Introduction
Survivor is a show that revolves around two teams of individuals competing between themselves and each other, with the ultimate goal of winning 1,000,000 dollars (“Survivor,” 2017). Despite the fact that the premise of the competition introduces a disruptive element into the game, the team aspect of the game is evident in both the survival and the contest elements of the episode. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the 1st episode of the 23rd Season of Survivor and apply Belbin’s Team Roles model to three characters participating, namely Ozzy Lusth, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, and John Cochran.
Belbin’s Team Roles
Belbin’s model identifies 8 archetypes that are unlikely to be found in pure form in real practice. These types include 4 extravert and 4 introvert roles, namely the following (Driskell, Driskell, Burke, & Salas, 2017):
- Extravert roles: The Plant (PL), the Resource Investigator (RI), the Chairman (CH), and the Shaper (SH).
- Introvert roles: Monitor Evaluator (ME), Team Worker (TW), Company Worker (CW), and Completer Finisher (CF).
Belbin notes that it is nearly impossible to find individuals that purely reflect either of the subtypes, due to the fact that people display mixed patterns of behavior depending on the situation.
Character Analysis
Ozzy Lusth
From the first few moments with his team, Ozzy Lusth has demonstrated him to be a Resource Investigator (RI). That type of personality is classified as an enthusiastic communicator with a penchant for creating morale boosts for the team (Driskell et al., 2017). His first suggestion to others was to take a swim in order to get everyone to enjoy their stay on the island, at least for a little bit. He also shows signs of being a Plant (PL), as the very idea of getting to know each other that way was somewhat unorthodox compared to the average meet-and-greet procedures previously seen on the Survivor show (“Survivor,” 2017). Nevertheless, he does not seem to be particularly systematic in his approach, which could turn into unpredictability, as the group is looking up to him for leadership.
Benjamin “Coach” Wade
Benjamin Wade is an interesting combination of introverted and extraverted qualities. Being a three-time veteran of the show, he knows how to lead a team, and expresses a Chairman (CH) type of team personality. He is calm, confident, and decisive, as demonstrated during the first team assembly (Driskell et al., 2017). At the same time, he is not an exceptional performer in terms of intellect or idea generator, which was the reason why he lost the first challenge to Ozzy (“Survivor,” 2017). His secondary personality type is that of a Team Worker (TW), which was demonstrated by his concern towards other members of the team and his high working ethic.
John Cochran
John Cochran is the first-time participant on Survivor, but is a very big fan of the show, having watched all seasons and even written an award-winning essay on the subject (“Survivor,” 2017). He did not demonstrate any major qualities in leadership throughout the first episode but illustrated his awkwardness and several introverted qualities, such as attention to detail, affluence for gathering knowledge, and a structured pattern of thinking. As it stands, there is not enough information to make a more precise assumption, but he could be a combination of Monitor Evaluator (ME) or Company Worker (CW), based on how task-focused and knowledgeable he is (Driskell et al., 2017). These assumptions may be disproven as the show goes on.
References
Driskell, T., Driskell, J. E., Burke, C. S., & Salas, E. (2017). Team roles: A review and integration. Small Group Research, 48(4), 482-511.
Survivor (2000) Season 23 Episode 1. (2016). Web.