Growing Into the Role: How Oxygen Helped a New Manager Lead With Confidence

Manager Success Spotlight: Luisa Fernanda, Talent Matching Manager at WorkBetterNow

Overview

Luisa Fernanda's timing could not have been better. She started Oxygen's Management Essentials program toward the end of last year, and in January she was promoted to Talent Matching Manager at WorkBetterNow. That meant she was stepping into her first leadership role and learning the frameworks to do it well at the very same time.

What followed was a six-month stretch of real growth: her first hire as a manager, a major department transition as a new Director came on board, and her first time leading a team through change. Oxygen gave her the tools and the personalized coaching to navigate all of it. That kind of timing is rare. By some estimates , nearly 60% of new managers receive no formal training before stepping into the role. Luisa's story shows what happens when manager training arrives exactly when a new leader needs it most. She is one of several WorkBetterNow managers whose growth is now part of Oxygen's Work Better Now case study.

Key Takeaways

• Starting Management Essentials right as she stepped into her manager role gave Luisa a foundation to grow into, rather than skills to retrofit later

• Coaching with her instructor Michael helped her build a strong working relationship with a new Director during a period of change

• Coaching strategies, accountability conversations, and development plans turned an early performance challenge into real growth for a team member

• Learning to recognize and prevent burnout reshaped how she manages workload and team capacity

• A more confident, structured approach to hiring let her onboard a new team member with role clarity and clear expectations from day one

• A reframe of accountability, from punishment to ownership, and frameworks that complemented her company's EOS structure changed how she leads

• A cross-company, cross-cultural peer cohort built her confidence to speak up and share ideas

The Right Program at the Right Moment

Luisa joined WorkBetterNow as a recruiter and grew over three years into a matching coordinator before stepping into management. When the manager promotion came in January, she was already partway through Management Essentials.

"I truly felt like I was growing into my leadership role while learning the tools and frameworks to become a better leader. I was very, very grateful."

The timing showed up immediately. Just one week into the course, Luisa hired a new person for her team.

"Having guidance on onboarding, role clarity, accountability, and those leadership conversations really helped me. One of the biggest lessons I took from the course was understanding that accountability is about ownership, not punishment. It's about creating a culture where people say, 'I'll make sure to get this done and done right,' instead of me asking them to do everything at every point. That was something I was having trouble with."

Coaching Through a Season of Change

Luisa's coaching sessions with her instructor, Michael, became the part of the program she returns to most. Her move into management arrived alongside a major change for her department: at the same time she was promoted, WorkBetterNow welcomed a new Director.

"Michael helped me navigate that transition. He taught me how to better understand my Director's working style, communication preferences, expectations, and leadership approach. He gave me tools and guidance that helped me adapt more effectively and build a strong working relationship during a period of change and growth."

That kind of personalized support set the program apart. Michael followed up by email after their sessions and checked in later to see how things were going, something Luisa had not experienced in earlier training.

"I participated in another managerial course before, but we didn't have that. We just had exercises and homework. There was no one supporting me. So it was really good to have someone in that journey."

Turning a Challenge Into Growth

Another area where Michael offered real support was helping Luisa think through coaching strategies, accountability conversations, and development plans for a team member who was working through an early performance challenge. These are conversations many managers avoid: roughly 69% of managers say they are uncomfortable communicating with their employees. With Michael's guidance and Oxygen's frameworks and guides, Luisa approached hers with structure, patience, and care.

The payoff came with time.

"After implementing many of the approaches we discussed and giving the process time to work, that team member is doing an incredible job today and has shown significant growth. Looking back, it was a valuable learning experience for both of us, and it helped me become a more confident leader."

Spotting Burnout Before It Starts

Another lesson that left a mark was learning to recognize and prevent burnout, both for herself and for her team. The need is real: more than half of managers report feeling burned out at work. The program helped Luisa think differently about workload management, team capacity, and how to have proactive conversations about support and development before pressure builds.

Hiring With Confidence

The clearest sign of how far she had come arrived when Luisa recently grew her team by bringing on an additional member. Her first hire had happened just one week into the program, when she was still finding her footing. This time was different.

"It was incredibly rewarding to realize how much I had learned. I felt much more prepared to create a structured onboarding plan, establish role clarity from day one, set clear expectations, define success measures, and provide the support needed for a successful transition into the role. It was one of those moments where I could clearly see how much I had grown as a leader throughout the program."

Frameworks That Complemented, Not Competed

WorkBetterNow runs on EOS, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, a structured approach to meetings, scorecards, and company goals. Luisa was concerned her team saw her as simply following that script. Oxygen gave her more ways to create clarity.

"With Michael, we learned different frameworks to give feedback depending on the situation and the person's personality. I learned frameworks not only for feedback, but for how to say no, how to understand my manager, things I didn't learn with EOS. It complemented it."

She brought SMART goals, role-play exercises, and new feedback frameworks like SBI into her one-on-ones and team meetings.

"It really helped me improve how I manage my team and define expectations. A lot was changing when we started, and I was figuring out how to cascade all of it to my team in a clear way."

Learning Out Loud With Peers

Luisa and a colleague were the only participants from Latin America in a cohort otherwise made up of managers from U.S. companies. Practicing live in a second language was hard at first, and it became her favorite part of the program.

"At the beginning it was really difficult, because I'm shy and it's not my native language. But it challenged me to think more strategically and let me learn from other perspectives. It helped me build my confidence and learn how to share my ideas."

Some of her peers had years of management experience, and the live exercises gave her a window into how they approached the same challenges she was facing.

"It was really good to hear how they would approach things. Sometimes I'd share a situation I was going through, and they'd give me tips and advice. I appreciated that, and I'll miss it."

That peer connection continued beyond class. Luisa works alongside two WorkBetterNow colleagues who went through the program with different coaches, and they still trade notes.

"There was a case two weeks ago where my colleague said, 'What would Michael recommend here?' It's really nice. Since we follow EOS, it's complementary, and it's really good."

Not Another Course You Click Through

Luisa had taken management courses before, and they never stuck.

"I really dislike courses where you join a meeting and the person teaching just reads the presentation. Here, I had to pay attention because I knew I'd have an exercise. With the other courses, I had homework, but now that AI exists, it was easy to just ask AI what I'd do and send it in. This was different."

She also valued the rhythm of celebrating progress. Michael always asked the cohort to share a win.

"That pushed me to do something during the week. It was good to have a moment to celebrate our achievements."

Luisa offered one thoughtful suggestion for making the program even stronger: more real-world examples from experienced leaders.

"It would be helpful to see a real example, maybe through videos or a demonstration, of someone experienced applying the frameworks. Sometimes I wasn't sure if what I practiced with my peer was right or not."

Why It Matters That Her Employer Invested

The business case for that kind of investment is hard to ignore. Gallup finds that managers account for roughly 70% of the variance in team engagement, which makes developing them one of the highest-leverage moves a company can make. You can see more of those outcomes across Oxygen's programs.

For Luisa, the fact that WorkBetterNow paid for this training carried real weight.

"I'm from Guatemala, and I've worked for a lot of companies. I truly value having someone invest in me so I can grow. I never received that from any company I worked for before. I feel pretty committed, because they invested in me. Now everything I learned, I have to practice and deliver great results from it."

Looking back, the biggest change is her own confidence.

"Before, I was not able to maintain a conversation with anyone. Now I'm able to hold a conversation and share my ideas. That was really good."

And the deepest lesson reframed what leadership means to her.

"The biggest impact on my growth is that it taught me how to be a good leader. Being a leader isn't only about results. It's about how you guide, support, and develop people along the way. That's something different that Oxygen taught me compared to other courses I've gone through."

Ready to give your managers more than another online course? Explore the Management Essentials program or see what other managers have to say.