Leavitt dealt with the analysis of patterns of interaction and communication in groups, and also interferences in communication. He examined the personality characteristics of leaders. He distinguished three types of managers:
The visionary and charismatic leader is characterized by being original, witty, and uncompromising. He is often eccentric and seeks to break with status quo, and embarking on a new path. Historical examples of such leaders were Gandhi, Hitler, Gladstone and the Ayatollah Khomeini.[citation needed]
The rational and analyzing leader' are holding to the facts supported by numbers. He is systematic and can effectively control. Examples of this type are Clement Attlee, Robert Peel, or Jimmy Carter.[citation needed]
The pragmatist – The contractor of established plans, skillfully solving problems. Leaders of this type are typically not visionary. They seek to subjugate the people to their will. Historical examples: Bismarck, Lenin, Stalin, Lyndon B. Johnson.[citation needed]
Works
Managerial Psychology. Éditions University of Cahicago Press, Chicago-London, 1975,
Corporate Pathfinders. Homewood, Ill. Dow Jones-Irwin in 1986
Harold J. Leavitt and Jean Lipman-Blumen: Hot Groups : Seeding Them, Feeding Them, and Using Them to Ignite Your Organization. Oxford University Press 1999, ISBN 0-19-512686-6
Top Down, Why Hierarchies are Here to Stay and How to Manage Them More Effectively Harold J. Leavitt, Harvard Business School Press, 2004
Notes
^ a b cStewart, Jocelyn Y. (19 December 2007). "Stanford professor was organizational behavior pioneer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 August 2019. Republished as "Harold Leavitt, 85; melded behavioral science, business". Boston Globe. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
^Pearce, Jeremy (26 December 2007). "Harold J. Leavitt, 85, Management Expert, Dies". New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
^"Memorial Resolution: Harold J. Leavitt". Stanford Report. Stanford University. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
^"Leavitt, Harold J. 1922-2007 (Hal Leavitt, Harold Jack Leavitt)". Gale. 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
^"Stanford organizational behavior pioneer Harold Leavitt dies at 85". Stanford University. 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
External links
"Harold Leavitt: An Oral History", Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program, 2003.
Sources
Richard Koch: The dictionary management and finance. Tools, time, techniques from A to Z, Publisher Professional School of Business, Kraków 1997.