Teams and Team Roles in the Age of AI

Understanding and harnessing Team Role Superpowers to thrive and survive in the Age of AI.

Recent World Economic Forum reports - The Future of Jobs 2025 and Human Advantage 2026 highlight the rapid rise of AI, yet also elevate the importance of human capabilities such as our adaptability, leadership, social influence, resilience, empathy, curiosity, talent management and complex problem solving.

The reports reference concepts such as Brain Capital and the Brain Economy,  recognising that the future is not entirely about replacing humans with AI, but about combining our unique human capabilities with AI.

We see Belbin’s Team Roles and the Belbin Reports as valuable tools help make our “human superpowers” become more visible in the Age of AI. 

Here at Sabre and Belbin we feel that people will need to become more human than ever in order to leverage their human superpowers that AI still cannot replicate.

AI usage is widespread and accelerating.

Recent studies from global organisations such as McKinsey & Company suggest business usage of AI has now climbed to between 78% and 88%.

This spans a spectrum from accidental usage, where people are using tools with embedded AI, through to experimentation, pilot programs and fully integrated adoption. Fully embedded usage is estimated at approximately 35 - 40%.

What does this mean for teams?

Team contributions can become increasingly uneven as AI rapidly absorbs some forms of work traditionally performed by humans.

Collaboration patterns shift as individuals can now do “a little more of everything.”

Someone who previously could not write marketing copy, analyse data or create presentations may now use AI tools to perform these tasks competently. Functional boundaries may therefore blur, overlap or duplicate.

There can also be the illusion of enhanced capability where AI outputs mask underlying human weaknesses or gaps in expertise.  We can all look a bit more capable than we may really be by using AI.

At the same time, many organisations are still unclear about:

• What tasks AI should perform;

• What tasks should remain human-led; and

• Which activities work best through a combination of human and AI capability.

As a result, many teams are struggling to keep their human strengths visible while integrating AI effectively and responsibly.

Some organisations are also operating with outdated or only partially developed policies governing their AI usage. Emerging norms around AI and Team Roles may therefore exist informally, but remain largely unspoken.

Team members may feel pressure to increase their speed and productivity to keep up with AI pace, while role clarity becomes less certain. Confidence, trust and AI fluency can also vary dramatically across teams.

The human superpowers that AI still cannot replace.

For more than 40 years we have worked with and researched human team behaviours, helping organisations measure individual and collective strengths and weaknesses in an evidence-based way.

As Dr Meredith Belbin famously said:

“Nobody is perfect, but a team can be.”

But what happens when AI joins the team?

Is AI a friend, a frenemy, or eventually an enemy?

Much depends on how intentionally we use it, and how much self-awareness we bring to teams that now effectively include AI as another team member.

We all bring strengths and weaknesses into the workplace, and so too does AI.

The 'Rain man' analaogy.

I recently discussed this with a long-term client using the analogy of the film Rain Man.

In the film, Dustin Hoffman’s character possesses some amazing savant capabilities for pattern recognition and analytical thinking, yet he struggles with social interaction and navigating the messy realities of the human world. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise’s character is highly effective in the human world through the ‘gift of the gab’, intuition, instinct and interpersonal skill.

Individually, both had their limitations. Together, their combined skills became a great multiplier.

AI does have extraordinary strengths, but it also has some significant weaknesses.

While powerful, AI still lacks genuine human empathy, intuition, ethical judgement, lived experience, emotional connection, leadership presence and the nuanced behavioural dynamics that will shape real teamwork.

Self-awareness as a human advantage.

What are your human superpowers that AI cannot replace?

As AI rapidly expands into more industries and professions, self-awareness is no longer just a ‘nice to have’ workplace trait. Increasingly, it is becoming a mechanism for professional survival.

Belbin has undertaken large-scale research using more than 78,000 recent datasets comparing Self-Perception Inventories with Observer Assessments.

Where strong correlations exist between how individuals describe themselves and how reliable workplace observers experience them, high self-awareness is considered present. As discordance or confusion between our self and observer data increases, self-awareness decreases.

Only 17.7% of the analysed datasets demonstrated high levels of self-awareness.

This finding aligns closely with the work of organisational psychologist Tasha Eurich, whose research suggests that while approximately 95% of people believe they are self-aware, only around 15% genuinely demonstrate accurate self-awareness in practice.

In other words, most people substantially overestimate how well they understand:

• Their own behaviours;

• Their strengths and limitations; and

• The impact they have on others.

  
  

Improving workplace self-awareness is something Belbin has focused on for decades, and in the Age of AI we believe it is becoming more important than ever.

Self-awareness, teams and better OODA Loops

Strong teams and effective working relationships are built by individuals who genuinely understand their own strengths and weaknesses.

It also helps create better OODA Loops.

What is an OODA Loop?

The John Boyd OODA Cycle, or OODA Loop as it’s more often called, is a decision-making framework standing for:

• Observe

• Orient

• Decide

• Act

  
  

Boyd argued that success comes not from acting faster alone, but from learning, adapting and making better decisions more effectively than competitors or opponents, especially in a complex and risky environment.

Today, the OODA Loop is widely applied beyond the military across business, leadership, emergency management, sport and team performance to help teams adapt in rapidly changing and uncertain environments.

AI can accelerate parts of the OODA Loop. However, bypassing human judgement, reflection and not challenging or blindly trusting AI outputs, can be very dangerous.

We often use the analogy of a boat:

AI may make the engine faster and more powerful, but if the crew lacks situational awareness and effective OODA Loops, the more powerful engine may simply drive the boat onto the rocks faster.

So the key question becomes:

Is AI increasing or decreasing your team’s collective intelligence?

In our observation, optimal usage can absolutely enhance collective intelligence.

However:

• Over-reliance on AI may gradually erode human thinking, judgement and capability;

• Under-utilisation may leave teams less competitive than those using AI effectively.

We therefore see a “Goldilocks Zone”.  Not too much AI, not too little AI, but a balanced integration where AI supports, rather than replaces, human capability.

In short:

Use AI as the tool. Keep humans as the architects. Preserve the human advantage.

Competitive advantage can be eroded through both under-using and over-using AI.

Integrate human strengths with AI capability.

Develop better self-awareness.

Become more aware of others.

Improve your AI fluency.

And develop better OODA Loops than your competitors.

Early insights from recent Belbin research in HR, L&D and OD

Belbin has recently commenced a global survey involving HR, Learning & Development and Organisational Development professionals, with more than 250 responses collected so far.

This is an early preview of some emerging themes ahead of a more comprehensive paper to come from Belbin R&D.

AI is creating genuine opportunities for teams

We asked:

“What excites you most about the use of AI in HR, L&D and teamwork?”

The leading response centred on improving efficiency and reducing repetitive administrative work.

What does this mean for teams?

AI has the potential to enhance team performance by freeing people to spend more time being human:

• Higher-value collaboration;

• Better working relationships;

• Improved problem solving;

• Faster idea generation; and

• Reduced administrative burden.

  
  

AI-supported insights may also improve decision-making while accelerating brainstorming and innovation processes.

Teams also have concerns

We asked:

“What concerns you most about AI and teamwork?”

The strongest concerns centred around:

• Losing the “human touch” in teamwork;

• Fairness and bias;

• Trust; and

• Over-reliance on AI outputs.

What does this mean for teams?

Teams are actively trying to balance the efficiencies of AI with the human qualities that make teamwork meaningful:

• Trust;

• Rapport;

• Communication;

• Psychological safety; and

• Genuine connection.

  
  

Concerns around bias and fairness also reflect an awareness that AI outputs can introduce real risks into team environments and decision-making.

AI is provoking mixed emotional reactions

We asked:

“When you work alongside AI, what best describes your main feeling?”

Responses ranged from:

• Excitement;

• Curiosity mixed with caution;

• Comfort with appropriate governance;

• Concerns about trust, bias and accuracy; through to

• Fear of replacement.

What does this mean for teams?

These diverse emotional reactions directly influence:

• How confidently people adopt AI;

• How effectively they use it; and

• Whether they feel psychologically safe enough to question AI outputs or raise concerns.

  
  

Four key conclusions emerging so far.

1. Self-awareness is becoming a critical factor.

Self-awareness acts as an anchor in rapidly changing environments.

Where possible, AI should enhance Team Role contributions, not simply threaten them.

Innovation and creativity remain a whole-team affair. At present, AI is best viewed as another contributor within the team ecosystem, not a replacement for the many forms of human behavioural contribution that are needed.

2. The impact of AI on teams is real.

Organisations need to:

• Create human-friendly guardrails for AI coming into their workflows;

• Preserve psychological safety; and

• Acknowledge genuine fears around AI adoption.

  
  

3. Diversity matters more than ever.

Teams should be cautious of:

• Louder voices dominating AI usage;

• Over-reliance on only some working styles that appear more aligned with AI; and

• Reduced diversity of thought.

4. Teams need to find their “Goldilocks Zone”

AI is an extremely powerful tool, but for the foreseeable future, humans are still likely to remain the architects.

There are things that AI cannot, and should not do.

The challenge for organisations is determining what the right balance looks like for their teams.

“I think, therefore I am.”

René Descartes

This famous quote captures how humans have traditionally understood identity, consciousness and sentience.

Debate now increasingly surrounds whether advanced AI systems may eventually demonstrate forms of reasoning or consciousness. The looming possibility of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) adds another layer of uncertainty, representing a form of intelligence potentially far beyond human capability.

What happens if AGI arrives?

Will AI ultimately become friend, frenemy or enemy?

Time will tell.

But for the foreseeable future, we believe effective, balanced and self-aware human teams remain an essential part of the landscape.

Talan Miller

Managing Director

Sabre and Belbin Australia

This article is adapted from the presentation made at the AITD (Australian Institute of Training and Development) National Conference in Brisbane Australia 2026.