Justin Bateh, PhD, PMP

AI, Project Management & Leadership Expert & Founder | PhD, PMP | Award-Winning Professor & LinkedIn Learning Instructor | Helping operators lead projects, use AI effectively, and advance their careers.

Hi, I'm Justin 👋I teach leaders and operators how to execute in the AI era and advance their careers.20+ years of leading teams and making high-stakes decisions where failure wasn't an option. Along the way, I built repeatable execution and leadership systems that I've taught to thousands through top-rated courses, corporate training, and university programs.But execution skills alone won't protect your seat at the table anymore. Companies expect faster decisions, measurable impact, and AI as part of how you deliver it.That's what I share here. How to use AI as your superpower for execution and decision-making. Career growth advice for leaders who want to double down on the things AI can't replace. Execution frameworks that hold up under pressure. Leadership lessons learned the hard way so you don't have to.No fluff. No busywork. Everything here is real, tested, and battle-proven from someone still doing the work today.    *All views and opinions shared across my content are solely my own.

Founder

I teach Project & Operations professionals the skills to drive sustainable growth, change, and profitability using data-driven decision making, lean tools, six sigma methodologies, agile projects, and data analytics. I have worked with executives and managers from numerous organizations, including Walmart, Verizon, Amazon, Pearson, UPS, Wiley, Cengage, Medtronic, US Department of Health, CSX, USPS, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Crowley Maritime, US Air Force, US Navy, Novartis, FedEx, McKesson, and many others.

Justin Bateh, PhD

You're Not Having a Bad Day. You're in a Toxic Culture.

(don't blame yourself for system failure)

You think it's you.

Your attitude. Your performance. Your inability to handle stress.

It's not.

It's the culture slowly destroying you from the inside.

Here's how to tell:

1/ Sunday Night Feels Like a Death Sentence
→ Dread starts hitting around 4 PM
→ Your stomach physically knots thinking about Monday
→ Weekend recovery time keeps shrinking
→ The anxiety owns you now

2/ You Second-Guess Decisions You Used to Make Instantly
→ Choices that were automatic now paralyze you
→ You seek permission for things you're expert at
→ Your confidence got systematically dismantled
→ Expertise feels like pretending

3/ You're Bone-Deep Exhausted But Sleep Doesn't Touch It
→ 10 hours of sleep feels like 10 minutes
→ You wake up more tired than when you went to bed
→ Your nervous system never gets to rest
→ Exhaustion lives in your bones now

4/ Walking on Eggshells Became Your Permanent State
→ You rehearse basic conversations like speeches
→ Every interaction is a potential landmine
→ Your real personality died somewhere along the way
→ Being yourself became too dangerous

5/ You're Always Somehow the Problem
→ Every failure mysteriously traces back to you
→ Blame rolls downhill and parks at your desk
→ Your solutions get ignored, your mistakes magnified
→ You've started believing it's true

6/ Your Body is Staging a Revolt
→ Headaches that no medication can touch
→ Shoulder tension that's become part of your skeleton
→ Stomach problems that doctors can't explain
→ Your body is screaming what you won't admit

7/ Colleagues Became Survival Competitors
→ Small talk feels like intelligence gathering
→ Nobody trusts anybody anymore
→ Collaboration turned into self-protection
→ Isolation became safer than connection

8/ Criticism Flows Like Water, Support Never Comes
→ Your mistakes get documented immediately
→ Your wins disappear without acknowledgment
→ Every feedback session feels like an ambush
→ Development is punishment disguised as help

9/ Your Voice Got Surgically Removed
→ Questions get labeled as "attitude problems"
→ Ideas get dismissed before you finish speaking
→ Speaking up became career limiting
→ Silence became survival strategy

10/ Every Single Day is Fight-or-Flight Mode
→ You're constantly braced for the next attack
→ Planning past today feels impossible
→ Hope for change died months ago
→ You're running on fumes and fear

11/ You Don't Recognize Who You've Become
→ The person you were doesn't exist here anymore
→ Your values got compromised one compromise at a time
→ Optimism rotted into bitter cynicism
→ You became someone you wouldn't want to know

This isn't about your ability to handle pressure.

It's about a system engineered to crush human spirits.

Toxic cultures excel at making victims blame themselves for the poison being administered daily.

♻️ Repost if your network needs to see this.

AI, Leadership, and Career Growth | Chief Editor @ Tactical Memo | PhD, PMP | Award-Winning Professor & LinkedIn Learning Instructor | I teach leaders and operators how to execute in the AI era & advance their careers.

7 Ways You're Training Your Team to Lie to You

(What leaders do that kills honesty)

Your team isn't dishonest.

You made honesty unsafe.

Here's how:

1/ You Punish the Messenger
→ Bad news gets met with anger
→ Problems become personal attacks
→ Transparency feels like career risk
→ So they stop telling you

2/ You Ask "Why Didn't You Tell Me?" After Explosions
→ You weren't safe to tell before
→ Retrospective blame doesn't build trust
→ Hindsight judgment creates fear
→ Next time they'll hide it earlier

3/ You Treat Mistakes Like Character Flaws
→ Errors become moral failures
→ Learning gets replaced with shame
→ Experimentation dies completely
→ Perfection becomes survival strategy

4/ You Say You Want Feedback, Then Get Defensive
→ "I'm open to input" means nothing
→ If criticism triggers justification
→ Your reaction trains them
→ They'll stop being honest

5/ You Reward the Yes-People
→ Promotion goes to agreement
→ Visibility goes to compliance
→ Challenge gets career consequences
→ They learn the game fast

6/ You Overreact to Small Issues
→ Minor problems trigger major responses
→ Proportionality doesn't exist
→ They calculate disclosure risk constantly
→ Hiding becomes rational

7/ You Make Them Watch You Shoot Messengers
→ Public criticism of others
→ Throwing people under the bus
→ Example-setting through punishment
→ They're taking notes

Your team tells you what you can handle.

Not what's actually happening.

Want the truth?

Become someone who can receive it.

♻️ Repost and follow Justin Bateh, PhD for more.

The Power of Someone Believing in You

98% of successful people share one thing in common:

(Thanks Justin Wright for inspiring this analysis)

Someone believed in them before they "made it."

Think about that.

Behind every breakthrough is someone who saw potential when there was no proof.

Not credentials.
Not experience.
Not a perfect track record.

Just raw, unproven potential.

And they bet on it anyway.

Maybe it was:
- A manager who gave you a shot you weren't "qualified" for
- A mentor who invested time with no guarantee of return
- A colleague who vouched for you in a room you weren't in
- A friend who reminded you of your worth when you forgot

That belief becomes the foundation of confidence.

It says: "You're capable of more than you think."

And here's the beautiful part:

You can be that person for someone else.

Look around your workplace today.

Who has the right attitude but lacks the opportunity?
Who shows up ready to learn every single day?
Who just needs someone to take a chance on them?

Don't wait for them to be perfect.
Don't wait for guaranteed success.

Bet on their potential.

Because someone once bet on yours.

Your legacy isn't just what you achieve.

It's who you help become who they're meant to be.

Who believed in you before you made it? And who needs you to believe in them today?

♻️ Repost to inspire someone in your network.

Justin Bateh

SmiLe Venture Hub

Key achievements: 

* Managed L&D programs in Foodtech (1 offer), Biotech (2 offer), business development (3 offer), sustainability (3 offers), and innovation (1 offer)
* Developed and implemented strategies to drive learner engagement in a multilingual environments
* Created and managed communication campaigns to promote learning initiatives
* Delivered three educational programs in Docebo
* Monitored progress and adjusted learning paths based on feedback and Docebo Learn Data
* Gathered and analyzed feedback to improve communication effectiveness
* Drove change management of the Learning Management System (procurement, configuration, migration, and training)
* Experience with sustainability reporting frameworks like ESRS, EU Taxonomy

Project Manager

IVV Labs AB

Analyzed over 2,000 COVID-19 PCR samples in a regulatory-compliant laboratory. Gained hands-on experience with GMP-aligned workflows, quality documentation, and diagnostic testing. Worked in a structured, regulated environment under tight timelines, reinforcing my ability to deliver high-quality results under pressure.

QC Associate – Molecular Diagnostics

Umeå Biotech Incubator

My responsibilities involved managing research studies in their very early stages paving their way towards clinical trial and acceptance by the pharma industry. This includes revising study reports, monitoring the current products and clinical trials within the specific field, as well as contacting pharmaceutical companies and other consultancy.
Key achievements: delivered 4 market and need analysis reports

Project Manager in Biomedical Innovation

kleinlabs

Led the development of an innovative automated lab freezer inventory solution, overseeing the full project lifecycle—from initial concept through to consumer testing. Conducted market analysis and aligned with user needs to ensure a viable and impactful solution.

Key achievements: 1 granted patent, 1 test installation, 2 VentureCup prizes

Co-Founder and Quality-Focused Manager

Umeå Plant Science Centre

Responsible for the full lifecycle of R&D projects—from concept development and experimental design to data interpretation and publication. Conducted advanced molecular biology techniques including qPCR, next-generation sequencing (NGS), and statistical data analysis. Updated Standard operational procedures and quality guidelines. Prepared diverse sample types (e.g., plant tissues) for downstream applications such as cryosectioning, RNA/DNA extraction, and library preparation. Mentored junior researchers and coordinated multidisciplinary collaborations to ensure scientific rigor and timely project delivery.
Key achievements: 2 peer-reviewed articles: PLoS Genetics,  Ecology and Evolution.

PhD student

SciLifeLab

Worked in a regulated, high-throughput research environment, co-developing spatially resolved transcriptomics in plant model organisms. Hands-on experience with critical QC-relevant procedures, including sample preparation (cryostat sections), microscopy, DNA/RNA extraction, and NGS library preparation. Applied analytical rigor to evaluate sequencing quality, troubleshoot protocols, and interpret large-scale data in compliance with lab standards. Co-authored a peer-reviewed article published in Nature, highlighting data integrity and reproducibility.

Key achievements: 1 peer-reviewed Nature article

Visting Researcher

SLU - Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Executed qPCR-based gene expression studies. I worked with phenotype and gene expression analysis of transgenic Populus trees.
Key achievements: 1 patent and 1 peer-reviewed article

Research Assistant

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology

Applied hybridization and bacterial transformation techniques. Analyzed sulfur metabolism using HPLC.
The laboratory work also involved DNA and RNA isolations, cloning, restriction analysis, PCR, and RT-PCR.

#projectmanagement #lifescience #innovation #sustainability

Molecular Biologist (PhD) with robust training in GMP, GDP, GLP, and ISO 13485. Experienced in regulated environments, documentation control, and cross-functional collaboration. Now seeking to transition into a Quality Manager role in the biotech/pharma/healthtech sector—bringing scientific rigor, regulatory knowledge, and a passion for process improvement.

When it comes to project management, I managed the Passion for Projects congress - the biggest project management conference in the Nordics- attracting more than 300 participants and 30 speakers. I oversaw the project according to PMI standards, throughout all project phases: initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and control, closing. This ensured smooth project execution and alignment with stakeholders. I led a diverse project team across marketing, operations, UX/UI design, speaker coordination, program development, and partnership management to deliver a seamless and engaging attendee experience.

Within the Maxwell Leadership Assessment, my communication style is identified by the keyword
“precisionist”.

COMPETENCES
* Project Management Skills: PMP standards, project planning, control, and execution
* Project Management Tools: GitHub Issues and Projects, Trello, Favro
* Interpersonal Skills: Stakeholder alignment and engagement, teamwork, leadership, active listening, dependability, patience, emotional intelligence
* Verbal Communication: From 60-second pitch to 1-hour lectures
* Written Communication: From LinkedIn posts to newsletters to scientific articles and posters
* Analytical Skills: Excel, Thoughtspot, Jupyter Notebook, R
* Communication Management: Dynamix CMS, newsletter management
* Languages: Swedish, English, German (fluent written and verbal), Polish (native)

taplio

The Battle

Justin Bateh, PhD

Barbara Klein, PhD

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJustin Bateh, PhD's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Justin Bateh, PhD

Barbara Klein, PhD

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Justin Bateh, PhD's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJustin Bateh, PhD's LinkedIn Performance