What happens when a business needs to innovate, but they haven’t nurtured a culture of innovation? A recent study by leadershipIQ showed clearly that while companies like to describe themselves as valuing innovation, they don’t actually like employees who exhibit innovative traits, such as a willingness to take risks or ask questions. How do we encourage leaders to value innovation without fear? That’s what we explore this week with our ultra-creative guest, Melinda Rothouse, author, speaker, and professional creativity and leadership coach.

Guest Bio:

I am a professional creativity, leadership, and career coach, consultant, educator, and facilitator based in Austin, Texas. I am the founder of Austin Writing Coach and co-founder of Syncreate, which offers creativity coaching, consulting, workshops, and retreats designed to enhance creativity in life and work, and to foster communication, collaboration, and community. I'm a professor of Creativity, Innovation & Leadership within the Humanistic Psychology program at Saybrook University, and the host and creator of The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity. I am the author of two books: A Mindful Approach to Team Creativity and Collaboration: Creating a Culture of Innovation, drawing on insights from my doctoral research and my experiences working with organizational leaders and teams, published in 2020 from Palgrave Macmillan, and the co-author of the Silver Nautilus Award-winning Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities, published in 2021 from Mandorla Books.

Episode Sources:

The Artist's Way - https://a.co/d/agdKmOK

Son of Cormack - https://sonofcormack.com/

Randy Langford - https://www.shamanacana.com/

Jamie Gallagher - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie4thew/

LeadershipIQ Innovation Study - https://www.leadershipiq.com/blogs/leadershipiq/managers-don-t-love-innovators

Leadership Circle - https://leadershipcircle.com/leadership-assessment-tools/leadership-circle-profile/

Employee Churn - https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/employee-retention-the-real-cost-of-losing-an-employee