The Unlearning of Managerial Skills: A Qualitative Study of Executive Officers

Abstract

Although the abilities of executive officers to unlearn may have a significant impact on organizational unlearning, few studies have investigated the individual unlearning transition. The goal of this study was to examine the managerial unlearning process upon promotion from senior manager to executive officer, based on the upper echelons perspective and leadership pipeline model. Analyses of interview data with 46 executive officers at medium and large‐sized Japanese firms indicated that they unlearned and learned their managerial skills in relation to ‘decision making’, ‘delegation and motivation’, and ‘collecting information’, and that the unlearning process was discontinuous. Specifically, decision making skills were switched from ‘short‐term, analytic, and partial’ to ‘long‐term, intuitive, and holistic’. Skills in delegation and motivation were transformed from ‘directive’ to ‘dedicated and entrusting’. Skills in collecting information were switched from ‘direct collection’ to ‘network‐based collection’. This study contributes to the literature on managerial skills by showing empirically the discontinuous nature of management transitions with regard to an unlearning perspective.