Dr Paul Hersey biography and quotes

Article by: Vincent van Vliet

Last update: September 9, 2023

Paul Hersey (1931-2012) was a renowned educationalist, entrepreneur, trainer, consultant and a leading authority on management and situational leadership.

Paul Hersey biography

Paul Hersey received several Academic degrees including a Bachelor’s degree (BSc.) from the Seton Hall University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a doctorate (Ph.D.) from the University of Massachusetts.

In 1960 Paul Hersey founded a centre for leadership studies with his colleagues Douglas McGregor and Carl Rogers, which is known as the Centre for Leadership Studies Inc. in Escondido (United States). In addition to training and advice, they also offer coaching and sales training. They mainly serve customers in the public sector, industrial sector and the defence industry.

Paul Hersey served on the faculties of a number of universities including the Nova South-eastern University, the University of California and the Universities of Arkansas and Ohio (United States).

Situational Leadership theory

One of the best-known theories Paul Hersey co-developed with Ken Blanchard is the Situational Leadership Model. This approach (and the supporting model) links leadership effectiveness to practical (team)situations. The Situational Leadership Model has been used to train more than 14 million managers and professionals across the globe.

Famous quotes

“I guess the gift that was given to me was that I can take very complex things and put them into nickel words that everybody can understand.”
“People differ not only in their ability to do but also in their ‘will’ to do'”
“The key to being an effective manager is leadership”
“There seems to be adequate evidence that the number one motivator of people is feedback on results.”
“It is not enough to describe your leadership style or indicate your intentions. A Situational Leader assesses the performance of others and takes the responsibility for making things happen.”

Publications, journals and books by dr Paul Hersey et al

2012, 1977. Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources. Prentice-Hall.
2011. Classics of Organizational Behaviour. Waveland Press.
2010. Plugged: Dig Out and Get the Right Things Done. Clerisy Press.
2010. The Ethical Executive. Stanford Business Books.
1999. Situational Parenting. Leadership Studies.
1996. Great ideas. Training and Development, 50, 42-7.
1989. Situational leadership in nursing. Norwalk, CT: Appleton & Lange.
1988. Management of organizational behavior.
1988. LEAD questionnaires. Center for Leadership Studies Press, San Diego, CA.
1986, 1977. Organizational change through effective leadership. Prentice-Hall.
1985. Situational Selling: An Approach for Increasing Sales Effectiveness.
1982. Leadership style: Attitudes and behaviors.
1982. Grid® principles and situationalism: Both A response to Blake and Mouton.
1979. Life cycle theory of leadership. Training and Development Journal.
1979. Situational leadership, perception, and the impact of power. Group & Organization Management, 4(4), 418-428.
1978. The Family Game: A situational approach to effective parenting. Addison-Wesley.
1976. Leader effectiveness and adaptability description (LEAD). The 1976 annual handbook for group facilitators, 5, 133-142.
1974. So you want to know your leadership style?. Training & Development Journal.
1974. What’s Missing in MBO. Management Review, 10, 25-32.
1972. The management of change: I. Change and the use of power. Training & Development Journal.
1970. A Leadership Theory for Educational Administrators. Educ, 90(4), 303-10.
1969. Life cycle theory of leadership. Training & Development Journal.

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Original publication date: 07/06/2012 | Last update: 01/12/2023

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Article by:

Vincent van Vliet

Vincent van Vliet is co-founder and responsible for the content and release management. Together with the team Vincent sets the strategy and manages the content planning, go-to-market, customer experience and corporate development aspects of the company.