The Belbin Model and famous Belbin Team Roles have been widely used in Australia since the 1980s. The theory was developed by British researcher Dr. Meredith Belbin in the 1970s and has since been used by organizations around the world to improve teamwork and collaboration. The history of Belbin Team Roles in Australia is one of gradual adoption and evolution, with the theory being refined and adapted to suit the specific needs of Australian businesses and organizations.
Belbin's original decade or so of research was conducted in the United Kingdom, where he observed teams of executives working together and identified nine different team roles that he believed were essential for successful teamwork. These roles include Plant, Monitor Evaluator, Resource Investigator, Coordinator, Implementer, Completer Finisher, Teamworker, Shaper, and Specialist.
Each role is defined by a set of behavioral characteristics that are thought to be associated with successful performance in that role.
In the early 1980s, the Belbin Team Roles theory began to be introduced to Australia through the efforts of a few early researchers and adopters who helped add Australian input and research to the theory and tools.
These early adopters included academics, consultants, and practitioners who saw the potential benefits of the theory for improving teamwork and collaboration in Australian organizations. They began to use the theory in their work with clients and to promote it through conferences, workshops, and publications.
Amongst the key figures in the early adoption of the Belbin Team Roles theory in Australia were Dr David Marriott and John Burns, jointly Australia’s first Belbin partners and Distributors.
As the theory became more widely known in Australia, it began to be adapted and refined to suit the specific needs of Australian businesses and organizations.
Today, the Belbin Team Roles theory is widely used in Australia by businesses, government organizations, educational bodies and non-profit groups. It is often used as a tool for improving teamwork and collaboration in a wide range of contexts, from project teams to executive leadership teams.
Sabre Corporate Development is now Sole Belbin Distributor for Australia, operating as Belbin Australia (since 2013), and their local websites can be seen at www.Belbin.com.au and www.SabreHQ.com .
The theory has been shown to be effective in improving team performance and is widely regarded as a valuable tool for enhancing organizational effectiveness in Australia and beyond.