Assigning team roles appropriately – to capable team members – sets your team on the path to success. A logical four-step process can help you assign team members to appropriate roles. Each step of the process builds on the last:
- identify tasks – Begin by considering the team's mission and deliverables, which will help you to solidify your understanding of what your team needs to accomplish. Being clear on the big picture will help you to plan the details. Once you're clear on the team's mission and deliverables, work backward from the final deliverable or goal to identify all the component tasks that need to be completed to achieve the desired result. One way of doing this is by using a work breakdown structure (WBS). As you identify tasks, define the key activities that make up the desired output in terms of roles and tasks. This will help you assign roles based on the tasks the people assigned those roles will be responsible for.
- identify required skills – This step will tell you what skills team members need in order to be assigned responsibility for roles, based on the tasks involved.
- identify team member skills – During this step you should identify team member skills and work to determine credentials and character attributes. Once you know what your team members are capable of, you can match them to appropriate roles. You can use various methods to determine a person's skills. You may review their portfolio or resume, conduct interviews, or ask other team leaders and managers for input on a team member's past accomplishments and demonstrated character.
- assign roles – Once the first three steps are complete, you can assign roles to team members. To ensure you assign the most appropriate person to each role, use all the information you've collected in the first three steps.
As team leader, part of your job is assigning roles to team members. You can maximize your team's performance by assigning the most appropriate team member to each team role. A four-step process can help you determine who should be doing what on your team. The four steps are to identify tasks, identify required skills, identify team member skills, and assign roles. Applying this straightforward, logical process will help you take a holistic and effective approach to assigning team roles.