Aim. The aim of this study was to explore unit leaders’ views of, and their role as facilitators, of co-workers’ continuing professional development (CPD) in hospital settings. Background. CPD is an important and necessary part of work, but how is it facilitated in a reality of cost cuttings and a priority to run a ward? Methods. This is a qualitative study with a salutogenic perspective. Ten unit leaders described their experiences in semi-structured interviews that were performed in cooperation with another researcher who studied organizational culture. The data was analyzed with qualitative conventional content analysis and the procedure was inductive. Findings. The unit leaders meant that CPD was meaningful and health promoting, but an accepting attitude from the organization and co-workers was desired. CPD was sometimes a requirement from the organization, but the unit leaders’ orders were to prioritize to run the ward, which could affect the possibility to perform CPD. The unit leaders explained that co-workers wanted and needed to work with development, it could be a requirement for staying at work. The unit leaders found it important to drive change and development, but it should be performed by the coworkers. Roles, responsibilities, and work conditions needed to be clarified, which could increase the feeling of involvement and participation and thereby make development of work possible. Conclusion. Goals for CPD needs to be clarified and the valuation and priority increased. Involvement, responsibility and CPD are connected.