Teamwork styles and roles describe what kinds of roles and tasks people usually take on spontaneously when people get together and start organizing themselves for cooperational purposes. These tendencies are affected by an individual’s personality and other resources, especially competencies.
There are various formal models describing the optimal composition and necessary roles any team should include in order for it to function properly. The Mindfindr team framework covers 8 different teamwork styles and roles that are defined and illustrated in tables and graphs in extended reports. Additionally, respondents’ three strongest roles are highlighted.
These descriptions may be used to consider an individual for different team roles or tasks in groups. The analysis helps to organize new teams or creative groups and facilitates sharing responsibilities in executive boards. When used in team or board coaching processes the analyses increase shared understanding of individual strengths among team members, while helping to sort out potential communication challenges related to different styles. More generally, team analyses facilitate spotting out competence gaps in teams and recruiting the right kind of fresh potential into teams, thus helping to allocate human resources efficiently in organizations.
The Mindfindr teamroles may be concisely defined as follows:
The Inspirer stimulates and inspires team members with warm energy.
The Analyst does math and analyses for the team, pointing out risks and theoretical inconsistencies.
The Innovator thinks outside the box, presents original ideas and innovates.
The Networker helps the team play together, smoothens interaction and finds partners and clients.
The Challenger makes sure big ideas to be developed hold water and that grand plans are realistic.
The Diplomat takes care of internal and external communications and tends to partners and clients.
The Organizer plans, coordinates, leads and ensures the completion of team activities.
The Finisher sees to it there are no loose ends in the completion of things practical and of secretary nature.