Managers learning in times of change: making the relational visible

What the paper says

Purpose Globally, office-based workers were directed to work remotely during the pandemic period, a situation that has persisted despite organisational efforts to encourage a return to the office. Such changed practice architectures around remote work have prefigured new and altered relational practices for managers and their teams. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relational aspects of managing and implications for manager learning. Design/methodology/approach Twelve managers in Australian organisations were interviewed using semi-structured interviews in 2020/2021 with follow-up discussions in 2023/2024. Using the theory of practice architectures, this paper explores practices of managing and how managers were coming to practice differently through changed practice architectures during the pandemic. Findings The findings showed how changed practice architectures around sites of work, and the use of new technological tools to communicate and collaborate, influenced manager’s relational practices and made visible previously less visible relational aspects of being a manager. Changes in practice architectures during the pandemic surfaced the critical importance of the relational aspects of the manager’s roles and prompted them to come to their practice differently as they worked to care for and engage their teams. Originality/value This research presents significant implications for how we understand learning for managers at work and the ways in which they relate and inter-relate with their teams with practical implications for how managers are supported in their learning at and for work.