Paul Hersey (January 26, 1931 - December 18, 2012) was a behavioral scientist and entrepreneur. He was best known for conceiving
Situational Leadership
Situational Leadership Theory, or the Situational Leadership Model, is a model created by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, developed while working on ''Management of Organizational Behavior''.Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1969). ''Management of Or ...
. Hersey published ''Management of Organization Behavior'', which is now in its ninth edition.
Hersey taught about training and development in leadership, management, and selling. He was also a consultant to industrial, government, and military organizations.
Hersey was born in 1931 to Ralph Emerson Hersey and Beatrice Bromell. He was a Distinguished Professor of
Leadership Studies
Leadership studies is a multidisciplinary academic field of study that focuses on leadership in organizational contexts and in human life. Leadership studies has origins in the social sciences (e.g., sociology, anthropology, psychology), in ...
at
Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University (NSU or, informally, Nova) is a private nonprofit research university with its main campus in Davie, Florida. The university consists of 14 total colleges, centers, and schools offering over 150 programs of study ...
. He had been a faculty member of
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
, California State University, Chico,
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
, and
Ohio University
Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...
. He also served in the roles of Chairman of the Department of Management and Dean of the School of Business. Hersey had also served as Project Director for the Industrial Relations Center of the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, Training Director at
Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Company, and Department Head at
Sandia Corporation
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), also known as Sandia, is one of three research and development laboratories of the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). Headquartered in Kirtland Air Force Bas ...
.
Hersey's works included ''Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources'', ''Organizational Change through Effective Leadership and Selling: A Behavioral Science Approach''. His most recent books included ''The Situational Leader'', ''Situational Selling'', ''Situational Service: Customer Care for the Practitioner'', and ''Situational Parenting.''
Hersey contributed to the Isolobella lecture series at
Alliant International University in San Diego, hosted by Symlog. He received degrees from various institutions including a Doctorate of Education from the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
, M.B.A. Degrees from the Universities of Arkansas and Chicago, and a B.S. Degree from
Seton Hall University
Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the ...
.
In the 1960s, Hersey established the Center for Leadership Studies, which provides training in Situational Leadership, as well as Situational Coaching, Parenting, and Selling. Hersey credits Douglas McGregor and Carl Rogers as being foundational to his early thinking on management and leadership.
Hersey married his wife Suzanne
[Lessons in Leadership An Interview with Paul Hersey by Charles W. Blackwell] in 1968 in Pleasants, West Virginia.
and was known colloquially as 'Doc'.
See also
*
Situational leadership theory
Situational Leadership Theory, or the Situational Leadership Model, is a model created by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, developed while working on ''Management of Organizational Behavior''.Hersey, P. and Blanchard, K. H. (1969). ''Management of O ...
References
External links
Center for Leadership StudiesHersey's group that provides SL training
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hersey, Paul
University of Arkansas alumni
Seton Hall University alumni
University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education alumni
Ohio State University faculty
University of Arkansas faculty
Northern Illinois University faculty
Nova Southeastern University faculty
1931 births
2012 deaths
American motivational speakers
Human resource management people
University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni