Improving organizational learning through leadership training

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to evaluate whether training of managers at workplaces can improve organizational learning. Managers play a crucial role in providing opportunities to employees for learning. Although scholars have called for intervention research on the effects of leadership development on organizational learning, no such research is currently available.Design/methodology/approachThe training program consisted of theoretical and practical elements aimed to improve line managers’ transformational leadership behaviors and, in turn, improve organizational learning. The study used a pre- and post-intervention evaluation survey. Line managers’ and their subordinates’ perceptions of organizational learning were measured with the Dimensions of Organizational Learning Questionnaire and with post-intervention single items on organizational learning.FindingsComparisons between pre- and post-intervention assessments revealed that managers’ ratings ofcontinuous learningand employees’ ratings ofempowermentandembedded systemsimproved significantly as a result of the training. The leadership training intervention had positive effects on managers’ perceptions of individual-level and on employees’ perceptions of organizational-level aspects of organizational learning.Originality/valueThe study provides empirical evidence that organizational learning can be improved through leadership training. Both line managers and their subordinates perceived that organizational learning had increased after the training intervention, albeit in different ways. Implications for developing leadership training programs and for evaluating these are discussed.