What is your role in a team?
Take the team roles test and find out which of the 9 team roles you fall into naturally. 63 questions, instant result, no sign-up. You will see your leading role, your real strengths, the trade-offs that come with them, and which roles complement yours best.
What you'll learn
Your leading role in a team, out of 9
Your strengths and the trade-offs that come with them
Which group your role belongs to: ideas, people or action
How to raise your contribution in shared work
Which roles complement yours and who you work with most easily
Key facts
History & development
A study of how small groups develop puts the question of roles inside a team on a systematic footing
Empirical research shows that a balanced spread of roles is linked to team performance
A team role test is published; knowledge of roles predicts a member's effectiveness
A review reduces 154 described roles to three dimensions: dominance, sociability, task orientation
About the methodology
The idea of team roles grew out of an observation that research has supported since the 1960s: a team's result depends not only on how skilled its members are, but on what behaviour each of them brings into the shared work.
A 2017 review reduced 154 team roles described in the literature to three behavioural dimensions: dominance, sociability and task orientation. Our model spreads that across nine roles in three groups: ideas, people and action.
The point is not to attach a label, but to show which behaviour a team is missing. Research on team effectiveness finds that a balanced spread of roles tracks results more closely than the average ability level of the members.
Learn more about the 9 team roles
Open the role catalog
See how each team role shows up at work, how it helps the project and which roles complement each other best.
All 9 roles: ideas, people and action
Idea Generator
Creative, imaginative, free-thinking. Generates ideas and solves difficult problems.
Opportunity Scout
Outgoing, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities and develops contacts.
Facilitator
Mature, confident, identifies talent. Clarifies goals and delegates effectively.
Driver
Challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.
Analyst
Sober, strategic, discerning. Sees all options and judges accurately.
Harmonizer
Cooperative, perceptive, diplomatic. Listens and averts friction.
Organizer
Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas into actions and organizes work.
Quality Guardian
Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out errors and polishes.
Expert
Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills in rare supply.
Scientific references
Frequently asked questions
What are team roles?
A team role is the behaviour a person naturally brings into shared work: who produces ideas, who holds the schedule, who takes the heat out of a disagreement. A role is not the same as a job title or a skill set. Research since the 1960s finds that the mix of behaviour in a team explains results at least as well as the average ability of its members.
Which 9 team roles does the test cover?
Nine roles in three groups. Ideas: Idea Generator, Analyst, Expert. People: Opportunity Scout, Facilitator, Harmonizer. Action: Driver, Organizer, Quality Guardian. Most people have one leading role and one or two strong secondary ones.
Is the test scientifically grounded?
The model draws on published team-role research, including a 2017 review that reduced 154 described roles to three behavioural dimensions, and studies linking a balanced spread of roles to team performance. The test itself is a self-report questionnaire for reflection, not a selection or clinical instrument.
How do I find my role in a team?
Answer the 63 statements about how you usually behave at work, quickly and without overthinking. The result ranks all nine roles by score, names your leading one and shows which roles complement it. Comparing your top two or three roles tells you more than the single highest score.
Can my team role change over time?
Yes. A role profile shifts with experience, with the team you are in and with what the work demands. People often take a different role in a team that already has a strong driver. It is worth retaking the test after a change of job or team.
How long does the test take?
63 questions, about 10 to 12 minutes. Answer quickly and intuitively: your first reaction usually describes your real behaviour better than a considered one.
Instructions
Rate each statement from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Answer honestly based on your real team experience. There are no right or wrong answers.
Ready to start?
Over 1500 scientifically validated tests. Completely free and no registration required.