High performing work teams carefully match people to various roles. One stream of research identified nine potential roles that work team members often can play: creator innovator, explorer-promoter, assessor-developer, thruster – organizer, concluder-producer, controller-inspector, up holder – maintainer, reporter adviser and linker.

Let’s briefly review each team role.

Creator innovators are usually imaginative and good at initiating ideas or concepts. They are typically independent and prefer to work at their own pace on their own and often on their own time. Explorer promoters like to take new ideas and champion their cause. These individuals are good at picking up ideas fort e creator – innovators and finding the resources to promote those ideas. However, they often lack the patience and control skills to ensure that the ideas are followed through in detail. Assessor developers have strong analytical skills. They’re at their best given several different options to evaluate and analyze before a decision is made. Thruster–organizers like to set up procedures to turn ideas into reality and get things done. They set goals, establish plans, organize people, and establish systems to ensure that deadlines are met. And, somewhat lie thruster organizer, concluder producers are concerned with result. Only their role focuses on keeping to deadlines and ensuring that all commitments are followed through. Concluder producer take pride in producing a regular output to a standard.

Controller inspectors have a high concern for establishing and enforcing rules and policies. They are good at examining details and making sure that inaccuracies are avoided. They want to check all the facts and figures to make sure they’re complete. Upholder maintainers hold strong convictions about the way things should be done. They will defend the team and fight its battles with outsiders while, at the same time, strongly support fellow tam members. Accordingly these individuals provide team stability. Reporter-advisers are good listeners and tend not to press their point of view on others. They tend to favor getting more information before making decisions. As such, they perform an important role in encouraging the team to seek additional information before making decisions and discouraging the team from making hasty decisions.

The last role – the linkers – overlaps the others. This role can be assumed by any actors of the previous eight roles. Linkers try to understand all views. They are coordinators and integrators. They dislike extremism and try to build cooperation among all team members. They also recognize the various contributions that other team members make and try to integrate people and activities despite differences that might exist.

If forced to, most individuals can perform any of these roles. However, most have two or three they strongly prefer. Managers need to understand the strengths that each individual can bring to a team; they need to select team members on the basis of a appropriate mix of individual strengths and allocate work assignments that fit each member’s preferred style. By matching individual preferences with team role demand, managers increase the likelihood that the team members will work well together. Unsuccessful teams may have an unbalanced portfolio of individual talents, with too much energy being expended in one area and not enough in other areas.