Belbin Test – I first heard it when @KarFei, current president of AIESEC Malaysia told me that it was used to profile his team so that tasks can be delegated out successfully with minimum conflict. I immediately thought it would be so useful to figure out how to fully utilize our student volunteers for @SECMalaysia and @EYEProject, as we have many of them and a more complex system would have taken a long time.

The Belbin Test just took me 20 minutes max, and that’s because I thought long and hard at each question. This was the result that was given to me.

Coordinator   14
Resource Investigator   12
Plant   10

It wasn’t immediately obvious what the terms meant, but luckily in that excel sheet (yes, it lives on a simple excel sheet!) it gives a detailed explanation of what these meant.

Co-ordinator. Mature, confident, a good chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decision making, delegates well.
Resource Investigator. Extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities, develops contacts.
Plant. Creative, imaginative, unorthodox, solves difficult problems.

In other words, I would be a mix of the follow description:

The Co-ordinator has a strong sense of overall objectives. Is able to keep an open mind and value contributions from any source. Generally of average mental ability and creativity. Good at controlling and co ordinating resources, Democratic and encourages participation, but willing to take responsibility for decisions. Sometimes seen as reserved and detached, the coordinator’s ability to remain objective is valuable when directing the efforts and activities of others toward an overall goal or objective.

The Plant‘s name stems from ability to scatter around lots of ideas (seeds), many of which may lead to success while many may not. The Plant is the source of a team’s creativity, mirth a fertile and intelligent mind, with plenty of original ways of looking at things. The Plant is concerned with the challenge of the new and can be obsessive. Often seen as having a head in the clouds, can be unaware of the need for sensitivity towards others. The Plant may not have much time for protocol or the ‘proper` way of doing things, nor be terribly concerned with the practical implications of own schemes. Tends to be self-sufficient and can be a difficult and uncomfortable colleague. However, can also be caught up, in a wave of enthusiasm especially for own ideas, but also for others whose ideas capture the Plant’s imagination and can be swept along with general team euphoria. There is a childlike element present in the Plant – likes to be flattered and does not like own ideas criticised.

The Resource Investigator is the team’s ambassador in its dealings with the work beyond the team’s boundary. Has the capacity for making highly effective contact with people and for exploring anything new. Will respond to new situations as exciting challenges, but can also lose interest quite quickly if progress is slow or once the initial fascination has passed. Variety and people are the essential diet of the Resource Investigator, who also has the ability in turn to stimulate and motivate others. The need for new stimuli can often result in a ‘butterfly mind’ – flitting quickly from one thing to another very rapidly, and there can be a lack of self-discipline and failure to follow things through. It has been said that the Resource Investigator is either on the telephone or is meeting people and hates doing anything else.

After reading the above, I would be inclined to think that I belong to the Plant speciment, which makes most sense as my other partners in all my ventures would perfectly complement me to create a great team together. However it is very interesting to note other qualities I am not aware of, and who knows, I could grow those qualities to bring me to a higher state of mind, and thus, be a better leader perhaps?

What do you think you are, if you were to base your personality to the personalities/roles? For your benefit, I’ve attached the rest of the roles’ description below:

Shaper. Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. The drive and courage to overcome obstacles.
Monitor Evaluator. Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees all options, judges accurately.
Teamworker. Co-operative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction.
Implementer. Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions.
Completer Finisher. Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and omissions, delivers on time.
Specialist. Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills.