On this episode of Redefining Work, I’m joined by Rob Mac Giolla Phadraig, the visionary founder of SkillStack, a unique learning and development platform designed to empower individuals through the art of storytelling. Rob shares his story of navigating challenges in his career, influenced deeply by the values he learned from family and role models. We explore how he brought SkillStack to life and the impact he hopes it will have on learners everywhere.

This episode explores the genesis of SkillStack and its mission to unlock human potential through storytelling. Rob explains how his own experiences learning through trial and error in the business world, inspired by the stories of others, led him to develop this innovative platform.

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Building SkillStack: A Mission Rooted in Storytelling

SkillStack began as a deeply personal journey for Rob, growing out of his own formative experiences and the lessons he drew from others’ stories. His vision for the platform is more than just providing content; it’s about recreating the powerful experience of learning through storytelling. Reflecting on his upbringing, Rob describes how his mother’s values influenced his dedication to education and hard work. 

Rob explains how he and his twin brother were inspired by figures like Martin Naughton, a renowned business leader, and Maurice Manning, an academic turned politician — both deeply admired by his mother, and held up as standards of success. When launching SkillStack, Rob invited these two influential figures to be part of the event, symbolizing how his early role models shaped his life’s work. 

By combining these values and lessons, Rob aims to build a platform that not only teaches skills but also offers real, lasting impact. “The real purpose of SkillStack,” he says, “is to unlock performance skills — but ultimately to improve working lives of people.” Rob’s storytelling-driven approach to education is as personal as it is professional, combining life lessons with high-quality video content to create a new way to learn.

The Power of Storytelling in Learning

For Rob, storytelling is not just a medium; it’s a method that creates lasting memories and real behavior change. He emphasizes that storytelling allows people to visualize and internalize lessons in ways traditional learning can’t. 

“As a species, the most impactful way we have developed to share information, to share knowledge, to entertain, to create, recall, to teach, is through story,” he says, noting that he chose video as SkillStack’s primary medium because of its emotional and visual impact. By enlisting top-tier documentary filmmakers and influential leaders, Rob has crafted short, cinematic lessons that both entertain and educate.

A core part of SkillStack’s learning philosophy is that skill acquisition should feel like a conversation with a wise friend, one who shares experiences and advice rather than lecturing. “One early adopter said, ‘I binge it as I would Netflix. I was seduced by the content. The next day at work, I found myself, in several moments, applying the learning,’” Rob says. 

SkillStack is intentionally designed to be practical, delivering skills people can use immediately. Through storytelling, Rob is pushing the boundaries of online learning, merging the worlds of entertainment and education.

Learning Through Real-Life Scenarios

SkillStack isn’t just about professional development; it’s about equipping learners with life skills that apply both inside and outside of work. Rob recalls two specific moments in SkillStack content that left a strong impression on him: decision-making and the art of questioning. 

One of his faculty members, Margaret Heffernan, teaches a course on making good decisions, stressing that it’s not the outcome that matters most, but the process of reaching it. “She simply shared a couple of stories that brought this to life — and hit me like a power punch between the chest,” Rob says. “So immediately, she challenged me, gave me a whole new way to look at decision-making.”

In another course, Rob describes learning from Valerie Pierce, who focuses on critical thinking through questioning. “She said, ‘Rob, just think about the question you ask. Visualize a search bar the tab in a search engine like Google. The word you put into that search engine is what will deliver the answer to your question,’” he says. “So the use of language when it comes to questions is very, very powerful.”

During a high-stakes conference setup, Rob applied this lesson by rephrasing a logistical question to an event planner, leading to a quick and effective solution. “I paused, visualized that search bar, and I changed the language in the question so I could leave it open.” These anecdotes underscore the real-world applicability of SkillStack’s lessons, emphasizing how a well-timed question or a mindful decision-making process can transform outcomes.

People in This Episode

• Robert Mac Giolla Phadraig: LinkedIn

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