Start with Recognizing Your
Creative GeniusA research-backed keynote experience featuring live speed-painting, the science of creativity, and an experience your audience will never forget.
Heather was absolutely exceptional as the keynote speaker for Leadership Summit. She challenged us not simply to solve today's problems, but to unleash the creativity and imagination needed to build what comes next.
JONATHAN FLEECE
President & CEO, Empath Health
Creative GeniusHeather Unleashing
“Dr. Hodges is one of the most impressive speakers that I’ve ever heard.”
INGRID FOSTER | COO, Care First Home Health
Human CreativityHeather Hodges Unleashing
Over 85% of CEOs say creativity is crucial to their organization's success.
Yet 75% of employees feel their creative potential goes unused at work. That gap is where innovation dies, quietly, every day, in organizations that have the talent but never unleash it.
CREATIVITY is your competitive edge and the heartbeat of a thriving culture. You'll leave inspired and equipped to unleash the creative genius in yourself and your team.
Heather's keynotes close that gap. Each one blends research, story, and two live speed-paintings, helping your people see the creative genius they already have, and put it to work immediately. She's a trusted keynote speaker delivered across healthcare, pharmaceutical, energy, security, and finance organizations.
Heather Hodges is the #1 creativity + innovation expert.
Heather Hodges is the #1 creativity + innovation expert.
Unleash Your Creative Genius
Discover your creative genius and unleash it as your greatest competitive advantage.
Everyone is Creative. Not Everyone Believes It. The most painful professional experience isn't failure. It's the suffocating feeling that your greatest gifts are going completely unseen.
Everyone is creative. And we need everyone's creativity. We have massive challenges to solve in our world, and we cannot solve them without our collective creative genius.
In this unforgettable keynote, Heather blends art, stories, and neuroscience to help every person in the room unleash their creative genius and use it as their strategic advantage.
This Program Is For Audiences Who Are:
Stuck in "we've always done it this way" thinking and struggling to generate fresh ideas or adapt to change
Losing their best people to disengagement and burnout because they don't feel seen, valued, or utilized
Under pressure to do more with less and wondering where the breakthrough ideas will come from
Convinced creativity is for the "creative types" and missing the genius hiding in plain sight on their team
Your Audience Will Leave Able To:
Believe they are creative (perhaps for the first time) and name their unique type through The Hodges 12 Types of Creative Genius® framework
Recognize creativity as a strategic imperative and the engine that drives innovation, engagement, and performance
Identify hidden creative genius in themselves and others, and understand how different types contribute to innovation
Recognize what kills creativity and what nurtures it, and create a culture of psychological safety, autonomy, and trust
Put their creativity to work immediately with practical tools they can use the next day
RECOMMENDED BREAKOUT SESSION:
The Creative Genius Innovation Lab
The Art & Science of Leading Innovation
Recognize the Creative Genius on Your Team and Build the Culture Where It Thrives.
For organizations, that translates into the most expensive problem leaders face: not seeing and unleashing the talent already on their team. The defining risk of 2027 is the quiet disengagement and turnover of your best and brightest employees.
Great leaders can change that. In this keynote experience, featuring two live speed painting performances, Dr. Heather Hodges introduces six leadership behaviors you can practice immediately to recognize the creative genius on your team and create a culture of innovation where your people can thrive.
When you unleash the creative genius on your team, people do the best work of their careers, and you create a culture no one wants to leave.
This Keynote Is Perfect For:
Leaders and managers ready to unlock their team's full potential
HR and OD professionals focused on talent, retention, and culture
Organizations navigating change, innovation, or transformation
Your Audience Will Leave Able To:
Discover their own Creative Genius Trifecta and understand how they're uniquely wired to solve problems
See their team through a completely new lens and understand how each person is wired to innovate
Assign work, build teams, and have development conversations based on each person's creative genius
Build a culture where people stop feeling invisible and start doing the best work of their lives
Create the conditions where creativity becomes a strategic advantage and innovation thrives
The Art of Teamwork
Build a Winning Team that Unleashes Everyone’s Creative Genius
Every organization runs on teams. Yet most teams operate at a fraction of what they could be, and it costs them millions in lost productivity, missed innovation, and turnover.
When trust breaks down and culture disintegrates, the creative genius already on your team never gets unleashed, and even your most talented people can't reach their potential. The difference between a mediocre team and a high-performing one is the trust that lets people take risks. It's leaders who can see and unleash the genius already on their team, and a culture where everyone knows how their gifts fit into the whole. Great leaders build that culture.
In this high-energy keynote, Dr. Heather Hodges draws on her research-backed framework to show leaders how to see, name, and unleash the creative genius already on their team.
When every person plays at their highest potential, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its genius.
This Keynote Is Perfect For:
Intact teams ready to deepen trust, communication, and creative collaboration
Cross-functional teams navigating change and complex challenges together
Organizations invested in leadership development and building cultures of creative excellence
Your Audience Will Leave Able To:
Practice self-leadership to bring their own creative genius and personal accountability to the team
Recognize the creative genius already on their team through The Hodges 12 Types of Creative Genius® framework
"Pass the ball" with confidence, knowing each team member's unique gifts and how to deploy them through delegation, collaboration, and communication
Use Radical Teamwork™ conversations to build trust, strengthen performance, and unlock potential
Take ownership of team culture by understanding how their behaviors create the conditions where creative genius thrives
Heather's Keynote Experience Includes:
Access to a free link for The Hodges 12 Types of Creative Genius® assessment for every attendee, includes a 20-page individual PDF profile.
Audience engagement moments that spark true self-discovery and ignite creative thinking in real time.
Here's how we'll unlock your Creative Genius...
The Hodges 12 Types of Creative Genius®
The research-backed framework woven through every keynote Heather presents.
Every keynote runs on the same foundation: twelve distinct types of creative genius, organized across three domains.
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Solve problems by nurturing relationships, developing others, and creating human connections.
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Solving problems through thinking, analyzing, communicating, and combining ideas.
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Solving problems through making, building, and organizing.
Every attendee gets free access to the individual assessment, plus a personalized 20-page profile revealing their Creative Genius Trifecta, their top three types, and how they naturally think, create, and lead.
Creativity HappenHeather Making
Every painting Heather creates on stage is donated to the event.
Every portrait on stage is a story, and a reminder that creativity has always been human.
Enhance Your Keynote Experience
All of Heather's breakout sessions extend the keynote's core message into hands-on, practical work. Using original tools like the S.O.L.V.E. Process™, Stay Conversations Card Deck™, the Radical Teamwork Card Deck™, and the LEGO® Serious Play® method, each session turns inspiration into real action your team can use immediately.
60-90 minutes
In-person
Practical takeaways your team can apply right away.
Creative Genius Innovation Lab
The Missing Piece in Your Innovation Equation
The perfect pairing for any keynote missing its third piece: People + Culture + Process = Innovation. Using their personal Hodges 12 Types of Creative Genius® profile and The S.O.L.V.E. Process™, participants tackle a real workplace challenge and leave with an actionable plan they can implement immediately.
This Is Ideal For:
Teams, Work Groups, People Managers, Executives, HR/OD/L&D Professionals
Retention Rx
How to Build a Culture No One Wants to Leave
The number one cause of turnover isn't pay, it's workload, burnout, and feeling disconnected. Using Heather's original Stay Conversations Card Deck™, leaders learn the simple, high-impact behaviors that boost engagement and prevent turnover.
This Is Ideal For:
People Managers, Leaders, Executives, HR/OD/L&D Professionals
Thriving Through Change
With LEGO® Serious Play®
Constant change makes people anxious, and leading through it isn't easy. Using LEGO® Serious Play® alongside Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' Change Curve, participants map how them and their teams experience change, and leave with a practical framework to lead through any transition with confidence.
This Is Ideal For:
People managers, Leaders, HR/OD/L&D professionals, and Executives
Radical Teamwork
The Conversations Your Team Needs to Have But Never Does
Low trust quietly eats away at creativity, collaboration, and performance. Using Heather's Radical Teamwork Card Deck™, teams uncover hidden dynamics, build empathy, and strengthen the trust that fuels bold thinking and real results.
This Is Ideal For:
Teams, Work Groups, People Managers, Leaders, Executives, HR/OD/L&D Professionals
Building Blocks of Culture
Designing Your Dream Culture with LEGO® Serious Play®
Many teams feel disconnected and burned out. In this hands-on session, participants use the LEGO® Serious Play® method to build their ideal team culture, identifying strengths, aligning on shared values, and leaving with practical actions to build a culture where people flourish.
This Is Ideal For:
People Managers, Leaders, Executives, HR/OD/L&D Professionals
A Perfect Track Record
100% of attendees and clients always say yes to Heather’s keynotes.
Attendees Find Her Valuable
Would See Her Again
Achieved Event Goals
Clients Would Rehire Her
Independently Collected Through
Want to Go Deeper?
Learn more about The Hodges 12 for Teams® assessment and the half-day Sprint, 1-day Intensive, and 90-day Transformation programs.
These are Heather's signature team programs that help teams discover, develop, and deploy their collective creative genius to fuel innovation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does Heather customize her keynotes?
Yes. Every keynote is customized to your event goals and your audience through a discovery call and short interviews with your people, when possible.
How long are her keynotes?
Standard keynotes run 45–75 minutes, including two live speed paintings, with workshop and half-day formats available.
Does Heather speak outside of the US, perhaps internationally?
Yes. Heather speaks to global audiences and welcomes international engagements, with travel arrangements and expenses handled separately from the keynote fee.
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Do we need to provide art supplies for her keynotes?
No. Heather's fee covers all painting supplies; the venue provides only an easel, drop cloth, tallboy table, and adequate lighting for the painting station on stage.
Do the speed paintings add time to the program?
No. Heather paints two portraits live during the keynote as visual story elements woven into the message, so they require no separate slot on your agenda.
What happens with the paintings after Heather's keynotes?
The paintings belong to the host organization and most clients auction them for their foundation, gift them to an honoree, or present them to a sponsor.
Can we commission a new painting for our event?
Yes. Heather paints from an established repertoire, and a custom painting researched, designed, and rehearsed to performance standard, with synchronized video, is $3,500 with a 90-day minimum lead time.
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Can Heather deliver breakouts or workshops the same day?
Yes. Multi-session days are her norm, and add-on sessions are quoted separately from the keynote.
Can our attendees take The Hodges 12® assessment?
Yes. Every keynote attendee receives complimentary access to The Hodges 12 Types of Creative Genius® assessment, a $40-per-person value included in Heather's speaking fee.
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Will Heather share her slide deck with attendees?
No. The deck itself is proprietary, but Heather provides access to The Hodges 12® assessment or a PDF participant handouts for attendees.
What does Heather provide to help us promote the session?
A headshot, bios, a stage-ready introduction, social graphics, and a custom promotional video recorded for your audience.
Creative Genius