Oxygen is the top-rated management training solution. It equips high performers with skills, tools, and support to become highly effective managers.
We sat down with Nick Herinckx, Co-CEO and Founder of Oxygen, to discuss how strong management practices can unlock scalability for fast-growing, complex organizations—like the global manufacturing and design powerhouses leading their industries today.
Q: You’ve worked with companies that have grown from small teams to global operations. What role does management training play in scaling successfully?
Nick Herinckx:
It’s one of the most overlooked growth levers there is. Most companies hit a ceiling not because their strategy is wrong, but because their managers aren’t equipped for the next stage of scale.
Here’s what happens: a company grows quickly, and the people who were great at doing the work get promoted to lead the work. Suddenly they’re managing people, not projects, and no one’s ever shown them how. They’re trying to motivate, delegate, coach, and align teams while still learning on the fly. That’s when execution starts to break down.
As you add more people, products, and locations, complexity increases exponentially. What used to work—intuition, informal communication, “just figuring it out”—stops working. Without consistent management habits, things fall through the cracks.
That’s where management training comes in. It gives managers the structure and confidence to lead effectively, make decisions independently, and keep teams aligned as the business scales. And when that layer of management is strong, senior leaders can finally shift from firefighting to focusing on the future.
At Oxygen, we see it time and again: when managers are trained, supported, and empowered, companies don’t just grow. They scale sustainably and with far less chaos.
Q: What are the most common growing pains you see as companies move from founder-led to scalable?
Nick:
The number one issue is the bottleneck effect. The founder or executive team is still involved in every decision: approving budgets, reviewing campaigns, solving team conflicts, etc.
It’s understandable, but it’s not sustainable. The business hits a ceiling because one or two people are carrying all the weight. Management training changes that dynamic. It gives managers the frameworks, confidence, and accountability to lead effectively, so senior leaders can step back without losing visibility.
That’s when growth really starts to compound.
Q: You’ve worked with companies that have grown from small teams to global operations. What role does management training play in scaling successfully?
Nick Herinckx:
It’s one of the most overlooked growth levers there is. Most companies hit a ceiling not because their strategy is wrong, but because their managers aren’t equipped for the next stage of scale.
Here’s what happens: a company grows quickly, and the people who were great at doing the work get promoted to lead the work. Suddenly they’re managing people, not projects, and no one’s ever shown them how. They’re trying to motivate, delegate, coach, and align teams while still learning on the fly. That’s when execution starts to break down.
As you add more people, products, and locations, complexity increases exponentially. What used to work—intuition, informal communication, “just figuring it out”—stops working. Without consistent management habits, things fall through the cracks.
That’s where management training comes in. It gives managers the structure and confidence to lead effectively, make decisions independently, and keep teams aligned as the business scales. And when that layer of management is strong, senior leaders can finally shift from firefighting to focusing on the future.
At Oxygen, we see it time and again: when managers are trained, supported, and empowered, companies don’t just grow. They scale sustainably and with far less chaos.
Q: What are the most common growing pains you see as companies move from founder-led to scalable?
Nick:
The number one issue is the bottleneck effect. The founder or executive team is still involved in every decision: approving budgets, reviewing campaigns, solving team conflicts, etc.
It’s understandable, but it’s not sustainable. The business hits a ceiling because one or two people are carrying all the weight. Management training changes that dynamic. It gives managers the frameworks, confidence, and accountability to lead effectively, so senior leaders can step back without losing visibility.
That’s when growth really starts to compound.
Q: For companies operating globally across factories, markets, or divisions, how can strong management make scaling more seamless?
Nick:
Much like diamonds, scalability is all about clarity. When teams are spread out geographically or functionally, the margin for miscommunication skyrockets. Managers are the connective tissue that keeps everything aligned: people, processes, and performance.
We teach managers to lead with systems thinking: how to set clear goals, create accountability rhythms, and communicate across time zones or departments. The goal isn’t just keeping everyone busy, it’s keeping everyone rowing in the same direction.
That alignment is what allows global brands to scale without losing quality, culture, or speed.
Q: Oxygen’s approach emphasizes real-world application over theory. Why does that matter so much in high-growth environments?
Nick:
Because growth doesn’t wait for a classroom. Managers are learning on the job, in real time, often under pressure. If training isn’t actionable, it won’t stick.
Our programs blend short learning bursts, structured practice, and peer feedback. Managers apply what they learn immediately—how to delegate a project, run a productive one-on-one, or give constructive feedback. Those small shifts create massive ripple effects over time.
When every manager levels up even slightly, the entire organization becomes more efficient, collaborative, and resilient.
Q: What’s your advice to leaders who want to grow their company but feel stretched too thin?
Nick:
Stop trying to scale yourself. Scale your managers.
You can’t keep hiring people faster than you can develop leaders. If you want sustainable growth, invest in building management capacity. The sooner your managers can think, act, and problem-solve like owners, the faster your business can expand (without burning people out) or losing what made it great.
That’s the shift we help companies make at Oxygen. It’s not about working harder—it’s about building the systems and people that allow growth to keep happening, even when you’re not in the room.
The Power of Great Management
Behind every high-performing global brand is a layer of confident, capable managers who turn vision into action. Oxygen helps companies build that layer, equipping managers with the skills and structure to drive growth from within. Because great management isn’t just a nice-to-have: it’s the engine that scales your business.