Running Head: TEAM ROLES AND CHARACTER STRENGTHS Team Roles: Their Relationships to Character Strengths and Job Satisfaction

Well-functioning teamwork has frequently been linked to increased work satisfaction and performance. However, there is a paucity of research on the different types of roles in teams. Recently, a new model of role behavior in teams was proposed (comprising seven such team roles: Idea creator, information gatherer, decision-maker, implementer, influencer, energizer, and relationship manager), but an assessment instrument was lacking so far. The present study describes the construction of an instrument for the assessment of these roles in two samples (N = 291 and 274) and examines their relationships with character strengths and job satisfaction. Results show that the team roles are positively related to job satisfaction and most character strengths. The findings support the important role of character strengths in work-related settings and lay ground for further studies on team roles. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1257051 Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-128344 Accepted Version Originally published at: Ruch, Willibald; Gander, Fabian; Platt, Tracey; Hofmann, Jennifer (2016). Team roles: Their relationships to character strengths and job satisfaction. Journal of Positive Psychology:Epub ahead of print. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2016.1257051 TEAM ROLES AND CHARACTER STRENGTHS 1 Running Head: TEAM ROLES AND CHARACTER STRENGTHS Team Roles: Their Relationships to Character Strengths and Job Satisfaction. Willibald Ruch, Fabian Gander, Tracey Platt & Jennifer Hofmann University of Zurich, Switzerland & University of Wolverhampton, UK Author Note Willibald Ruch, Fabian Gander, and Jennifer Hofmann are at the Department of Psychology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Tracey Platt is at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, UK. This study has been supported by the Manuel D. and Rhoda Mayerson Foundation and the VIA Institute on Character. The authors state that there are no conflicts of interest. The authors are grateful to Timon Elmer for his contribution in the creation of the scale and to Sonja Heintz for her help with the data collection. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Prof. Dr. Willibald Ruch, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Binzmuehlestrasse14 Box 7, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland. E-Mail: [email protected] TEAM ROLES AND CHARACTER STRENGTHS 2 Abstract Well-functioning teamwork has frequently been linked to increased work satisfaction and performance. However, there is a paucity of research on the different types of roles in teams. Recently, a new model of role behavior in teams was proposed (comprising seven such team roles: Idea creator, information gatherer, decision maker, implementer, influencer, energizer, and relationship manager), but an assessment instrument was lacking so far. The present study describes the construction of an instrument for the assessment of these roles in two samples (N = 291 and 274) and examines their relationships with character strengths and job satisfaction. Results show that the team roles are positively related to job satisfaction and most character strengths. The findings support the important role of character strengths in work-related settings and lay ground for further studies on team roles.