Some key highlights and take-aways from The Belbin Global Teams Conference 2024
Several of the Belbin Australia team have recently returned from the 2024 Belbin Global Teams Conference that was held at the prestigious Hinxton Hall in Cambridge.
Below we will set out in brief some of the many take-aways from the Global Distributor sessions and high-calibre workshops conducted by expert Belbin users, clients and distributors. This is a unique conference that allows many of the world’s most expert Belbin users to share their expertise and insights.
To explore any of the subjects referenced in these brief summaries in more detail please feel free to email our Managing Director Talan – Talan@Belbin.com.au and he’ll be delighted to expand upon them with you.
Belbin is more relevant than ever as increased complexity and risk unfold in the world
Belbin Director Jo Keeler and Director of Research Vicky Bird detailed global Belbin data and trends to chart the present and future directions of teams in an increasingly complex world.
The robustness of Belbin’s original research, now built upon with ongoing research in many countries around the world, continues to provide the ‘Gold Standard’ for behavioural awareness and development for individuals, teams and leaders. Belbin is a highly credible and genuinely research-based tool. It has well and truly stood the test of time.
Psychological Safety and Belbin
Dr Philip Merry, expert in Belbin and Psychological Safety, delivered a session on Belbin as an important model and tool to enhance Psychological Safety in teams.
Whilst using the substantive research of Amy Edmonson as a basis, he reminded all global Belbin users that the Belbin Model and its tools have long been enhancing Psychological Safety within teams before the term as it is known now was even coined.
Belbin and experiential learning
Belbin Australia and Sabre Corporate Development Managing Director, Talan Miller, delivered a keynote address and an experiential learning piece before participating in an onstage expert panel.
Key take-aways were centred upon Belbin’s power to enhance experiential learning when well-designed, and how Sabre Corporate Development have used Belbin for over 35 years along with their own practical tools to help teams enhance their business performance.
New report ‘In2 Teams’ here soon
Amongst the new Belbin reports that are due to soon become available in Belbin’s latest online system eInterplace 8 is ‘In2 Teams’.
In2 Teams will enable Belbin users to create automatically balanced sample teams from any SPI and OBS data within their own system and move members between teams to refine composition for balance and functional needs.
Artificial Intelligence and The Future of Teams
Belbin New Zealand delivered a thought-provoking workshop on the present impacts and possible future impacts of AI on learning and development with Belbin.
Will AI replace us, or free us up to be better humans with more meaningful workplace relationships and help us to ‘strengthen our strengths’? Belbin still proves to be an evidence-based tool tap into diversity and superdiversity in a way AI is unlikely to replace soon.
The ‘Key To Me’ working document for people and teams
Gary Hewins of Legal and General and Ewan Henesy of Bowles Rock showcased their powerful ‘Key To Me’ template that enables team members to highly personalise their Belbin data into a pragmatic summary for others, a ‘how to work best with me’ manual of sorts.
One of the most practical tools we have seen developed to help speed the uptake of Belbin for individuals and teams. Once developed it can be kept on hand by team members, filed in Teams accounts etc as a great and easily accessible reminder of how to work best with one another.
Coaching Bodies Recognising the power of Belbin
Belbin China and India detailed the recognition being gained by global coaching bodies such as ICF and SHIM for Belbin as a powerful coaching tool.
Belbin Certification can now often be credited towards professional development and certification with such bodies in China and soon across the world.
Behaviours for Co-operation as ‘Competence’ not just a ‘Value’
Belbin Poland detailed great new research and ongoing confirmation that co-operation is increasingly regarded as a competence and skill as opposed to just a soft value.
The global co-operation survey and other initiatives are undertaking what is being termed as ‘Social Action’ to enhance co-operation as a competence and skill for the future with schools, corporations and government bodies.
Networks of Teams and Inner Development Goals
Professor Chris Jackson and Dr Georgina Els delivered insights on the UN Inner Development Goals that as a component of the Sustainable Development Goals are increasingly relevant to many modern teams.
A possible near future may see organisations governed by networks of self-governing teams and works such as Delors UNESCO report, Frederick Laloux’s Progression of Organisations etc was referenced and explained.
Belbin and the 5 Behaviours of a Cohesive Team
Dee Dee and Mike of Smartt Strategies delivered their current research and insights that effectively dovetail Belbin’s 9 Team Roles into the widely used work of Lencioni.
They demonstrated a practical and useful 5 Behaviours and Belbin ‘Team Role Story’ for teams seeking to unfold behaviours of Trust, Conflict, Commitment, Accountability and Results using their Belbin reports and data.
Many actual client case studies of global Belbin success
Numerous fascinating case studies of successful strategic use of Belbin to achieve real business performance outcomes were explored, including several actually delivered by the senior leaders from the organisations themselves.
Tata, Legal and General and others showed how Belbin offers useful big data to profile not just people and teams, but the whole organisation. Insights for their global teams, and ongoing success as a tool for individual, team and leadership development.
Lego Serious Play
Dr Geraint Wyn Story, an experienced Belbin practitioner and Lego Serious Play advocate, gave a demonstration of how Lego Serious Play and Belbin can be usefully combined.
The fun and energy of the session was underpinned with the serious ability that Belbin has to ensure lasting take-away value from Lego based play at an off-site or meeting.
Belbin and Emotional Intelligence
Belbin India delivered an impactful workshop on Belbin as a useful tool to better explore, understand and leverage emotional intelligence and how Belbin aligns with Daniel Goleman's framework of Emotional Intelligence.
Since its inception Belbin has helped people to apply their strengths to the workplace teams in which they work, and to work with their emotional strengths and weaknesses in the context of their workplace behaviours.
Belbin and Mentoring
Ravi Sundaram of Belbin India ran a session demonstrating how mentoring programmes can be enhanced by finding suitable mentors rather than eligible mentors .
Matching Belbin Team Role profiles with ideal behaviours of mentors identified by managers to the people they need to work with can help accelerate the benefits of mentoring.
More to follow as other Australia attendees process the notes from the workshops that they attended.
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