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Tim Slade challenge · Leadership & Performance Management

The De-escalation Lab

Built for Tim Slade's learning design challenge: a performance-based module focused on de-escalating and finding alignment with high-performing talent. Instead of reading about psychological safety, you sit across from a defensive star employee and feel what your words do to the conversation. Here is the thinking, and the course itself to try.

  • Learning Experience Design
  • Scenario-Based Learning
  • E-Learning Development
  • Interaction Design
  • Mighty Studio
  • Rise 360
  • HTML/CSS/JS
RoleDesigner & developer
AudienceManagers & team leaders
Built withMighty Studio · Rise 360 · Claude
Year2026

▶ Try it yourself

The De-escalation Lab · running live below

Sound on if you can: Alex speaks. Skim the playbook, then take the meeting and watch the trust and defensiveness meters react to your choices.

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01 The scenario

Created as part of Tim Slade's learning design challenge, this module focuses on a common workplace dynamic: a high-performing employee who occasionally bypasses standard operating procedures to move fast. While their work output is strong, it creates a bit of friction for the rest of the team. When a manager steps in to address it, the challenge is doing so without triggering defensiveness or making that person feel unvalued.

The goal for this scenario wasn't to lecture managers on communication theory. It was to build a safe space where they could actually practice handling that pushback and finding alignment before having to navigate it live.

02 My approach

A conversation you play, not a module you click through.

I designed a short, interactive simulation that steps away from traditional, click-through compliance modules. Using Mighty Studio's conversation templates, I set up a low-stakes environment where learners could experience a realistic back-and-forth dialogue.

Instead of picking a single correct multiple-choice answer, managers navigate a multi-turn conversation where their choices directly impact the virtual employee's trust and defensiveness levels in real time. It blends a quick pre-sim playbook with an immersive practice environment featuring email context, video call visuals, and live psychological gauges.

03 Key decisions

The choices that shaped the design.

  • The tension

    Short, multiple-choice quizzes vs. realistic conversational depth.

    My call

    Build a multi-turn dialogue arc instead of a static question.

    The real reason

    Real-world conversations don't resolve in a single sentence. Learners need to feel that back-and-forth friction to build actual confidence.

  • The tension

    Abstract theory vs. practical application.

    My call

    Keep Lesson 1 short and punchy, then drop them straight into the simulation.

    The real reason

    People grasp communication frameworks much faster when they test them immediately, fail safely, and see the impact of their phrasing.

  • The tension

    Rigid branching scenarios vs. flexible conversational practice.

    My call

    Lean into Mighty Studio's conversation template design process.

    The real reason

    It allowed me to build a clean, framework-driven experience where learners aren't just guessing what an author wants, but actively testing strategies in a low-stakes, highly realistic environment.

04 What I built

  1. 01

    The Rise course setup

    A clean landing page framing the challenge and scenario.

  2. 02

    The Playbook (Lesson 1)

    Quick, tabbed breakdowns of the core communication frameworks.

  3. 03

    The virtual simulation (Lesson 2)

    A custom simulation built in Mighty Studio featuring desktop context, email threads, video call visuals, and live trust and defensiveness meters.

  4. 04

    The supporting job aid

    A clean reference sheet packaging core formulas for easy access.

05 The outcome

The simulation successfully turns a tricky management topic into a practical behavioral lab. Instead of just reading about de-escalation, leaders safely experience how different conversational choices change the tone and outcome of a tough 1-on-1.

Reading between the lines

This is a self-initiated build, so there is no cohort data yet. What I can show is the design itself: every choice above is playable in the embedded course, and the fastest way to evaluate it is to take the meeting and see how far you can get before Alex shuts down.

06 Reflection

What I'm taking with me.

  • Let simulation friction do the teaching. When a manager comes on too strong and gets a defensive reaction from the virtual employee, that immediate feedback teaches more than any slide deck ever could.
  • Framework-driven design enables safe practice. Utilizing Mighty Studio's templates made it straightforward to build an environment where learners can experiment, make mistakes, and see how a structured approach changes the dynamic of the conversation.

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