TEAM THEORY: Informal team roles

Team members can also have informal roles:

1. Encourager: Rewards others through agreement, warmth, and praise
2. Harmonizer: Mediates conflicts among team members
3. Compromiser: Shifts his or her own position on an issue in order to reduce conflict
4. Gatekeeper: Smooths communication by setting up procedures and ensuring equal participation
5. Standard setter: Expresses or calls for discussion of standards for evaluating the quality of the team process
6. Commentator: Points out the positive and negative aspects of the team’s dynamics and calls for change if needed
7. Follower: Accepts the ideas offered by others and serves as an audience for the team