Table 2 An Illustration of the coding process

Defining management, reporting, supporting human resources, offering service to communities, being informed, planning, coordinating resources, conflict resolution, budgeting and resource control, controlling, collaborating with others, representing others, having knowledge, being in control, managing others, using data, listening to local news, reading research reports, reviewing data, being knowledge.

• Understands his or her roles well.

• Is well informed.

• Is empowered to execute management functions.

A competent health manager

Feeling appreciated, feeling unappreciated, competing interests of managers, having skills gaps, challenges faced by managers, benefits of training, limitations of training, having no choice, feeling overburdened, and having a conflict of interest.

• Formalization of management.

• Conscious career choice.

• Formal training.

Professionalizing health managers

Feedback sharing, support supervision, mentoring, holding meetings, importance of meetings, challenges of holding meetings, noting the benefits of workshops, noting the limitations of workshops, ensuring continuity, preference for multiple and engaging approaches to learning, learning through experience, learning from others, learning by practicing, and learning by doing.

•Mentoring and supportive supervision.

• Quality regular meetings.

• Specific in-service trainings.

• Learning by doing.

• Continuous learning atmosphere.

Engaging learning approaches

Strengthening teamwork, involving other stakeholders, having collective responsibility, learning from others, Receiving external support, enabling conditions, disabling conditions, improving working conditions, being supported, being monitored, being accountable, having conflicts, negative influences.

• Teamwork.

• External support and oversight.

• Empowering condition.

Supportive work environment