This work aims to understand how leaders in medium-sized companies act in relation to their teams to provide organizational learning. A case study was conducted of a Sao Paulo-based (Brazil) medium-sized commercial company of the surf-wear segment. Its owner, two supervisors, three store agents and seven members of the customer service team were researched. The data-gathering tools employed were interviews, company documents and non-participatory observation. The data collected were analyzed using the content analysis technique. It was found that the leadership process in the company is quite similar in the hierarchical levels analyzed (supervision and management) and that its assumptions have a direct relation with the beliefs of the company's owner. The latter is primarily concerned with the organization's strategic activities and is the main person responsible for the creation of new knowledge. The middle and operational level professionals, in turn, concentrate mainly on carrying out tasks, using the company's existing knowledge and seeking to improve it through practical experience. It was observed that organizational learning occurs in the work groups in a way that is not very systematic but spontaneous andstrongly based on people's interaction. This is one of the factors in the company's success. In spite of this, it was noted that the excessive dependence of the learning processes on individuals (leaders and those led) is a stumbling block to future growth. The challenge before the organization is to reconcile successful elements of its culture with the setting up of more structured knowledge-generation systems that would allow it to expand.
