ABSTRACT
To move from brainy atoms (individuals) to brainy molecules (teams) needs the skills of team chemistry, otherwise known as facilitation, sometimes by someone within the team, sometimes by an external agent (catalyst), if the degree of personal involvement or complexity of the issue demands it. A great team facilitator adopts a range of styles that are consistent with the need, shifting shapes in response to the evolving need across the entire spectrum of behavioural styles available to them. Dr Meredith Belbin's was fascinated by how management teams worked or did not work. He summed up some of the concepts in his first book Management Teams: Why They Succeed or Fail. Belbin said, "Nobody is perfect but a team can be". We must manage differences in biodiverse teams and a first step toward this ambition is to understand the raw materials working with.
