Today’s best managers understand that team role knowledge is an important component of effective team performance. Team role knowledge means that team members know the different roles that they need to play for their team to be effective, plus they know when and where to play those roles. For example, a team member might play the role of coordinator when a team first starts, but then the team member shifts over to critic once the team starts designing a new product. Today’s best managers help team members understand and play the right roles when needed.
Source: Mumford, T. V., Iddekinge, . H. V., Morgeson, F. P., & Campion, M. 2008. The team role test: Development and validation of a team role knowledge situational judgment test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 250-267.