Diverging and converging perspectives: Exploring the leadership of informal learning in knowledge work

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines how experiences of informal learning and its management diverge and converge across organizational levels in a knowledge-intensive organization. The study bridges a gap in comparative perspectives concerning informal learning leadership by examining managerial and employee points of view.

Study design/methodology/approach: The study employed a qualitative, cross-sectional case study design with 18 semi-structured interviews with managers and employees from within a multinational IT and consulting organization.  Data analysis was conducted by an inductive thematic analysis, enabling the emergence of themes related to informal learning, learning modalities, leadership engagement and organizational support structures.

Findings: The findings indicate a consensus among managers and employees that informal learning is important, but there is significant disagreement regarding its visibility, support and linkage to career development. Managers tended to depict their role as enabling autonomy, while employees perceive a lack of structured support and recognition. Informal learning was found to be prevalent but extremely invisible in formal organizational processes.

Originality/value: This study deepens understanding of the leadership of informal learning by highlighting the concept of "symbolic autonomy", where support for learning is rhetorically there without substantive mechanisms. It provides a theoretical contribution by positioning the relational and systemic aspects of informal learning leadership in the front line and offering practical understanding of how informal learning can be embedded more effectively within organizational practice.