Abraham Zaleznik
Abraham Zaleznik
Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus
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Abraham Zaleznik is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He received his AB degree from Alma College, Magna Cum Laude in 1945 and later was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 1992, Alma College conferred the honorary degree Doctor of Letters. Harvard Business School awarded him the MBA degree with distinction in 1947 and the Doctor of Commercial Science degree in 1951. Zaleznik began his career at the Harvard Business School as a research assistant in 1947. He became a full professor in 1962 and then inaugurated the Cahners-Rabb professorship in social psychology of management. In 1982, Zaleznik along with his friend and colleague Professor C. Roland Christensen traveled to Japan to Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of the famed Matsushita Electric Company. As a result of this meeting in Osaka, Japan, Mr. Matsushita pledged the funds to the Harvard Business School to establish a chair in leadership, the first gift to an American university of its kind. Harvard University elected Zaleznik to this chair, from which he taught The Psychodynamics of Leadership and continued his research on leadership. In recognition of his 43 years on the Faculty, the Harvard Business School Alumni Association awarded him the Distinguished Service Award in 1996.
Featured Work
Hedgehogs and Foxes: Character, Leadership, and Command in Organizations
by Abraham Zaleznik
In this compelling look at charismatic leaders and their leadership styles, Abraham Zaleznik asserts that leaders are either 'hedgehogs,' who view leadership as a single-minded track driven by unwavering rules, or 'foxes,' who assess and re-evaluate their goals and strategies based on ever-changing factors in business, politics, and culture. Covering dynamic personalities from Dwight Eisenhower to Martin Luther King, Jr., Zaleznik draws illuminating conclusions about psycho-politics and negotiations of power and command, celebrating innovative problem-solving skills.