Building Teams, Building People Expanding the Fifth Resource

Here is an update of the previous edition, more relevant for the new millennium. The classic resources in management and team building are people, money, facilities and time. Increasingly, though, the fifth resource_energy_is becoming more crucial. Each chapter of this book deals with one of the five building blocks or resources and concludes with suggested activities and events that managers can use to build that resource. The authors also show the importance of using all five resources together for a manager to be effective. It is important to note that team building is not itself an activity, but the result of attending to the seventeen characteristics that demarcate effective teamwork. When these characteristics exist to a high degree, you have an effective team. It is the manager's job to assess the strength of these characteristics in the organization and then to remediate any weakness. Building upon the strengths of the people in the organization ensures that a manager is building for the future. This widely read practical guide is free of technical jargon, with many examples of successful implementation.

Bonita Drolet is an assistant superintendent of educational services for the Encinitas Union School District in San Diego County, California.