Creative Confidence Podcast
IDEO’s Creative Confidence Podcast shares candid conversations with creative leaders, changemakers, and innovators navigating today’s most pressing challenges. Through real-world stories and insights, we explore how to lead with creativity, build resilient teams, and drive innovation. Grounded in IDEO’s 40 years of expertise in design thinking and innovation, each episode offers inspiration and practical tools for audacious leaders at every stage of their careers. Hosted by Mina Seetharaman, Head of New Ventures at IDEO, the podcast brings a human-centered lens to the complexities of making more courageous futures.
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Safe Danger: An Unexpected Method for Sparking Connection & Inspiring Innovation
Too often, team-building activities feel awkward, expensive, or like a box to check. They may be fun in the moment, but they don’t change how teams actually work together. And when the stakes are high, teams still hesitate to speak up or take risks.
This conversation is for leaders who are responsible for planning or facilitating team-building experiences, want their teams to be more creative and collaborative, and feel skeptical that another workshop will actually change anything.
Can’t make the live event? RSVP and we’ll send the recording, podcast episode, and recap to your inbox.
Latest Episodes
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How to Think Like a Futurist: Jennifer Lo
What does it mean to think like a futurist—and why should every leader learn how? In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Jennifer Lo, Senior Director of Design Futures at IDEO, shares how futuring can help leaders navigate uncertainty, build resilient strategies, and shape the future they want to see.
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Asked & Answered: Catherine Connors on Storytelling for Leaders, Scale, and the Future of Narrative
In this bonus episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, storyteller and strategist Catherine Connors returns to answer top questions from our IDEO U community. We explore what it really means to lead with story—beyond frameworks and formats—and how storytelling can be used to build culture, scale ideas, and drive meaningful change.
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Creative Collaboration with IDEO CEO Mike Peng (Replay)
In this conversation, IDEO CEO Mike Peng shares what it really takes to foster creative collaboration on teams. From designing for trust and tension to navigating ambiguity and divergent thinking, Mike offers a clear-eyed look at how leaders can create the conditions for breakthrough ideas.
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Storytelling for Change with a Former Disney Exec: Catherine Connors
What makes a story powerful enough to shift culture? In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Catherine Connors-for-mer Head of Content at Disney Interactive and founder of storytelling consultancy StoryQuo-shares five key shifts that can help leaders use story as a tool for transformation.
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Asked & Answered: Matthieu & Savannah
How are creative professionals actually using Al today? In this Asked and Answered follow-up episode, Google DeepMind's Matthieu Lorrain and IDEO's Savannah Kunovsky respond to questions from the IDEO U community.
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AI x Creativity: Matthieu Lorrain & Savannah Kunovsky
Google DeepMind's Matthieu Lorrain and IDEO's Savannah Kunovsky on how Al is reshaping creative work.
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Staying Human-Centered in a Tech-First World: Grace Hwang
Explore how to lead with human-centered design in a tech-driven world. Insights from Grace Hwang on ethical innovation, safety, and designing for impact.
Popular Episodes
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Unapologetically Ambitious: Shellye Archambeau
Shellye Archambeau, one of tech's 1st Black female CEOs, Fortune 500 Board Member, author of Unapologetically Ambitious, on how to set a clear vision and raise your risk tolerance.
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Lead by Empowering Others: Lauren Collins & Frances Frei
In this episode, IDEO’s Lauren Collins and Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei discuss how to level up your leadership practice by honing the skills and mindsets needed to empower your team and organization.
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Presentation Story Arcs: Ann Kim
Learn about the elements of a story, story arcs, why and how to experiment with your story arcs, and examples from the healthcare and entertainment worlds.
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Getting Started with Strategic Planning: Roger Martin
Strategy advisor Roger Martin shares how to identify your strategic problem and avoid common mistakes in strategic planning.
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Facilitative Leadership: Dabney Hailey
We talked with Dabney Hailey, founder and principal of Hailey Group, about the Visual Thinking Strategies (or VTS) method, why it works, how to bring elements of it into your daily practice, and why leaders should shift to the facilitative leadership style this method teaches.
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Storytelling for Entrepreneurs: Tom Kelley
IDEO’s Tom Kelley shares his storytelling tips and the 4 stories entrepreneurs need to know.
