
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.
Discover more at IDEOU.com.
Latest episodes

Dec 24, 2021 • 1min
Well Said: Believe in Your Positive Delusion
Chris Wilson, social entrepreneur and author of The Master Plan, shares the importance of believing yourself.
This clip revisits one of our favorite moments of 2021 on the Creative Confidence Podcast.
Listen to the full episode with Chris and read a recap of the conversation on the IDEO U blog: https://ideo.in/well-said-chris

Dec 23, 2021 • 1min
Well Said: Strategy Is a Set of Choices
Designing Strategy instructor and best-selling author, Roger Martin, discusses how strategic choices shape an organization's present and future. He emphasizes understanding problems before making strategic decisions. Listen to the full episode for more insights on strategy.

4 snips
Dec 22, 2021 • 3min
Well Said: Camaraderie Isn't Culture
Sacha Connor, founder and CEO of consultancy Virtual Work Insider, argues that snacks are not culture. She says values and behaviors shape culture, especially in a remote world.
This clip revisits one of our favorite moments of 2021 on the Creative Confidence Podcast.
Listen to the full episode with Sacha and read a recap of the conversation on the IDEO U blog: https://ideo.in/well-said-sacha

Dec 21, 2021 • 3min
Well Said: Create Space for Joy
Ingrid Fetell Lee, author of The Aesthetics of Joy, helps us connect with physical feelings of joy in this 2-minute exercise.
This clip revisits one of our favorite moments of 2021 on the Creative Confidence Podcast.
Listen to the full episode with Ingrid and read a recap of the conversation on the IDEO U blog: https://ideo.in/well-said-ingrid

Dec 20, 2021 • 2min
Well Said: It's OK to Be On a Winding Path
Michelle Lee, a managing director in IDEO's Play Lab, embraces how mixed influences led her down a winding, joyful career path.
This clip revisits one of our favorite moments of 2021 on the Creative Confidence Podcast.
Listen to the full episode with Michelle and read a recap of the conversation on the IDEO U blog: https://ideo.in/well-said-michelle

Dec 17, 2021 • 31min
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.
View the full recap at https://ideo.in/lauren-and-frances

Nov 23, 2021 • 31min
Scaling Affordable Child Care: Chris Bennett
How did Wonderschool CEO and Co-founder Chris Bennett go from a spark of an idea to a venture-backed business?
In this episode, Chris takes us inside his human-centered process for building a business. Chris shares about building empathy with his customers, prototyping the business model, finding the right sales channels, guiding a team, and staying inspired and connected to the mission.
View the full recap at ideou.com/blog.

4 snips
Nov 16, 2021 • 22min
Mentor Moment: How do I onboard new team members to encourage collaboration?
Mentor Moment is a series where we help a listener with a work challenge. In this episode, Heather Currier Hunt, IDEO’s executive talent director and global head of learning and development, gives Kathleen some ideas for ways she can onboard several new team members and set the stage for a collaborative and successful team dynamic.
Learn more about Heather at https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-currier-hunt-b114833a/.
Are you struggling with a work challenge and wish you could get some words of wisdom from someone who’s been there? We’d love to help! Go to ideou.com/podcast and find details on how to share your story in the show notes for this episode.

12 snips
Nov 15, 2021 • 28min
Frameworks for Organizational Change: Joe Brown
Joe Brown, Executive Director at IDEO, explains how to use three different frameworks to approach change in your organization.

4 snips
Oct 26, 2021 • 32min
Maintaining Momentum with Mode Shifts: Katie Soven
In order to maintain momentum and reach their goals, teams need to shift gears several times throughout a project. Project leaders are responsible for sensing the team’s need to shift and guiding them through these moments.
Katie Soven, senior portfolio director at IDEO, shares how to maintain team momentum through complexity by shifting modes, the cycle of inhale and exhale in project work, and a framework for project leaders to know when and how to make a shift.
View the full recap at ideou.com/blog.