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Justin Lake is co-founder and CEO of Skyllful (formerly Venado Technologies), a provider of a mobile digital adoption platform (MDAP) that helps frontline workers use enterprise mobile apps more efficiently and effectively.With more than 25 years of industry experience, Lake has deep expertise in mobile technology and field deployments as well as decades of experience working with frontline workers. A lifelong early adopter of new technology, Lake’s enthusiasm for innovation and how to use it in ways that empower people have driven forward his career as a problem solver who likes to build things.

Justin Lake

October 2021 - TD Magazine

It’s a surefire way to achieve higher digital adoption rates.

Use Technology to Teach Technology

 Volunteering involves providing your knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as your time and energy, without establishing an employment relationship and usually without any monetary compensation. Employees who take on volunteer roles are able to build new skills and practice existing skills in a different setting from their day-to-day job.Via volunteering, employees can try something different from their usual work, and bring back new skills to the workplace, thereby adding value to their employer by improving their current job performance. They may even enhance the succession management efforts of their employer, because they become ready to move into positions of greater responsibility faster and more effectively than they would have had they not taken on the volunteer role.The best part about this employee development strategy is that it doesn't cost the organization nearly as much as sending the employee to costly training workshops or hiring a coach. In fact, it often costs the organization nothing.In my ATD Press book, Employee Development on a Shoestring, I describe 11 different methods for developing employees outside the classroom. The chapter on volunteering explains: who should try volunteeringhow volunteer projects benefit learners and the organizationwhat competencies volunteering can develophow to establish volunteer efforts. The chapter concludes with a case study that depicts the success PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) enjoyed as a result of offering this type of development method. PwC’s Project BelizeProject Belize, an initiative that partners PwC employees with schools in Belize City, is primarily focused on financial literacy and environmental sustainability. Specifically, some 200 PwC volunteers—partners, staff, and interns from across the United States—traveled to Belize City, Belize, in the summer of 2011. The PwC team connected with more than 1,200 students in 10 schools in some of Belize’s poorest areas and focused on hosting a youth financial literacy camp, leading a scholar's mentoring program for current and former Belizean students, providing financial and technology training to teachers. According to the project’s website, “since its inception, \[they\] have contributed 30,000 pounds of school supplies, awarded approximately 765 high school equivalent scholarships so these students can continue their education, and delivered our financial literacy curriculum to 6,412 students with the help of 1,609 talented and enthusiastic PwC interns, partners, and staff.” In addition, volunteers built “Learning Landscape” playgrounds using repurposed materials. PwC volunteer Justin Suissa explains that “the experience \[building learning landscape playgrounds\] was valuable on so many levels.” Suissa shares that he was out of his element—construction is not where his expertise lies. What’s more, the team had a tight deadline, as well as many pitfalls and unexpected obstacles to overcome. But clearly defined deliverables—build six playgrounds in five days for the children—helped the team pull together through pouring rain and intense heat and humidity.  Working through these challenges, says Suissa, helped him improve core leadership and teambuilding competencies. He describes how figuring out new technical skills in an unpredictable environment developed his flexibility and agility. “While I did not expect it, it was like a learning playground for us, the volunteers. With high stakes and a tough deadline, my teammates and I had to solve problems creatively and let go of pre-established hierarchies in this new environment.” For another PwC volunteer-employee, Jack Teuber, this experience meant a change in his environment and operational mode. He went from working as a competent managing director who leads a team of experienced adults to a novice middle school teacher in a foreign country, working with children and a brand-new and mixed team of associates and interns. Teuber understood that his challenge was “to get out of people’s way and encourage them to grow, solve problems, and develop their leadership skills.” Doing so helped him develop collaboration and coaching skills. In other words, he and his team cultivated their abilities to support the success of those working around him—building relationships, establishing empathy, communicating, and partnering. These skills are “extremely important back in the PwC environment because they help us serve our clients better and be better leaders and team players to our colleagues,” says Teuber. Finally, he believes that the volunteer experience helped him gain tremendous partnering and networking benefits. According to Teuber, “The team members still keep in touch after returning home and all of us have developed greater access to and understanding of other areas of the business, which serves to break down barriers, especially the hierarchical ones. Belize affected my self-awareness and has caused me to want to do this for my own team \[at home\].” Practical Application While Project Beleize describes a large and generous company taking on a big expenditure, the same principles can be applied to any volunteering effort. Organizations can start volunteering projects in their local communities (no international flights needed) by sending either individual employees or workforce teams to connect with other members of the wider community on volunteer missions. The learning that took place for Project Belize volunteers could happen in your local neighborhood. I hope you give it a try! Employee Development on a Shoestring provides plenty of additional tools, checklists, self-assessments, and other supports to help you implement the various development methods, consider some of the objections you might encounter, and outlines ways to overcome challenges. It’s a comprehensive tutorial for all managers, supervisors, trainers, human resources (HR) personnel, coaches, and other professionals who are involved in developing employee competence efficiently and cost-effectively.

Project Belize: Volunteering as an Employee Development Tool

Rare is the workplace where you don’t have one or more sensitive coworkers. The reasons for such sensitivity are endless, and some are even valid, but when such sensitivity is combined with emotional displays, they can especially be a challenge! Such reactions are one of the main reasons people don’t hold others accountable. As we discuss how to work with sensitive, emotional employees, there are two questions I want to address: Why do people get defensive? What can you do? When I teach or coach leaders, I find that many of them believe that employees get defensive because they simply don’t want to hear “the truth.” As far as the manager is concerned, the employee got caught in their mistake and their guilt is driving them to emotion. So, their response sometimes is to get tough and say unhelpful things like, “Let’s not get emotional, let’s keep this professional,” or “No need to get defensive, let’s stay on topic.” While it may be true sometimes that people get emotional because they feel guilty, our experience suggests something else. When people get defensive, it’s because they don’t trust your intent. They’re leery that you either don’t respect them or don’t respect what they care about (shared goals). When one or both are lacking, or the other person perceives a lack of respect, you see a spike in emotional responses. See, our brains are always scanning our external environment for threats. The moment we perceive a threat, our fight-or-flight response is triggered. We react. Defensiveness is the attempt to restore safety in response to a perceived threat. And some employees may have been shut down, mistreated, or disregarded by previous bosses, contributing to extra sensitivity that needs to be considered. So, what do you do about it? You need to make it clear to the other person that you DO respect them and care about their goals. This can’t be accomplished with trite phrases when you’re in a bind. You’ve got to truly care. The way you treat them outside of crucial moments may do more for your Crucial Conversations than how you respond during them. I love what the late Stephen Covey said. “You can’t talk your way out of something you’ve acted your way into.” If you don’t show respect for their time, their work, or their unique personality, no amount of flowery language will ease their defensiveness. I think you could have a conversation with this person to address this dynamic between the two of you. You might begin, “Hey Gabriel, I’ve noticed a pattern between us that I want to talk about. When I bring up a concern about a commitment you didn’t complete, you often raise your voice or start crying. I’d like us to be able to talk about things in a way that allows both of us to feel heard and find a solution. But I’m wondering if I’ve done something—or not done something—that’s provoking your response. How do you see it?” That may not be a perfect opening statement, so adapt it to work for you. But please see the principle in the details. Be honest about the issue. Don’t let them off the hook because they get emotional. Show them you care AND address the issue. Ask how you can show you care. Keep talking. 

Working With Sensitive, Emotional Employees

If you’re not communicating in a way that invites others into the conversation, the result may be tacit agreement in the moment, then later gossip, complaining, distrust, lack of engagement, and a host of other organizational illnesses that kil

Why Should I Cater to People Who Are Afraid to Speak Their Mind?

What is Demo Day?
This free, half-day event offers you the opportunity to see live demos from five leading learning tech solutions. Each 30-minute demo allows you to see the solution in action, ask questions, and request additional information. Selecting new technologies for your organization is a tough decision and a big investment. Let ATD Demo Day help you learn about the benefits of a variety of options at once.
Who is it for?
Anyone who wants to invest in new learning technologies for the first time, upgrade their learning technology ecosystem, or simply stay current on the latest learning technology suppliers and features.
 
Demo Day Agenda: (All times below are Eastern Standard Time)
11:55-12:00 pm   ATD Introduction & Welcome:
12:00-12:30 pm  The Unconstrained LMS (Bluewater)
12:45-1:15 pm    Worklife is complicated. Your talent and development tools shouldn’t be. (SkillCycle)
1:30-2:00 pm      Using Assessments To Improve Managerial Effectiveness (Cloverleaf)
2:15-2:45 pm  How AI and New Tech are Changing the Game in Course Design (CYPHER)
3:00-3:30 pm  Break the Mold with Tigerhall: AI, Microlearning, and Social Interaction Combined (TigerHall)
 
Session Descriptions:

12:00-12:30 pm

The Unconstrained LMS
Enhance your LMS and turn it into an L&D difference maker rather than just another frustrating application.
During this session we will cover the following:

No LMS platform can give you everything you need. But you can get more out of your existing platform through Bluewater's technology enhancements without buying into additional SaaS platforms.
Enable your LMS to support a variety of unique needs, such as, Onboarding, Skills Development, Compliance Tracking, Career Pathing, Extended Enterprise/Decentralized Management, etc.).
Bluewater's unique solutions solve your L&D and HR problems that an out-of-the-box LMS just doesn't.

Speakers:
Chris Bond, CEO & Founder; Curt Swayne, President; and Bennett Jensen, VP Strategic Solutions
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12:45-1:15 pm

Worklife is complicated. Your talent and development tools shouldn’t be.
We’ve taken all the disparate HR tech systems you’ve struggled to connect and brought them together into one platform. Our People Success Operating System empowers your organization with data and your people with the learning & development tools they need to prepare for the future of work. Take a look under the hood to see our unique fusion of a best-in-class coach network with a powerful performance management tool and see how SkillCycle delivers the results your people and organization need.
During this event you will learn:

How linking learning outcomes directly to performance management improves outcomes for both systems
Why SkillCycle’s platform is different and why that matters
The future of HR’s role in an organization

Speaker:
Justin Dile, VP, Sales
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1:30-2:00 pm

Using Assessments to Improve Managerial Effectiveness

For over 60 years, assessments and coaching have been done the same way, often falling short because of limited access to results and little proof of ROI. This interactive demo presents a fresh approach to people development. Discover why Cloverleaf is a one-stop-shop for scaling emotional intelligence across your organization, enabling your team to understand each other and perform more effectively.
In this session, you will learn how to:
• Cultivate an employee experience that encourages engagement, understanding, and value.
• Use on-demand coaching to enhance performance conversations and one-on-one meetings.
• Improve the effectiveness of new manager training and leadership development programs
 
Speakers:
Darrin Murriner, CEO/Co-Founder and Tim Flanigan, VP of Sales
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2:15-2:45 p.m.

How AI and New Tech is Changing the Game in Course Design
AI is nobody's natural enemy; in learning and training, it's a superb copilot. Wisely deployed to create personalized, relevant learning experiences, AI is positioning businesses for an explosive paradigm shift, with modern competency-based workplace training becoming a retention aid and value center; and students finding joy in self-paced instruction and connected communities. The productivity revolution is already in progress, and, in this session, we explore how trainers everywhere can benefit.
During this event, you will learn:

How new and emerging technologies like AI, VR/AR can facilitate modern and engaging learning environments
How to use modern LMS platforms to create personalized training experiences at scale
How to design and implement a competency-based learning strategy

Speaker:
Jennifer Geisler, CMO
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3:00-3:30 pm

Break the Mold with Tigerhall: AI, Microlearning, and Social Interaction Combined
Imagine a learning platform that’s as much about connection as it is about knowledge.
That’s Tigerhall.
Powered by AI and microlearning, you get the only platform that's fearlessly committed to true social learning. Here, insights from industry thought leaders are merged with your colleagues' experiences, fostering an ecosystem that encourages active knowledge exchange and collaboration.
During this session, you will learn:

How Tigerhall’s unique social learning approach converts in-house expertise into bite-sized learning modules.
How Tigerhall captures interest, encourages active participation, boosts skills, and contributes to better results through its interactive, shared learning approach.
How Tigerhall's platform is an effective tool for driving behavior change, fast-tracking skills acquisition, simplifying learning and development programs, and aligning organizational goals with employees' needs.

Speaker:
Nellie Wartoft, CEO and founder, Tigerhall

Demo Day - Emerging Technologies in L&D

If you can manage and respond to email more effectively, treating it like the work it really is, you can dramatically improve your productivity and significantly reduce your stress.

Seven Deadly Sins of Email

Good leaders have high levels of awareness. They recognize the impact their behavior has on those around them. Leaders struggle when they do not have an accurate understanding of how their behaviors are seen by others. When this is the case, leaders get in their own way. A common example of this is the leader who wants to provide clear direction and guidance to their direct reports but uses behaviors that come across as micromanaging. Using extensive data from leadership 360 assessments, Shawn Bakker and Justin Deonarine will discuss where leaders often do well. They will also show where leaders commonly struggle and share insights on how leaders should focus their development efforts to become the leaders they would like to be.

Leaders and Their Leadership: Common Strengths and Consistent Challenges

When you couple the inherent challenge of communicating remotely with uncertain and turbulent times, creating a cohesive and successful remote team can feel like an uphill battle.

How to Lead a Virtual Team: 7 Skills to Put Your People First

Imagine a world where your next job interview is conducted by artificial intelligence (AI) that analyzes your every blink, twitch, and vocal inflection. Now picture that same AI deciding whether you’re fit for a promotion based on your learning style. Does this sound like science fiction? Not quite. Welcome to the brave new world of AI in the training industry, where the line between innovation and ethical quagmire is as thin as a microchip.As AI seeps into every corner of our lives, from weather apps to our social media feeds, one industry stands at a critical crossroads: learning and development. Here, the promise of personalized learning experiences collides head-on with concerns about privacy, bias, and the very nature of human learning. Are we on the brink of an educational revolution, or are we unknowingly coding the biases of today into the learners of tomorrow?AI systems are only as unbiased as the data they’re trained on and the humans who design them. In 2019, HSBC teamed up with Talespin to create a VR program for soft skills training, but it hit some bumps when it rolled out globally. The AI, primarily trained on Western expression datasets, consistently misinterpreted common nonverbal cues:In Hong Kong, the AI got confused by subtle Chinese communication styles. When a Chinese employee said, “We might want to consider another approach,” the AI read it as uncertainty when it was a polite way of disagreeing.In the Middle East, the AI didn’t recognize the importance of the right hand in greetings and gestures. Using the left hand, which is considered impolite in many Middle Eastern cultures, wasn’t flagged as a faux pas.In the UK, “That’s not bad,” means it is quite good. However, the AI interpreted it as lukewarm approval rather than positive feedback. The VR scores didn’t match up with real-world performance, and HSBC didn’t just shrug it off. They brought in cultural experts and threw in some extra training on cross-cultural communication. They also made sure humans were keeping an eye on things, just in case the AI missed some cultural nuances.HSBC’s story shows how tricky it can be to use AI for soft skills training across different cultures. But it also proves that with some tweaks and a willingness to learn, you can turn those challenges into some valuable insights for global business.Privacy is another major concern.In the training industry, AI systems often collect vast amounts of data on learners’ behavior, preferences, and performance. While this data can be used to improve learning outcomes, it also poses significant privacy risks if not handled properly.To address concerns:Strict data protection measures must be put in place to safeguard learners’ privacy. Organizations should give learners control over their data, including the right to access, correct, and delete their information.Regular audits to ensure compliance.Next, is the issue of transparency. Many AI algorithms, particularly those using deep learning, make it difficult to understand how they arrive at their decisions. If an AI system recommends a certain learning path or makes an assessment of a student’s abilities, both educators and learners should be able to understand the reasoning behind these decisions.To improve transparency:AI developers should prioritize creating interpretable models that can provide clear explanations for their decisions.Organizations using AI in training should provide clear documentation on how their AI systems work and make decisions.To further improve AI in training, greater diversity must be ensured in AI development teams for a wider range of perspectives, potentially reducing bias in AI systems. Rigorous testing for bias should be conducted before they’re deployed in educational settings, and continuously monitored. By addressing these concerns, we can harness AI’s power to improve training outcomes while protecting learners’ rights and ensuring fairness. As educators, technologists, and lifelong learners, we have a collective responsibility to shape an AI-driven future where technology augments human intelligence.Ultimately, this journey isn’t just about smarter machines, but about nurturing smarter, more capable humans. Let’s embrace this challenge with open minds and an unwavering commitment to ethical progress.

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