How to Develop Your Creative Identity at Work
“Congratulations on this important book, Oana, it was a pleasure reading it in advance – a key contribution to our field!”
— Vlad Glaveanu, Full Professor of Psychology, Dublin City University
Learn More About the Book
Focus on Creation and Goodness
Who I am
Hi, I am Oana Velcu-Laitinen.
I’m a Helsinki based NeuroLeadership Coach. I help individuals – change makers, researchers – and their teams bring their contribution to their environment, by cultivating creative thinking and collaboration skills.
How I can help you
For a refreshed perspective on work environments of autonomy and engagement, I can provide customised solutions in the form of:
- Speaking events.
- Corporate training.
For individuals who long to strengthen their creative capacity in new professional roles:
- Courses for career development.
We are fulfilled when we take time to create in the areas of business, society or culture that have a special meaning to us. Let’s talk about the initiatives you’d like to bring about in your expert role.
Why I do what I do
More than 15 years ago when I conducted research on how ERP systems are implemented in Finnish companies, I could notice an underestimation of the psychology of change both among stakeholders and leadership.
“How can leaders motivate their teams in the face of change?”
“How can we make better use of our creative thinking to perform at work?”
“How can we become more comfortable taking initiative?”
These were questions which I could not address in my doctoral dissertation. For the following years, this personal curiosity kept nagging me.
I eventually decided to take action and create training packages to tackle issues related to leading change. First, to help leaders enable work cultures of engagement and co-creation. Second, to help individuals unleash their creativity in their chosen roles.
The trainings are designed based on research in fields of neuroscience, – personal creativity and social interactions – , positive psychology, and organisational psychology. For each client, I design customised training packages – online or face-to-face.
Looking forward to working with you!
Some of Oana’s Clients
Successfully creative people manage to keep themselves open to being creative despite what happens around them. In the world of business, creativity helps us choose the problems worth our attention and provides solutions to those problems.
Change maker on imagination.
The interview published by DIRTT, global leader in industrialised construction for interior spaces.
15th November 2022.
The Digital Tour of Oana’s Book – Podcast Interviews
- April 2023 – The Be Better Podcast: I talk with Brandon Eastman about how to improve your creative brain and attract powerful ideas.
- March 2023 – Aalto University Operational Leadership Podcast: Ep. 13, Operational Creativity Capacity, when I talk with Professor of Practice Gautam Basu about the business value of creativity in operations management.
- February 2023 – Tech Lead Journal: Ep. #121. I talk with the host, Henry Suryawirawan, about creativity and work engagement, the creative diversity within ourselves, how to channel our curiosity, and more.
- January 2023 – Speak Like a Leader Podcast: Ep. #95. I talk with the host, John Bates, Leadership Communication Expert, about the core concepts in my book – how we understand our personal creativity and how we can open ourselves to new ways of thinking about creativity for a more fulfilling professional life.
- November 2022 – Aalto University CloudReachers Podcast: Season 5, Ep. 07. I talk with the host Tomi Kauppinen about identity, how to evaluate the results of creativity from the point of view of the creator and the audience, improv applied in the everyday life, our life with AI, and other interesting themes related to a creator’s life.
- October 2022 – IDEAS+LEADERS Podcast: Ep. 112. I talk with the host, Elena Paweta, about the importance of creativity and how to work on it in the workplace.
- September 2022 – Teach the Geek Podcast: Ep. 227. I talk with the host, Neil Thompson, about my transition from academic to self-employment, my interest in creativity and the ways I see technical professionals using their creativity in their work. Also, there’s a video version of the interview.
COVID-19 Edition
Special Coronavirus Edition. How to Maintain Your Emotional Wellbeing Through the Current Times of Uncertainty and Disruption. Watch my YouTube videos.
Past events
11th – 12th September 2023
Workshop: Creativity Kit in a Researcher’s Life and Speaker and Discussion Panelist: Charting a Course for Success in Science – Academia versus Industry versus Entrepreneurship, Nordic EMBL Partnership Meeting 2023.
19th July 2023
Talk: How Creativity Can Become the Engine of Organisational Adaptability, Possibilities Studies Network Conference, Dublin City University, Department of Psychology.
17th July 2023
Paper Presentation: Possible Pathways to Reformulating One’s Creative Identity, Possibilities Studies Network Conference, Dublin City University, Department of Psychology.
26th March 2020
Brain Health Event: Storytelling and Wellbeing. Webinar hosted by The Science Basement.
8th of January 2020 Communicate to Co-create
Talk hosted by Helsinki Epicenter, The House of Digital Innovation.
Autumn 2019 Personal Growth Courses
Creative Living Abroad
Expert Competence Course
20th-21st March 2019 Speaking event
Storytelling Day, organised by the Nordic Culture Point in Helsinki.
13th March 2019 Speaking event
How to Manage Your Self-Expression for Emotional Wellbeing, at Espoon Keskus, Me-House.
16th January 2019 Speaking event
Starting a Creative Industry Business, co-organised by Creative Colab Helsinki and NewCo Helsinki.
Personal development courses
Reinvent Your Happy Self as New Mom, 6th March – 10th April 2017
Choose Your Potential, 23rd March – 8th June 2017