| | It's not easy when
people see you as the
prophet of doom, but
take comfort from the
fact that every
successful team needs
someone to play that
role.
A few years ago,
Meredith Belbin produced
a study of what made
some business teams
successful and others
not. He concluded there
were a number of roles,
which a successful team
needed. If a role was
over-represented, or
missing altogether,
there was a good chance
the team’s performance
would fail when compared
to that of a
better-balanced team.
It sounds as if you
naturally fall into the
category of the
"monitor-evaluator".
Belbin's Wikipedia entry
describes this as a
"sober, strategic and
discerning member, who | |
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| | tries to see all options
and judge accurately.
This member contributes
a measured and
dispassionate analysis
and, through
objectivity, stops the
team committing itself
to a misguided task."
And that's the
problem isn't it? The
team is beginning to see
you as the person who
puts the stopper on
things, instead of
someone who makes things
happen. Although you
seem to be sensitive to
the reaction of your
fellow consultants, an
important characteristic
of the monitor-evaluator
is concern for the truth
of the situation,
irrespective of
short-term popularity.
So people performing
this essential role in a
team can easily overlook
some options that will
make life easier for
themselves and everyone | |
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| | else.
Your first task is to
build personal
confidence in your
contribution. I suggest
you read up a little on
Belbin's work, and check
out my theory that you
fit into this category.
This will help you to
understand the essential
nature of your role for
the team, and to meet
defensiveness from other
team members with
understanding, rather
than becoming defensive
yourself.
Next, you need to
find some way to get
others to recognise your
role and see it in a
positive light. Collect
your facts, and then
discuss your track
record with whoever
manages your team. If
other team members see
your contribution as a
constructive way to
prevent embarrassing
mistakes, you may well | |
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| | find that you are given
a slot to say your
piece. At first this
might be done in a
jocular way that you
find irritating, but
it's better to have a
recognised role, than
simply be seen as a
gratuitous irritant.
Third, think about
timing to make sure your
contributions don't
spill out at
embarrassing times for
the team.
Monitor-evaluators tend
to hang about in the
background and leave
their contribution until
they are sure of their
facts. It can be
inconvenient, to say the
least, if you don't
become sure of your
facts until the client
is sitting in the room.
Which brings me to
the last point. A famous
and long-serving prime
minister once singled
out a member of the | |
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| | cabinet for praise
because he brought
solutions, whereas
others brought
problems." It may be
that your valuable
capacity for critical
analytical thinking gets
in the way of your
potential for creativity
– it's often the case.
If this is so, try to
partner with someone who
is good at ideas and
innovation (what Belbin
calls a "plant").
If you can work
together to bring
solutions to the team,
and find ways to
illustrate the added
value your changes
bring, you are likely to
get a better reception.
Much of it comes down to
timing. Someone once
said, "People can take
good news; people can
take bad news – but they
can't take surprises". | |
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