There have been many attempts to describe the different roles played by members of a team. Some people bring the ideas, others implement them, some people challenge norms, others protect them. Here is my canonical list of the 5 primary roles played by members of an effective team: the Inventor, the Smith, the Knight, the Shepherd, and the Hero. Each role is characterized by a yin-yang dualism which I call the soft version and the hard version.
Inventor
Values: Innovation
Personality: Creative
Aspects: Truth, Beauty
Balanced By: Knight, Shepherd
The primary role of the Inventor is to come up with new ideas and to challenge the existing order. A productive inventor helps a team innovate and respond to change. When unmoored, the inventor can become a pie-in-the-sky dreamer, a crank, and a manic depressive.
Smith
Values: Productivity
Personality: Hard Working
Aspects: Industrious, Organized
Balanced By: Shepherd, Hero
The role of the Smith is to get the job done, and solve the problems in front of them. A productive Smith is the one who is focused on implementing the plan, but the Smith can also pour effort into things that don’t add value (or that are counterproductive).
Knight
Values: Loyalty
Personality: Vigilant
Aspects: Threat Sensitivity
Balanced By: Hero, Inventor
The role of the Knight is to protect the norms and processes of the team, and to cut down bad ideas. The Knight is protects the identity of the team. A Knight can also become a bad apple if they haven’t bought in to the team’s identity, and can oppose the formation of a new team identity.
Shepherd
Values: Unity
Personality: Compassionate
Aspects: Empathy, Harmony
Balanced By: Inventor, Smith
The role of the Shepherd is to build relationships and protect the unity of the team. The Shepherd is the glue that knows (and likes) everyone. A Shepherd is essential to bringing (or keeping) the team together, but they can lose sight of the big picture by focusing too much on people and not enough on team goals and productivity.
Hero
Values: Status
Personality: Charismatic
Aspects: Achievement, Enthusiasm
Balanced By: Smith, Knight
The role of the Hero is to lead, achieve, and tell the team’s story. A Hero is comfortable understanding and influencing other peoples emotions. An effective Hero can help keep the team focused, as well as be an effective advocate for the team. A Hero can also fall into the trap of becoming over competitive, or telling people what they want to hear.
