Building Teams, Building People

School Administrator, Feb, 1995 by Raymond S. Kellis

Building on the premise that empowerment of others is a viable expectation for effective administrators, Thomas Harvey of the University of LaVerne and Bonita Drolet of the Placentia Yorba Linda, Calif., Unified School District have written a book on implementation strategies in this critical area.

Building Teams, Building People focuses on the concept that true success in any venture, particularly education, is measured in terms of effectively uniting groups of empowered people in a common purpose.

The authors advance the theorem that endowing people with power is essential in building a productive organizational climate. Other essentials, such as creating teams, setting norms, managing conflicts, and prompting creativity (inspiring entrepreneurship) are discussed in separate chapters as part of the structure for organizational success.

The book is readable, crisply written, and well documented. It provides tables, charts, and usable instruments with prescriptions for the team-building process. The authors often reference personal experiences in their roles as organizational leaders.

(Building Teams, Building People: Expanding the fifth Resource, by Thomas R. Harvey and Bonita Drolet, Technomic Publishing Co., Box 3535, Lancaster, Pa. 17604, 1994, 211 pp., with index, $35 softcover)