Creative Confidence Podcast

Tension on your team isn’t always a problem to solve. In fact, it’s often a signal you’re doing meaningful work.
In this replay episode, bestselling author Daniel Coyle (The Culture Code) shares how the most successful teams channel friction into forward motion, instead of avoiding it. Drawing on research and real-world examples from places like Pixar, the Navy SEALs, and professional sports, Daniel breaks down how tension can become a powerful source of energy, learning, and innovation.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
Why conflict and disagreement are essential for high-performing teams
The key moments that shape team culture early on
How vulnerability builds trust (and why leaders need to go first)
A simple framework for turning tension into productive experimentation
How storytelling helps reinforce and scale strong team behaviors
This episode offers practical ways to rethink how your team approaches friction. If this topic resonates, explore more episodes on healthy friction and creative tension with guests like Ben Swire, Mike Peng, Heather Currier Hunt, Takashi Wickes, and Bob Sutton.

Related resources:
The Culture Code, by Daniel Coyle: https://danielcoyle.com/the-culture-code/
Cultivating Creative Collaboration online course with IDEO U, taught by IDEO CEO Mike Peng: https://www.ideou.com/products/cultivating-creative-collaboration
Read the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: https://www.ideou.com/blogs/inspiration/how-great-teams-leverage-tension-as-a-source-for-innovation
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Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There are many hidden barriers to building trust on teams, and sometimes we don’t see them until something breaks down.
In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Mina Seetharaman sits down again with Ben Swire—co-founder of Make Believe Works and author of Safe Danger—for a practical Q&A on what actually gets in the way of trust on teams.
Drawing on his experience designing team experiences for organizations around the world, Ben answers questions from the Creative Confidence community. Why does trust break down even on high-performing teams? What makes feedback feel risky? How do you create space for honest conversation without forcing vulnerability? And what can leaders do in the moment when trust starts to erode?
Related resources:
Safe Danger, by Ben Swire
Make Believe Works – Unique team building that actually makes an impact.
Cultivating Creative Collaboration online course with IDEO U, taught by IDEO CEO Mike Peng
Read the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: ideou.com/blog
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Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Team building often feels like a necessary evil. Leaders know it matters, but too often it feels awkward, forced, or disconnected from real work.
In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, Mina Seetharaman speaks with Ben Swire, co-founder of Make Believe Works and author of Safe Danger, about what actually builds trust, psychological safety, and creative collaboration on teams.
Ben introduces the concept of “safe danger”—the emotional sweet spot between comfort and fear—where teams feel secure enough to take risks, practice vulnerability, and grow together. He explains why most team building fails, why psychological safety is not the same as comfort, and why risk-taking is a muscle that teams need to practice before the stakes are high.
If you’re a leader who wants to encourage better ideas, stronger trust, and an innovation culture, this episode offers practical tools and mindset shifts you can use immediately.
To go deeper, explore IDEO U’s course and subscribe to the Creative Confidence Podcast for more conversations with today’s most thoughtful creative leaders.
Related resources:
Safe Danger, by Ben Swire
Make Believe Works – Unique team building that actually makes an impact.
Cultivating Creative Collaboration online course with IDEO U, taught by IDEO CEO Mike Peng
Read the episode recap on the IDEO U blog: ideou.com/blog
__________

Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do leaders apply playful thinking at work when time is short and the stakes are high?
In this Q&A episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, host Mina Seetharaman is joined by play designer and author Cas Holman and IDEO Partner Michelle Lee to explore how a playful mindset holds up under real-world constraints.
Building on their earlier conversation about why play matters at work, this episode focuses on what it looks like in practice: navigating tight timelines, creating psychological safety quickly, collaborating without losing your competitive edge, and leading in high-stakes environments like policy and healthcare.
Through real stories and answers to listener questions, Cas and Michelle share practical ways leaders can make values-aligned decisions under pressure, design safety through structure, use constraints to fuel creativity, and model vulnerability to unlock better thinking.

Related resources:
Playful by Cas Holman
Creative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving online course with IDEO U, taught by Michelle Lee
Full episode recap on the IDEO U blog
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Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Play isn’t the opposite of serious work. Iit’s a leadership mindset that helps teams stay curious, creative, and effective under pressure.

In this episode of the Creative Confidence Podcast, host Mina Seetharaman is joined by Cas Holman, play designer and author of Playful, and Michelle Lee, IDEO Partner and Executive Co-Managing Director, to explore how play supports better questions, psychological safety, and innovation at work.

Drawing on Cas’s work designing open-ended play systems and Michelle’s experience leading teams at IDEO, they share practical examples of how playful thinking shows up in real organizations and why it leads to better outcomes.

Related resources:
Playful by Cas Holman
Creative Thinking for Complex Problem Solving online course with IDEO U, taught by Michelle Lee
Full episode recap on the IDEO U blog

__________

Get episode recaps and register for free live podcast events at ideou.com/podcast.
Build your creative problem-solving skills with IDEO U's online courses in human-centered design, AI, leadership, and more at ideou.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.