Most professionals spend years building the knowledge and credentials they need to advance in their careers. They take courses, earn degrees, and develop deep expertise in their field. But when they get promoted into management for the first time, they quickly realize that none of that prepared them for the part of the job that matters most: leading other people.
To dig into this gap, we spoke with Ashley Fina, Co-CEO of Oxygen and a longtime executive coach and business leader (leadwithoxygen.com). Ashley leads Oxygen, the top-rated management training solution that equips high performers with the skills, tools, and structured support to become highly effective managers. Oxygen works with growing companies to help them build stronger teams through practical, cohort-based manager development programs.
In this interview, Ashley shares why the transition into management catches so many smart, well-educated professionals off guard, and what kind of learning actually closes the gap.
Interview
StraighterLine: You work with managers across industries who are often highly educated and accomplished. Why does management still feel so hard for them?
Ashley Fina: Because everything they've learned up to that point trained them to be great at their own work, not at getting results through other people. And those are really different things.
Think about it: you spend years developing subject matter expertise, whether that's finance or engineering or marketing. You get recognized for what you know and what you can produce. Then one day you're managing a team, and suddenly the job isn't about your output anymore. It's about helping five or six other people do their best work, which requires a completely different set of skills that most formal education just doesn't cover.
StraighterLine: What's missing from how we typically think about professional development?
Ashley: I think we've built this assumption that if someone is smart and driven, they'll figure out management on their own. And that's just not true. Being a great manager requires skills like giving constructive feedback, holding people accountable without damaging trust, and knowing how to have a difficult conversation when the stakes are high. These aren't things that come naturally to most people, and they're definitely not things you pick up from a textbook.
What makes it tricky is that new managers often don't even realize they need this kind of training until they're already struggling. They think the discomfort they're feeling means they're not cut out for it, when really it just means nobody's taught them how to do it yet.
StraighterLine: How does Oxygen's approach to training differ from a traditional course or workshop?
Ashley: The biggest difference is that we're built around practice, not just knowledge. Our flagship program, Management Essentials, runs over six months in a cohort-based format. Managers learn alongside peers who are navigating the same challenges, and they practice real conversations, get live feedback, and apply what they're learning to actual situations at work that same week.
That matters because management isn't something you can learn by reading about it. You have to do it, mess it up, get feedback, and try again in a space where it's safe to be imperfect. We also pair the program with ongoing support through Growth Groups and coaching, so the learning keeps going long after the initial training wraps up.
StraighterLine: For someone who's early in their career and still investing in their education, what would you want them to know about what comes next?
Ashley: I'd want them to know that the skills that get you promoted are not the same skills that make you successful once you're in that new role. And that's okay. It doesn't mean something went wrong. It means there's a whole new layer of learning ahead of you, and the sooner you invest in it, the better off you and your team will be.
The professionals who thrive as managers are the ones who stay curious and keep learning even after they've "made it." They're the ones who recognize that managing people well is a skill in its own right, one that deserves the same kind of intentional development as anything else in their career.
You can see what that kind of development looks like in practice on our client results page.
The Takeaway
Education opens doors, and for good reason. But the transition from individual contributor to manager is where many accomplished professionals hit an unexpected wall. The skills that built their careers don't automatically translate into the skills needed to lead a team effectively.
As Ashley puts it, the professionals who grow into strong managers are the ones who treat management as its own discipline, something worth studying, practicing, and getting better at over time, rather than something they should already know how to do.
Companies interested in building stronger managers can learn more about Oxygen's approach too cohort-based management training.
About Oxygen
Oxygen is a cohort-based management training company that helps growing organizations turn strong individual contributors into confident, capable managers. Through structured programs like Management Essentials, Oxygen equips managers with practical tools for feedback, accountability, decision-making, and team alignment. The company works with organizations across industries to improve execution, strengthen culture, and help managers scale their teams effectively.
Learn more at leadwithoxygen.com
