Deliberate Creative Teams: How to Lead for Innovative Results

by Amy Climer

Inspire collective creativity, drive innovation, and unlock breakthrough success.

Do you struggle to inspire creativity within your team? Do you want to see your team excel in creativity and problem solving? Dr. Amy Climer has brought forth the comprehensive road map for leaders to drive their teams toward unparalleled creativity and innovation. She offers actionable insights to unlock your team’s potential. She gives you the tools to empower your team to consistently generate ground-breaking ideas.

A renowned innovation consultant, Dr. Amy Climer shatters the common belief that innovation happens by chance or magic. Through years of experience and research distilled into this essential guide, she demonstrates how innovation stems from a process. One that can be learned, practiced, and repeated. She offers her Deliberate Creative Team system as an intentional, structured process that yields innovative solutions. The book is packed with relatable stories, effective exercises, and productive tools designed to cultivate a culture of creativity within your team. She gives you the blueprint to inspire your team to hone their skills to be more creative⎯together.

If you want to lead a creative team that can innovate anytime it wants, Deliberate Creative Teams is the catalyst you need to leverage the power of collective creativity. This book empowers you to transform your team’s creative potential, translating into unmatched success.

214 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2025

Reviews

[KC Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read with implementable strategies to bring out the creative side of any team. Written in language we can all understand & you don’t have to wait for the perfect time to start the strategies discussed!! Loved it!

[Kevin Meenaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a book that will unlock your team’s creative potential while tackling real-world challenges? Deliberate Creative Teams by Amy Climer delivers exactly that—and more.

This book is a winner. While it focuses on drawing out creativity in individuals and teams, it is also SO much more. Amy Climer skillfully guides the reader through critical topics like team dynamics, being purpose-driven, building trust, psychological safety, combating groupthink, and much more. As a leadership and strengths-based coach and facilitator, I found this book to be an invaluable resource. It addresses many common challenges, presenting them in ways that feel both practical and refreshingly simple.

More importantly, Amy provides clear methods to put Deliberate Creative Teams into action. Some are straightforward and immediately applicable, while others are more intricate, requiring thoughtful effort. I have already implemented several of her ideas in my own business as a solopreneur and look forward to using her techniques with the teams I work with to help them move forward effectively.

The book flows beautifully, with a conversational tone that feels like I was sitting down with Amy herself—relaxed, pressure-free, and enriched with authentic, natural learning. She shares useful analogies and backs them up with data where appropriate, making the content both accessible and credible.

Perhaps the most powerful takeaway is that fostering deliberate creativity within teams isn’t difficult—it just requires intentionality. And the rewards are more than worth the effort.

*Deliberate Creative Teams* is a must-read for anyone seeking to enhance creativity and innovation within their teams, regardless of industry or sphere of influence. Grab a copy, get deliberate, and watch creativity thrive.

“Innovation is not about us…It is about serving others.” (p. 184)

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an organization development consultant, I hear this often from the leaders I work with: I want my team to be more innovative. There is a sense of stuckness for many of them. I’ve read many books that advocate for innovation, but I have not read a book that so clearly and concretely tells leaders HOW to bring innovation to their teams’ functioning. Amy Climer’s book, Deliberate Creative Teams, does just that. She tells you how to cultivate innovation, which is possible for all teams. Because, as she says repeatedly, innovation and creativity can be learned. They are not innate, i.e. you either are creative or you are not.

Equally important are innovation killers, which Amy also lays out in this book. We’ve all been part of a brainstorm session where evaluation and analysis of the ideas interferes with the free flow of wild ideas. She explains why this happens and what can be done. Additionally, you need three things to be innovative: a shared purpose, the right/positive team dynamics, and tools, i.e. a creative process with great tools.

And for all my brethren out there that lead, coach, and facilitate teams, there are lots of juicy activities baked into this book that bring all of these ideas to life.

Amy Climer makes team innovation accessible and possible for all of us. Highly recommend this book.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creativity is often thought of as mystical—an unpredictable spark, something that just "happens." Deliberate Creative Teams challenges this notion by presenting a compelling argument: creativity can be cultivated deliberately rather than left to chance.

Amy Climer provides concrete techniques and exercises that guide individuals and teams in developing creative solutions. These methods benefit professionals in fields that demand both innovation and structure, such as project management, education, and business strategy.

Even better, the writing is engaging and accessible. Climer blends research with real-world examples, demonstrating how deliberate creativity has been successfully implemented in different settings.

This book is a must-have resource for anyone seeking to build their creative skill set. If you and your team are looking to innovate, Deliberate Creative Teams offers a clear path to unlocking your creative potential.

[Pat Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely awesome! What a treat it is to have a book that is the perfect mix of real stories, real research, practical applications and activities that I can bring to the team to continue the opportunities. It's everything I want in a book on a topic that's simply not normally easy. This book makes it easy.

[Mark Collard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy's book nails the most important thing about creative teams - intention. As someone who's been in the teambuilding business for a long time, I know that creativity doesn't just happen or land in your lap. After reading Amy's book, you will walk away with a simple framework supported by tons of practical exercises that will inspire your team to be creative, too. Wish I'd read this book years ago!

[Anton J · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who’s spent years helping leaders build powerful, resilient teams, I know that true creativity isn’t a gift – it’s a skill you can teach and a culture you can foster. Amy Climer’s Deliberate Creative Teams is a powerful, hands-on guide that demystifies creativity in a way that every team can understand and apply. This isn’t about one-off brainstorming; it’s a roadmap for consistently nurturing innovation and tapping into each team member's potential. Amy combines her expertise and personal experience to show leaders exactly how to build an environment where creativity and collaboration drive results that matter. If you want your team to solve problems and transform challenges into breakthrough moments, this is the book to read.

[Deidra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has worked in a few different professional sectors, but started in one focused on team building and development, I have struggled to convince new teams about the value and role (and relevancy) of creativity. I feel like this book gives me everything I need. It has the language to start the conversations, the examples to support those conversations, and so much more (a section on conflict? yes please). I also love that this book is a smooth read and something I could easily use with students or with folks I manage as a way to set a shared understanding to build a team collaboratively (and creatively)!

[Zoë Routh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like having a friendly guide in your pocket, this practical, hands on guide is just what you need to tackle strategic challenges. Backed with research and a wealth of experience as an expert in her field, Amy Climer delivers a wonderful journey through the potentials and pitfalls of working deliberately with teams. The stories are nicely interspersed with useful exercises, many of which I've scribbled down to use with my own clients in facilitating sessions on strategy.

If you're struggling with how to get started in being more innovative, or have some tough challenges, the creative thinking/working process alongside the exercises will help you and your team to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead. Recommended for leaders who want to elevate their team's strategic work.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced review copy.

[Suma Elwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy Climer's book provides a thoughtful and comprehensive examination of creativity and innovation as essential drivers of progress in today's rapidly evolving world. She presents practical strategies for individuals and organizations to harness these qualities in addressing contemporary challenges and seizing new opportunities. As a doctoral student in organizational leadership, I find the insights on creativity and innovation particularly inspiring and foundational to my research. Climer's methodology provides a clear and actionable framework for those seeking to integrate creativity and innovation into their professional endeavors. This book is an essential read for anyone seeking to cultivate creativity and innovation in their work and leadership practices

[Pam Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Amy Climber has done it again with another fabulous book. This book was a great read, breaking down into action steps through her chapters how as a leader I can ignite creativity in my dynamic team! I cannot wait to implement these ideas with my team, and see what ideas they are able to come up with to transform our processes.

[Jami · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creating a culture that supports innovation and creativity is a universal leadership challenge. How do you balance creativity and structure? Amy Climer addresses this very challenge and creates an actionable roadmap to help your team create space for innovation and creative thinking.

[Jen Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve seen Dr Climer speak in-person. Her writing is as engaging as her speaking. Thoughtful, relevant stories and actionable take-aways. A great book on creativity, leadership and innovation. A must read for team leads.