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30 Eclectic Resources About Edgar H. Schein, Organizational Psychology Pioneer

Three of the most important topics about the inner-workings of organizations currently are psychological safety, organizational culture, and humility. One common factor among these concepts is the pioneering research and writing by the psychologist, researcher, author, and longtime MIT Sloan School of Management professor Edgar H. Schein, who passed away in January 2023 at the age of 94.

Dr. Schein conducted research, and wrote books (in recent years written with his son Peter A. Schein, a former Silicon Valley executive), until virtually the end of his life. He had a strong influence on the likes of MIT Sloan School senior lecturer Peter Senge, author of the seminal 1990 book The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization; and Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School professor and author of The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation and Growth, who is probably today’s most influential scholar on psychological safety.

For instance, Dr. Schein wrote an eight and a half page entry in Senge’s 1999 book The Dance of Change: The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations; A Fifth Discipline Resource. The introduction to his contribution notes that “Ed was one of the founding governors of the Center For Organizational Learning and has been an ongoing friend and guiding spirit for the Fifth Discipline books.”

Schein wrote the foreword for Edmondson’s 2012 book Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy. In chapter four, she writes: “In 1965, MIT professors Edgar Schein and Warren Bennis (later a professor at the University of Southern California), discussed the need to create psychological safety to make people feel secure and capable of changing.”

Berrett-Koehler published the second edition of Edgar and Peter’s book Humble Leadership: The Power of Relationships, Openness, and Trust, last August. It’s the latest in BK’s series of the ‘Humble’ book series (see below), with the second edition of Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling, and Humble Consulting: How to Provide Real Help Faster.

Last April, Wiley published a newly revised, fifth edition ofCareer Anchors Reimagined: Finding Direction and Opportunity in the Changing World of Work, by Edgar Schein, John Van Maanen (the Erwin H. Schell Emeritus Professor of Work and Organization Studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management), and Peter Schein.

Edgar Schein remains an inspirational role model and wisdom figure, with his work being carried on by The Organizational Culture and Leadership Institute. I have curated 30 resources below, including articles, books, interviews, and videos, demonstrating the reach, influence, and importance of his long career and extraordinary life.