14 Understanding Team Member Roles
Venecia Williams; Nia Sonja; and Verna Johnson
When a manager selects a team for a project, its success depends on its members taking on different positive roles. These roles help the team stay organized, solve problems, and move toward its goals. While some roles are essential, having a diverse mix of people and skills also helps the team perform well.
For example, the team may not know how to begin without someone to lead, like an initiator-coordinator. Other members, such as the elaborator, may wait for direction from the manager, who may be busy with other responsibilities. But if too many people try to take control, the team may get stuck in power struggles until one person takes over.
That’s why good managers must also understand people. They need to build teams with various personalities and talents, and help each person find a role where they can contribute.
Table 1 below captures some of these roles.
Table 1: Positive Group Roles
| Role | Actions |
|---|---|
| Initiator-Coordinator | Suggests new ideas or new ways of solving the problem |
| Elaborator | Builds on others’ ideas and gives examples |
| Coordinator | Brings ideas and suggestions together |
| Evaluator-Critic | Reviews ideas and gives helpful feedback |
| Recorder | Takes notes on ideas and group decisions |
| Comic Relief | Uses humour to keep the team motivated and reduce tension |
Adapted from McLean (2005)
Each team member may play more than one role depending on the task. However, all members are expected to contribute to the work. A person who takes on the recorder role to avoid doing real work is not a true team player. This behaviour would be seen as unfair and unproductive in a professional setting.
Table 2: Negative Group Roles
| Role | Actions |
|---|---|
| Dominator | Talks too much and doesn’t give others a chance to speak |
| Recognition Seeker | They bring attention to themselves instead of focusing on the group |
| Special-Interest Pleader | Focuses the discussion on personal interests rather than group goals |
| Blocker | Frequently stops the team from making decisions |
| Slacker | Does little or no work; expects others to carry the team |
| Joker or clown | Distracts others with humour instead of helping the team |
Adapted from Beene & Sheats (1948); McLean (2005)
Understanding Context: When Roles Help or Harm
Sometimes a role can be helpful—or harmful—depending on the situation. For example, a class clown can provide comic relief when the team is stressed. But if the humour distracts people during work time, it becomes a problem. A good initiator-coordinator helps the group stay on track, but a dominator may shut down others’ ideas and make people feel unwelcome or unheard.
The most harmful role is often the slacker. This person does not contribute equally but hopes others will compensate for their lack of effort. It is like a team playing tug-of-war—if even one person stops pulling hard, the whole team’s strength is reduced. And if everyone starts thinking that way, the team’s overall performance will drop.
Preventing Slacker Behaviour
To avoid this, the manager or team leader should clearly define each person’s responsibilities at the start of the project. These expectations should be written down, so everyone knows what they’re accountable for. With clear goals and accountability, team members are more likely to stay motivated and take pride in their work.
When all team members contribute fairly and take ownership of their tasks, the group is more likely to succeed.
Attribution
This section was adapted from Chapter 17.2 “Positive and Negative Team Member Roles” in Fundamentals of Business Communication Revised (2022) and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Reference
References are at the end of this chapter.
