Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore managers' learning-oriented leadership, and what conditions managers face when working with the promotion of employees' learning. Design/methodology/approach: Data was collected through semi-structured interviews with managers in three manufacturing firms. Verbatim expressions of the interview participants were analysed using stepwise analytical procedures. Findings: The managers used many kinds of activities to promote learning. Most common were activities related to learning opportunities that arose during daily work. The identified activities ranged from being planned to occurring more spontaneously. Depending on the situation or the learning activity, the managers used different behaviours to promote learning. They supported, educated and confronted employees, and they acted as role models. Factors constraining the implementation of learning-oriented leadership included limited resources, and a lack of commitment from top management, employees or the managers themselves. Research limitations/implications: Future research should study learning-oriented leadership from the employees' perspective. Practical implications: Managers' notions about learning and development constitute an important condition for learning-oriented leadership. Therefore, managers need to be trained in how to promote their employees' learning at work. Originality/value: This study adds to the limited knowledge of how managers carry out a learning-oriented leadership in their daily work. The findings contribute knowledge regarding managerial practices of promoting employees' workplace learning by identifying different activities and behaviours that managers could incorporate into their leadership.