Introduction

Research that supports the principles presented in this book that govern the discourse on meetings is drawn from a variety of sources. A body of psychological and management knowledge is focussed on human relations in general; management research into groups and teams; and, more recently, in the context of best practice corporate governance, roles and attributes of members, and how they impact the responsibilities and behaviour of the participants in board meetings.

Psychological research into human interactions and relations in organisations has been developed over decades. It includes studies of personality characteristics and ‘types', and of relationships between people. Personality ‘types' have been constructed from observations of various forms of behaviour. Examples of characteristics include extraversion – associated with active, sociable, assertive people – which contrasts with introversion – associated with reserved and quiet people. People also differ in whether they feel that their actions are controlled by external factors, or whether they are ‘internals': that is, people who exert control over their actions and lives.

Belbin (1993a) used the research scales of introversion and anxiety/stability to produce four types. Stable extroverts excel in jobs that place a premium on liaison work, and where co-operation is sought from others; anxious extraverts are commonly found where people need to work at a high pace and exert pressure on others; stable introverts work well where good relationships with a small number of people need to be maintained over a period; and, lastly, anxious introverts exhibit self-direction and persistence, and are often found among creative people.