MRQ CASE STUDY
Accelerating Manager Growth with Training + Coaching
How MrQ partnered with Oxygen to layer training & coaching that translated into real behavior change.
Manager Ratings Before & After Program
Delegation
4% → 22% rated "Excellent"
Constructive Feedback
0% → 22% rated "Excellent"
Goal Setting
36% → 77.8% rated "Good/Very Good"
Difficult Conversations
0% → 16.7% rated "Excellent"
Overview
Mr. Q is a fast-growing, bootstrapped company scaling quickly. As headcount grew, leadership recognized a familiar challenge: managers were deeply committed to the company but lacked consistent training in people management.
Mr. Q partnered with Oxygen to design a layered manager development journey combining Management Essentials foundations with Growth Groups and 1:1 coaching to ensure learning translated into real behavior change.
Through the program, managers showed measurable gains in confidence and capability across every core people-management skill, demonstrating that training creates clarity, and coaching makes it stick.
Company Background
Scaling Without Losing Culture
Founded in 2018, MrQ is a high-growth company known for its strong culture and internal mobility. As headcount expanded from roughly 80 to more than 180 employees, internal promotions accelerated — a strength that also exposed a capability gap.
Managers knew the business and lived the company’s values, but many had never received fundamental management training in how to:
Create accountability
Delegate effectively
Run performance conversations
Lead teams through change
“We had incredible startup energy,” said Claudia Farrugia, Head of Operations at MrQ. “We were growing fast, hitting numbers, and people wanted to stay and grow with the company.”
The Challenge
Accountability Under Pressure
“In our leadership meetings, accountability kept coming up again and again,” said Farrugia. “Projects stalled, performance issues lingered, and we didn’t always have the right tools to address them.”
Senior leaders found themselves pulled into tactical people challenges that should have been handled at the manager level. The issue wasn’t talent or intent. It was inconsistent management fundamentals, and no shared system for applying them under real pressure.
MrQ needed more than a one-time training. They needed reinforcement, practice, and support over time.
“We were dealing with people who cared deeply about the business, but didn’t have the tools to create accountability consistently.”
- Claudia Farrugia, Head of Operations
The Solution
A Layered Development Journey
Instead of relying on a single intervention, MrQ and Oxygen designed a three-part approach that built capability and sustained it.
Phase 1: Management Essentials Foundations
The journey began with Oxygen’s Management Essentials framework, focused on practical tools managers could use immediately, including:
delegation and role clarity
feedback and performance conversations
accountability and meeting effectiveness
Learning emphasized simplicity, real examples, and role-play, giving managers early confidence and shared language.
Phase 2: Internal Enablement for Consistency
Foundational content was adapted into a three-month internal program aligned to MrQ’s culture, values and ways of working. This phase built alignment — but leaders understood that behavior change happens in application, not instruction.
“The role-playing and real examples made it practical,” said Farrugia. “It wasn’t theoretical. It was immediately usable.”
Phase 3: Coaching & Growth Groups — The Accelerator
To ensure skills translated into day-to-day behavior, MrQ layered in six months of individual and group coaching with Oxygen.
The model was intentionally differentiated:
Senior leaders received 1:1 private coaching, creating space for candid reflection and personalized problem-solving
People managers participated in Growth Groups, reinforcing learning through peer discussion and real-world application
Growth Groups normalized challenges and accelerated learning through shared experience, while private coaching enabled deeper honesty and faster progress, especially for leaders navigating complexity and scale.
Managers weren’t just learning what to do. They were supported in doing it, consistently.
Results
Leaders Stepping Into Their Role
As managers grew more confident and consistent, senior leaders began to notice changes in how work showed up across teams.
Leaders observed:
Managers taking greater ownership of delegation and goal clarity
More intentional conversations about priorities and performance
Managers stepping into a more strategic posture, rather than staying in day-to-day execution
“I have seen them step into more of a strategic role, rather than staying in the weeds of operations”
These signals reinforced that as manager capability increased, leadership capacity expanded alongside it.
From Learning to Lasting Change
MrQ’s experience reinforced a powerful truth: training creates understanding, but coaching creates consistency.
Management Essentials provided the foundation.
Growth Groups accelerated practice.1:1 coaching unlocked depth and durability.
Together, they turned learning into lasting behavior change.
YEAR FOUNDED
2018
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
180+
MISSION
Make every play unforgettable
Invest in training that drives results
Your managers are the bridge between your strategy and your results.
Investing in their success isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a business imperative.
👉 Schedule a Consultation to learn how Oxygen can help you build a stronger, higher-performing organization.