One of the most heartbreaking fallouts of the Covid situation has been the migrant workers walking back home. In this workout we will explore emotions, assumptions, beliefs and behaviour. Take a close look at this video below??

After viewing, close your eyes for just a minute or two.
? What are two or three feelings and emotions that have been aroused in you?
? What are some assumptions and beliefs that could be taking hold of those migrant families.

? What is your top team role. What could be a mature response of your top Team Role to this situation which continues to exist. An opportunity to be the change you want to see. Lets begin the sharing in the comments section below!

Migrant Workers- Feelings, beliefs, assumptions, behaviours

Share your thoughts and insights in the comments section below

Belbin Workout- Teenage Tantrums

Try your hand at the Belbin Workout we had recently. Here is a scenario some parents may relate to!

Sammy is a 14 year old. She is your quintessential teenager.? You try to set limits she’s the one trying to push the boundaries. She’s got an answer ready for any comment from you. Her peer group influence is strong and this adolescent phase is demanding more patience from you than you can imagine. The current lockdown is making matters worse since she doesn’t get the opportunity to go out. Her screen time has really increased. ??You are regretting taking the Netflix subscription.?️ You really want this to change!!

Your top roles are those of RI and ME

Sammie recently did her Belbin Getset with observer inputs from her friends and family and her top roles came out as RI, PL and SH. You were pleasantly surprised about the PL!

You plan on having a dialogue with her with the objective of reducing her screen time.

Here’s your question for reflection

? What would be some approach suggestions for this conversation

A few weeks ago, I had quite a “Eureka” experience during a one-on-one exclusive coaching session. Even at higher levels in this client organisation, the Development Center outcome is an important input in one’s career progression. Understandably, my coachee was nervous about the forthcoming Development Centre.

My focus during coaching has been trying to help the coachee build an ‘Authentic Leadership’ style. Belbin has been an effective tool here, especially for ‘Conflict Resolution’ at personal, within team and intergroup levels.

 What excited me was the use of Belbin to help approach the Development Centre with confidence. Case Studies was what my coachee pointed out as being a part of the DC that he wasn’t excited about. In the past,  ‘case studies’ was always something he believed he didn’t do very well at. We took an HBR case, this particular one called for competencies in Data Analysis, Decision Making and Achievement Orientation. I advised the coachee to visit his Belbin Workstyle report and internalize his  four workstyles. 

His top four work styles were :

We then spent time reflecting on his  Belbin Work Style associated Mantras. Eg: “I like the challenge of digging for answers”. He began to see the case study in this light and realised he naturally had the ability to possibly do well and even enjoy a case study!.

Having had a dialogue which led to a reality check of the four workstyles described above, the coachee  embarked on the exercise  of doing the case analysis with the conscious playing to his strengths. Eg: “I’m ready to take hard decisions and Lead from the front”

Therefore  what are some of the hard decisions the protagonist in this case study would need to take to lead from the front’ 

Believe me, the results were magical. Once he tapped into his self-belief and drew from his strengths his approach to the case study was novel, unique and most of all authentic!

We also tried the approach in the ‘Role play’ exercise and the measure of confidence was as high and insightful.

Subsequently, I tried the experiment on another coachee where his top four team roles were ME/PL/CO/RI. The results were again exciting. The second coachee used the workstyle report to prepare for his client project review presentation. He phoned me up a few days ago to share his excitement about the open appreciation he received from the client reviewing head.

The Belbin Work Styles report does have great value and lends itself to creative leadership applications.

– Leslie D’Souza

Breakthrough performance by a project team demands close collaboration and teamwork. Teamwork that produces outstanding results is an art and skill wherein team members are able to design a working process wherein individual strengths are brought out and harnessed and weaknesses are managed.

Here are some strategies to enable giving the best in a team:

1. Enabling greater Team Role contribution:
    
   If the presence of the Team Role contributions is key to a team’s success, then enabling team members to make these contributions becomes the responsibility of every team member. Eg: A process step requires that activities are completed meticulously, in time and with perfection. For team member A who is a Completer Finisher (CF) to be able to contribute the above behaviours, it becomes important that he also gets support from the rest of the team. The team on their part then can make clear the nature of the priorities and the deadlines so that team member A is spending his energies on the aspects wherein the CF behaviour is required the most. Also keeping in mind that CFs always adhere to deadlines and with the added internal drive for perfection, it will truly enable team member A to function effectively if the team does not set unrealistic deadlines.
    
   For insights on what you can do and what you should avoid to enable your colleagues to play their Team Role to better effect, refer to annexure ‘Dealing with Different People’

 

2. Deploying your manageable role:
    
   There are situations wherein as a manager, one may be required to make contributions that are not part of one’s preferred Team Roles. Eg: a situation where a senior colleague needs to be dealt with tact and sensitivity. If one’s top Team Roles are largely action roles, then behaving in a way that shows unilateral focus on the task with little or no regard for the sensitivity of the person will not be helpful. In such situations, a shift in Team Roles is needed. Adopting a manageable role will need a conscious sense of self-discipline.
    
   How can one effectively deploy one’s manageable roles?
   • Keep in mind what is the outcome you need. Eg: in the above example, one may need the colleague to know that he is being listened to and getting his ‘buy in’ is crucial. Hence keeping this outcome in mind, one is better able to focus one’s attention and adopt the manageable Team Role that will enable this outcome.
   • Be aware of the time period for which you need to play the role so that you are aware that it is manageable and don’t get worked up. Playing a manageable role can be stressful because it requires conscious effort. Being aware that some discomfort is part of this exercise and that you are making the TR contributions for a limited time, can help one focus on giving one’s best and effectively manage the accompanying stress.
   • Ask another for feedback. This is crucial. Ask your team members to give you feedback on how you played your manageable role. This will go a long way in you polishing the contributions you can make whenever you have to adopt your manageable role. Since team members are aware that you are playing a manageable role, there is also openness in providing feedback. Asking others for feedback also encourages others to make conscious efforts to polish their own Team Roles.

 

3. Delegating:
    
   As a manager, delegating effectively becomes an important skill. It is essential to choose well what to delegate and what to keep, so as to ensure a good output. It is important to delegate in a field where your strength is lacking- processes that require your least preferred roles. By elegating work associated with certain Team Roles, you can essentially give responsibility over those Team Roles to others, yet retaining the interactive relationship and communication.
    
   When delegating:
   • You could consider someone who is suitable (has the aptitude, interest, requisite
     Team Roles) but is barely eligible.
   • Eligibility refers to qualifications, past experience.
   • If the person is barely eligible but highly suitable in terms of Team Roles, investing in bringing that person to the required level of functional knowledge is highly recommended. This raises commitment, engagement of person and effectiveness of end result.

 
 
Action Points for Self:

Background:

When an organisation operates in a dynamic, high pressure environment and is on the brink of a new phase of growth and expansion, one of the key factors that enables success is a leadership team that is equipped to address the challenging times, leverage opportunities and most importantly tap into and synergise strengths that employees bring to the table.   Emcure Pharmaceuticals is one of India’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies  and an organisation that truly believes in the power and potential of our country. It is well on its journey to realise its vision of ‘Emerging as a technology driven global player offering high quality and cost effective healthcare.’’

The pharma industry in particular calls for very high levels of compliance and a stringent work ethic.  Emcure focusses on robust research, manufacturing processes and expanding its footprint globally.  At this crucial point in its journey, Emcure appreciates the focus and support that needs to be given to leadership across the organisation inorder to be equipped with the ability to lead change and make the vision a reality.

The Belbin Leadership Transformation Journey

Emcure chose the Belbin team roles to enable this leadership transformation process which began in 2014. Close to 400 employees (as of May 2016) within the organisation have been equipped with the Belbin Team Roles language and insights

The result? In the words of the line managers themselves, ‘better collaboration, improved team spirit, effective delegation, smoother processes, enhanced engagement and worklife balance!’

Intact teams are now further enhancing their performance and productivity by leveraging the team role insights. Short impactful  meetings facilitated by the inhouse Emcure Belbin champion allows teams to leverage their Belbin insights in day to day working.

Here are some snippets  of the sharings of the leaders  from the ‘Belbin Learning Convention’  that was held for the Leadership  across the organisation.

Murali Athali who is an AGM Production leveraged Belbin to ensure better collaboration within teams working on shifts. He was grappling with the issue of conflicts cropping up and being called at wee hours of the morning to listen to team members and having to help resolve ruffled feathers.  On studying his shift teams, he realised that he had too many ‘Shapers’ in the same shift. He then re- assigned teams such that the Shapers and Monitor Evaluators were spread across teams. Result: Better  team working!

Harshad Shirwaikar- Director SCM, shared how Belbin has helped teams adopt  a positive mindset and a problem solving approach.

Better harmony in the team with reporting managers now understanding their subordinates and putting the right people in the right role given a chance depending on their strengths were high points for Vinda Dharu – Associate Director R&D

Dr Jayant Tilekar, Project Management Head,  spoke of how people are now, on their own, rising to the occasion when their strengths are required.

It was absolutely heartening to see leaders and line managers speak a language that gave them the ability to leverage resources and understand team dynamics.

We are excited to see Emcure emerging into an organisation that’s a leader in culture transformation and change!

Special Thanks to Mr V.D Kulkarni (Sr. Director HR) and Mr Rajesh Nair (Director HR) for inviting us to partner on this journey, their support and backing and to Mr. Vishal Karad (Head Learning & Development) for anchoring and driving the learnings within the organisation!

Here’s a quick read on the various applications of the Belbin Team Roles. Also happy to email you a document on the value and applications. Do share your email id here. (we will check with you before sending any other communication!) 

I recently got back from a spiritual retreat and as with the aftereffects of good retreats, basking in its fruits of  greater clarity of thought,  renewed energy and that quiet confidence in knowing one’s next step. And while I sense a newness of approach to my work, I begin to think of how important it is for all of us to take that time off- more so in the corporate world where work pressure and deadlines can easily encroach upon every available minute!  Not switch off,  but take time off from regular, every day routine, tasks and chores to really spend time reflecting, discovering- like an artist, to take a step back and look at the canvas one is painting on, look at the palate one is using, look at those spots that don’t seem to fit in and say ‘what does this picture need?’

I believe Leadership Development Programs are fantastic opportunities to take that time off, to take a step back and let your intuition kick in, draw from your experience, challenge oneself with new  perspectives and equip oneself in the leadership journey.  Here are three ways to make the experience a rewarding one:

Discover–  Use the opportunity to discover your unique strengths and skills, what is characteristically you, and reflect on how can you best leverage this in your current work context. Take out those profile reports from your last leadership program, read them once again; you’ll find new insight, new areas to leverage. Go on, do it and you may find aspects, words that strike a chord, ideas to leverage and put into practice today (here’s a link to a previous article on how to integrate your Belbin team role strengths at work-  Create engaging KRAs leveraging one’s core strengths). Science tells us that experiencing awe can have transformative effects- man is said to be the masterpiece of all creation. What wonder lies within us. Shouldn’t we then take the time to discover, nurture the gifts and strengths we have and and more importantly ensure that we are leveraging them in new ways to build our teams and society.

Challenge- Challenge  yourself with new perspectives. As Marshall Goldsmith has famously said ‘What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There’.  Growing calls for letting go of the old and letting the new evolve. That’s not always easy, but therein lies strength and seed of resilience.  Leadership Development programs provide the platform to be introduced to and familiarize oneself with new  approaches. I believe the maximum learning can take place when an approach is not in alignment with what we are used to/ comfortable with. Such situations always present personal learning and with reflection, often present deeper insight into our selves and what we consider valuable.

Assimilate- Assimilate your new learnings that they take seed in your memory. It is so important to consolidate our personal insights and takeaways from a learning experience if one is to leverage them. I have found that especially during learning interventions, its always been best for me to consolidate and organise my learnings (ie write them down) before I get back to my familiar home/ work environment.  The key is to consolidate one’s learnings before distractions from the workplace and home reach you. This allows for the action plan to be put in place before you hit the road again post your learning retreat. Fantastic to have the learnings/action plan put up at your workplace in an accessible place where it serves us a regular reminder/ check.

Leadership Development Programs with the inputs and environment to develop and enhance one’s strengths, truly are opportunities to take that much needed  time off to take a step back and reflect on one’s ‘leadership canvas’.  Harnessing  these opportunities for personal growth will definitely go a long way in enhancing effectiveness. Wishing you an enriching experience the next time you take your ‘time off’!!

Check out the Belbin Team Leadership Discovery session to experience an opportunity that allows for Discovery, Challenging one’s perspective and structured Assimilation of learnings.