Page 84 - Harnessing the Strengths

Dilemma 2: Rules Versus Exceptions ■ 67

its members. This immediately gives a deeper meaning to
the term diversity.
The identifi cation of and distinguishing between these
roles is only the beginning. The role of a servant-leader is
to reconcile the fundamental differences between the indi-
vidual team roles and assert a positive infl uence on the rela-
tionship between those roles.
In the fi rst phase of team development, defi ning the
task, Belbin makes a distinction between the role of the
unorthodox Plant, who comes up with creative ideas, and
the Monitor-Evaluator, who contributes his or her fair share
of distant and careful critique. He or she critically evaluates
the ideas of the team and does problem analysis. As you can
see in Figure 6.2, it is necessary to take a critical look at the
Plant in order to avoid building castles in the sky. On the
other hand, if the Monitor-Evaluator holds sway, there are
no more ideas left over.

Strangled at Realize ideas through critical oxygen
birth (1,10) (10,10)
Universal, critical appraisal … (5,5)

Blue skies
(10,1)

Particular, creative ideas
Figure 6.2 Universal criteria versus unique ideas; Belbin’s Monitor-Evaluator and
Plant team roles