Levinson, Harry: Present at the Creation

Abstract

Harry Levinson (1922–2012), psychoanalytically trained clinical psychologist, teacher, consultant, influential managerial guru, and one of the founders of the organizational development (OD) field, was an accidental consultant. His initial vocational ambition had been to be a teacher, but after undergraduate school in Kansas and service in the military in World War II, he pursued his PhD in clinical psychology. While still a graduate student, Levinson parlayed his disgust at what he observed in the Kansas state mental hospital into a life-long focus on organizational change and development. He not only wrote what was for a long time “the book” on Organizational Diagnosis, but he also influenced generations of consultants in helping them learn organizational change skills in a “learning by observing” and “learning by doing” approach. At a time when few areas of psychology cared about organizational change, he helped to form the field by integrating his own observations and experiences working with live organizations. A clear and lucid writer for both professionals and the general population, Levinson wrote books and articles that are still read and consulted by OD professionals and those in training.