Deliberately Creative: Leading Innovative Teams with Amy Climer

In this energizing episode of the Build a Vibrant Culture podcast, Nicole Greer sits down with creativity expert and leadership consultant Dr. Amy Climer, author of Deliberate Creative Teams: How to Lead for Innovative Results. Together, they unpack what makes teams truly innovative and how leaders can clear the path for creativity.

You’ll discover Amy’s three-part model for team innovation, why most brainstorming fails, and how to use a proven, research-backed creative problem-solving process that actually works. Plus, Amy shares real-world stories—from manufacturing floors to city council chambers—where creative thinking transformed results.

Get ready to spark your team’s creativity, eliminate idea killers, and finally make innovation part of your everyday culture.

Highlights from this episode:

• [00:07:07] – What creativity actually means (hint: novelty + value).
• [00:12:49] – The Deliberate Creative Teams model: Purpose, Team Dynamics, and Creative Process.
• [00:27:27] – The four-stage creative problem-solving process: Clarify, Ideate, Develop, Implement.
• [00:35:29] – Creativity and change management: how they’re tightly intertwined.
• [00:37:54] – Clearing the path for creativity by eliminating meetings, tasks, and outdated processes.
• [00:47:33] – Final nugget: “Be deliberate to be creative. It will not happen by accident.”

Get Amy's book, Deliberate Creative Teams: https://a.co/d/cGgRt9D

Also mentioned in this episode:
Your Creative Power by Alex Osborn https://a.co/d/j8aICLI

Connect with Amy:
Website: https://climerconsulting.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyclimer/
X: https://x.com/amyclimer

Listen today at www.vibrantculture.com/podcast or your favorite podcast platform!
Learn more about Nicole Greer, the Vibrant Coach: https://www.vibrantculture.com/