team, and those who take on these roles exemplify this. Their <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/2020\/06\/05\/how-recognising-your-strengths-can-help-your-career\/\">strengths<\/a> lie in supporting others. They are often diligent and practical, carrying out their fair share of the workload, and encouraging others by boosting morale. Those who identify with this role are extremely good at recognising what needs to be done to help others.<\/p>\n<h3>Belbin\u2019s types:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Resource Investigator \u2013 brings external ideas to the team<\/li>\n<li>Teamworker \u2013 cooperative, conflict-averse, versatile<\/li>\n<li>Coordinator \u2013 identifies other people\u2019s strengths, delegates work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Action-Oriented Roles<\/h2>\n<p>Those who are action-oriented possess a similarly strong work ethic to those who are people-oriented. However, action-oriented team players are more likely to focus on the work itself rather than who is doing it. They cope well with pressure and aren\u2019t afraid to be honest. The traits seen in action-oriented team players are invaluable, though they can blunt on bad days!<\/p>\n<h3>Belbin\u2019s types:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Shaper \u2013 drives the team to succeed<\/li>\n<li>Implementer \u2013 organises ideas to create strategy<\/li>\n<li>Completer Finisher \u2013 great attention to detail, loves \u2018polishing\u2019 work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Thought-Oriented Roles<\/h2>\n<p>Thought-Oriented team players may be creative, or logical \u2013 or both! The discerning feature of this type is their ability to problem-solve and bring unique solutions or knowledge to the team.<\/p>\n<h3>Belbin\u2019s types:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Plant \u2013 solves problems in creative and unconventional ways<\/li>\n<li>Monitor Evaluator \u2013 weighs up all the options impartially<\/li>\n<li>Specialist \u2013 provides niche, in-depth knowledge other team members may not have<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>A word of warning!<\/h2>\n<p>I love Belbin\u2019s work as it expands on the (sometimes vague) identity of the team player. But be careful not to pigeonhole yourself. Most of us have a variety of skills and might identify with several of Belbin\u2019s roles, and that\u2019s fine! Each role has its own strengths, and it shows great versatility to identify with more than one.<\/p>\n<p>Belbin\u2019s research suggests the ideal team is made up of a range of different behaviours, all of which complement each other. So if your strengths lie in one (or more) of these roles, remember not everyone shares these. There are many ways to collaborate effectively, and a crucial part of teamwork is understanding and respecting these. Identifying as a Plant, for instance, doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019ll always work on creative projects with creative people. Instead, it\u2019s more likely you\u2019ll work alongside an Implementer who structures your ideas. This can be challenging initially, but it\u2019s the first step to teamworking triumph.<\/p>\n<h2>Going forwards<\/h2>\n<p>Anyone can say they\u2019re a team player. Be explicit about your strengths and what makes you, specifically, really great to work with. Is it your empathy for others? Your organisational skills? Your specialist expertise? Before you submit your next application, or attend that interview, ask yourself: what does it really mean to be a team player? Which of Belbin\u2019s nine roles resonate with you?<\/p>\n<p>Find out more about how to sell yourself as a team player with our <a href=\"https:\/\/unihub.bath.ac.uk\/s\/myfuture\/workflows\/detail\/16\">application resources on MyFuture<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You probably know the value of being a team player, and how important it is to showcase this on your CV. But did you know there are numerous different ways to function within a team? Have you thought about what...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1443,"featured_media":1903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[748],"tags":[4,8,478,549],"class_list":["post-1899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive","tag-advice","tag-self-awareness","tag-strengths","tag-teamwork"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/82\/2020\/07\/bill-oxford-fGqsewtsJY-unsplash.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1443"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/careers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}