About the Session:

The skills that get you promoted aren’t always the ones that make you effective once you’re there. Stepping into a leadership role, especially from within your own team, brings a set of challenges that are rarely discussed openly: navigating shifting relationships, silencing self-doubt, and finding a way to lead with authority while remaining approachable. This is the kind of honest conversation that doesn’t happen in a classroom. Join two industry experts as they lead an open, experience-driven conversation on the realities of early leadership. If you are thinking about advancement, preparing for a leadership role, a recent graduate stepping into management, or an early-career professional navigating a promotion from within their organization.

Session Highlights:

  • Managing the transition
  • How to reframe your role when moving from peer to manager without losing your team’s trust.
  • Earning respect when promoted from within
  • Practical strategies for establishing credibility with a team that already knows you.
  • Dealing with impostor syndrome
  • An honest look at how to lead with confidence even when self-doubt peaks during the transition.
  • Drawing on your past experience
  • Knowing when to lean on your individual contributor background and when to leave it behind.

About the Facilitators:

Mindy Kushniroff

WGU Instructor | Former Corporate Controller

A long-time WGU instructor and former Corporate Controller at a Fortune 25 company, Mindy brings a wealth of business knowledge in leadership, mentoring, coaching, and technology. She has worked at major universities developing top-notch online and inclusive programs so that all people seeking an education can pursue their educational dreams and achieve greater success in their careers.

Christina McKay

WGU Instructor | Former Maryland Trust and Estate Attorney

A WGU Instructor and former Maryland trust and estate attorney, Christina brings over 25 years of leadership in shaping the digital landscape of higher education. A pioneer in online learning, she has been instrumental in building inclusive programs at major universities to expand educational access for diverse student populations worldwide.

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