Belbin Australia Rep Spotlight on the Team Role of PLANT
The Plant, is someone that we know can contribute new and original ideas at the start of a project, or when things bog down.
They are often founders of original and pioneering companies or ventures, and can offer teams much needed seeds of innovation.
The flipside of the coin for them by way of their Allowable Weakness is that their ability to put themselves into “satellite” thinking mode can make them a little unorthodox and uncaring about practical details.
They may also be unable to communicate their ideas clearly and in a practical and organised way to those of a more pragmatic profile.Now, their “Non Allowable” weakness comes from the tendency for Plants to react strongly to criticism or praise of their ideas, which they may become quite strongly attached to.
If not careful, Plants can use their creativity to defend their own ideas or engage in competitive combat with other Plants or the critique of the Monitor Evaluator.
Sometimes they need to accept that no matter how much they love a new idea of theirs, it needs to be reviewed and developed with other team role types to make sure that it can work reliably in reality.
The Plant is a thinking oriented role.
Some famous (and infamous) Plants
Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Steve Jobs, Lady Gaga, Douglas Adams, Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, Adolf Hitler, John Cleese (arguably all of the Pythons?), George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney, Madonna.