Teamwork is not an easy concept to implement, especially when nurtured in a cultural environment where leadership from the front is so deeply embedded.

In conversations, I ever so often encounter the same difficulties that trouble management and employees alike. Teamwork requires equality and mutual responsibility. In one sense, management may feel disempowered; in another, team members have to make a conscious effort and sacrifices.  

I am not even surprised that so many people even from HR fields, so easily connect certain Belbin team roles with leadership capabilities, just because they eagerly connect their characteristics with ambition and power.

Is fire more powerful than water?

All Belbin team roles are equal and eligible for a leadership role, in an era where effectiveness is not just measured by the decisions taken but also by the way decisions are implemented for results. The process is as important.

Can we describe the ideal leader? And how could a leader keep up as priorities and expectations change in time?

Leadership is about motivating and encouraging effort for change. However, no leader will ever succeed without an effective team, who all together would ensure flexibility, objectivity, passion, perseverance and credibility.

So, where does leadership start?

By knowing yourself, your targets and the reasons those targets are selected. 

Only then, a balanced team can be created to complement each other in a developmental and difficult journey.