How Managers Learn to Become Strategists: Evidence From a Longitudinal Case Study

This research investigates how managers learn to strategize within the context of a strategic change, using a performative lens as a guiding framework. Through an embedded case study of a large multinational organization undergoing a major strategic transformation - specifically, the implementation of a customer-centric business strategy - we examine the learning processes of 21 managers over three years. Despite receiving similar training and development opportunities, managers exhibited diverse ways in constituting themselves as strategists. Our findings highlight that strategizing is not an innate ability but rather an ongoing process enacted through acquisition and iterative practices of specific skills. These practices include navigating interpersonal interactions within the organization and engaging with external stakeholders, as well as developing intrapersonal capabilities such as resilience, sensemaking, and effectively managing organizational politics. Our work advances the understanding of managerial learning and participation in strategy implementation, offering practical implications for management development programs.