8 Core Skills We Teach in Oxygen’s Management Essentials Program
Overview
Most managers don’t start out knowing how to manage. They’re promoted because they were great at the work, not because they were trained to lead. At Oxygen, we teach managers how to bridge that gap. Through structure, feedback, and practice, they learn the habits that turn individual success into team success.
These are eight core skills we teach on in our Management Essentials program that help managers build confidence, lead with clarity, and bring out the best in their teams.
Key Takeaways
Great managers aren’t born; they’re built through skill development, focus, and daily practice.
Self-reflection turns awareness into measurable growth.
The best managers do less, better - learning to delegate tasks while focusing on the vital few actions that truly create results.
Energy management, not time management, is the key to sustainable performance.
The best managers model balance, focus, and accountability—and help their teams do the same.
About the Author
Michael Knouse is a seasoned executive coach and team facilitator. He helps leaders unlock their potential and unleash their team’s performance. He ensures high-performing leaders go from overworked, overwhelmed, and overcommitted to achieving what matters most without pushing so hard.
From Top Performer to Great Manager: 8 Skills That Make the Difference
A lot of great performers become managers because they’re great at what they do. But managing people is a completely different job.
You can’t rely on the same habits that made you successful as an individual contributor. Leading a team requires new skills: listening differently, setting priorities, and learning when to step back instead of stepping in.
At Oxygen, we see this shift all the time. Talented people are promoted without the training they need to succeed. Because great managers aren’t born. They’re built through practice, reflection, and focus on what really moves the needle.
Here are eight skills we teach that help managers perform at their best and bring out the best in others.
8 Skills Every Manager Needs to Perform at their Best
1️⃣ Self Reflection
Great managers build self awareness like a muscle. They seek feedback to uncover blind spots and patterns that might limit results. At Oxygen, we teach managers how to create a “Manager Operating System” that leads to better self awareness. One element of this involves a process called the ‘Manager Mirror’ - a way to intentionally engage with your team to request feedback, self-reflect, and adjust behavior as needed. Honest self reflection, combined with timely feedback, is a sure path to improving performance over time.
2️⃣ Focus on the Vital Few
Effort is not the bottleneck. Engaging in activities that dilute your time and energy is. Most managers are spending too much of their valuable time doing things that are urgent, but not that important. At Oxygen, we have managers audit their calendars and prioritize what really matters. The rest gets delegated or eliminated. Put 80 percent of your energy into the 20 percent of actions that move your core metrics. Write tomorrow’s single outcome the night before and make it the first work you do the next day. If it doesn’t move the needle, it becomes a candidate for deletion or delegation.
3️⃣ Communicate with Purpose
Great communication is a force multiplier. It clarifies expectations, deepens trust, and reduces conflict. And yet, most managers are leaving this to chance, either winging it completely or avoiding the hard stuff. Learning how to give and receive feedback effectively is a skill we master in the Management Essentials program. When communication barriers are removed, purposeful and deliberate dialogue becomes the norm.
4️⃣ Set Clear, Trackable Goals
Big initiatives demand clear outcomes. At Oxygen, we know that converting goals into results requires weekly and daily behaviors with clear and measurable outcomes. Replace vague targets with specific commitments such as setting up five customer interviews by Friday or ship version 1.0 to the pilot group by 4 p.m. Thursday. Track and measure daily/weekly outcomes to drive accountability and keep important initiatives on track.
5️⃣ Match Your Energy to Tasks
You are not a machine. Your brain and body experience peaks and troughs throughout the day. Just like athletes, you have moments that require you to be at your very best. Schedule deep work during your peak energy hours and reserve low energy periods for admin and support tasks. Protect at least one 60-minute time block for important work each day and silence interruptions and notifications during that time.
6️⃣ Embrace Managing Up
Managing up is a critical skill most managers overlook. At Oxygen, we recognize “managing up” as one of 3 key pillars for maintaining team peak performance. Managing up isn’t about manipulation or politics.. It’s about understanding your leadership team well enough to be proactive in your role and become an advocate for your team. Managing up is a key part of manager maturity - keeping each stakeholder’s needs and goals in mind while intentionally guiding the trajectory of your career.
7️⃣ Bring Solutions, Not Complaints
Behind every issue or challenge is an opportunity for you to be proactive with initiating a solution. I can’t think of a better way to showcase your value as a leader than presenting your manager with 1-3 potential solutions for every problem that arises. I was lucky enough to have a manager that demanded this of me early in my career. Now it’s my default mode. Bringing potential solutions to your manager, and demanding the same of your team, is the ultimate leverage for creating a high-performance work environment.
8️⃣ Take Care of Yourself First
Great managers understand that energy, not time, is the fundamental currency of high performance. Those who perform at the highest levels don’t necessarily put in the most work - they are the best at regulating performance via strategic bursts (time blocking) and strategic breaks (resting). Just like a professional athlete, you can’t grind to the point of burnout and expect consistent results. The managers who establish a track record of consistent high performance are the ones that manage their physical, mental, and emotional energy.
New skills, repeatable frameworks, and practice turn everyday managers into consistent top performers.
No one is born a great manager, they become one through practice. At Oxygen, we’ve identified core skills that separate great managers from the rest. These skills aren’t abstract theories; they’re practical, trainable, and measurable skills that help leaders get better every day. From building self-awareness and focusing on what matters, to communicating with purpose and managing energy strategically, these fundamentals shape the kind of managers people love working for. The best managers aren’t the busiest - they’re the most intentional.
Ready to up-level your management team? Learn more about our upcoming cohorts and book a discovery call here.
