Dr Gaia Grant
Executive Director Tirian, Best-Selling Author, Researcher and Lecturer
Gaia is the designer of unique tools for navigating innovation leadership and culture.
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Dr Gaia Grant's 2025 biography
Gaia Grant’s background
Gaia Grant (PhD) is the creator of the unique ‘Innovative Change Leader’ Profile (iCLi) and ‘Polar Positioning’ (PoP) tool. She is a researcher and lecturer on innovation with the University of Sydney Business School, a director of Tirian Consulting, and author of a number of books – including The Innovation Race: How to change a culture to change the game and international bestseller ‘Who Killed Creativity?… And How Can We Get it Back?’ along with ‘A Patch of Paradise’ and ‘The Rhythm of Life’ and over 30 other educational resources.
Gaia researches how to create a culture that supports sustainable innovation and draws on data she’s collected from multiple survey responses and interviews with global leaders. She is a course designer & lecturer at the Work Integrated Learning Hub / Discipline of Strategy, Innovation and Entrepreneurship / University of Sydney Business School. Her role includes evaluating and designing work-based learning and teaching for the future of work. Gaia also has an MSc in Creative Leadership (State University of New York), along with a Grad Dip Change Leadership, BD (hons), and BA Dip Ed.
Gaia was appointed by The Australian Institute of Company Directors and the peak Australian Superannuation Association Fund to research and report back on the importance of creating cultures in an organization that promotes accountability and integrity following the outcomes of the Haynes Royal Commission. She is recognized as an outstanding educator, receiving multiple university awards for her work.
Gaia’s corporate clients have included: Google (US), JP Morgan (Asia Pacific), Visa (US), Salesforce (Asia Pacific), Boeing (& Partner airlines), Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts (Canada), Citibank (Asia Pacific), AMP Bank (Australia), Deloitte Digital (Aust), KPMG (Aust), Baker & McKenzie (Asia Pacific), Colgate Palmolive (Innovation Lab America), Deutsche Bank (Asia Pacific) & many other MNCs who can all attest to her insightful approach.
Keynote presentations Gaia has given at a number of high-profile events for up to 3,000 people at a time have included: Salesforce International Roadshow | Gartner Symposium CIO Itxpo | World President Organization Global conference | Optus / Singtel national event |Growth Faculty Conference. Other selected industry keynote and workshop presentations have included CI Creative Innovation Conference (Australia) and the Creative Problem-Solving Institute (State University of New York, US). Gaia has also presented her research papers at a number of universities internationally including across the US (such as Xavier and Miami), Asia Pacific (including Bhutan, Central Philippines University), as well as delivering at major US & European management theory conferences: Academy of Management, EGOS & PROS.
Gaia contributes regularly to a number of major magazines and newspapers, and she has also been featured in a number of international media including BBC and ABC TV along with commercial TV, Reuters, Harvard Business Review, HRM, Fast Company and the Wall St Journal. She has co-authored several academic papers on innovation and over 30 corporate educational resources, simulations and programs, which are used by Fortune 500 companies worldwide. Gaia’s recent white paper on “What it means to be an ambidextrous innovation leader: Developing greater agility for sustainability in a rapidly changing world” is being very well received by innovation leaders globally.
Gaia is a recognized thought leader and a highly skilled presenter, facilitator and consultant who has developed a wide range of strategies and tools that can be used to find solutions to the most difficult challenges. Along with her corporate client work, Gaia has also researched, designed and delivered long-term innovation culture solutions for a number of not-for-profit organisations, including directing a one-year project working on innovation solutions for a government project that supports impoverished farmers with improving agriculture techniques in Indonesia, coordinating strategies for refugee organisations to overcome challenges internationally, and producing a health curriculum for more than 25 million teachers and students in India.
Gaia and her partner Andrew Grant have travelled the world for over 20 years looking at innovation and creativity in companies, countries and cultures.
Dr Gaia Grant's 2025 talks & topics
Remaining Competitive in The Innovation Race
Who will win and who will lose as we face the future digital divide?
Many of us are astounded by the speed of innovation, but only a few truly know how to engage with it. While we all eagerly anticipate insights from industry leaders, hoping to discern the latest innovation trends and maintain an edge, it can be hard to get practical guidance on how to stay ahead in the innovation race.
What has made the current landscape especially challenging is that while organization growth has typically followed a relatively linear path with gradual developments, the pace of technological progress through AI is forcing us to adapt to seismic exponential shifts.
This fast-paced ‘futurist keynote’ is a global journey that uncovers how various cultures, companies, and even countries have successfully managed rapid change AND innovation. Drawing from case studies in their book ‘The Innovation Race’, it provides tangible strategies to stay ahead by seizing opportunities rather than succumbing to potentially disruptive and threatening challenges. It explores how although companies like Google, Microsoft and OpenAI may appear to be leading in the ‘innovation race’, they might not have all the answers – and how most companies today have only half the story right when it comes to innovation and growth.
The session explores the critical underlying factors that are under-recognized, but that will ultimately shape the future of innovation: leadership styles, team culture and organization’s readiness. It provides tools to show how leaders can successfully navigate core paradoxical innovation tensions to become more resilient, agile and adaptive. The unique research from Dr Grant’s work with the University of Sydney Business School presented in the session also offers a realistic perspective on what it will take to remain in the innovation race over the long term.
Future-Proofing Yourself in the Digital Age
Navigating the paradoxes of tradition and transformation with ambidextrous leadership
We all respond differently to innovation and change. While some will be keen to explore breakthrough new options and race ahead – embracing all the digital world has to offer – others will want to bunker down and focus on maintaining or only incrementally building on current systems and structures. This can lead to significant tension for the individual, the team and the organization.
All leaders need to learn to importance of developing the skills to embrace a more adaptable ‘ambidextrous’ approach that ensures the agility and resilience to manage tensions like these effectively. The interactive session delves into the paradoxes of future-ready leadership and offers practical strategies for building adaptive, agile and resilient individuals and teams.
This session empowers leaders to thrive in the face of digital disruptions. Based on interviews and case studies from our groundbreaking research and as published in Andrew Grant and Dr Gaia Grants’ book ‘The Innovation Race’, the session equips leaders to navigate today’s fast-evolving landscape. Practical tools such as the ‘Innovation Change Leader’ (iCLi) profile measure, ‘Dynamic Polar Positioning’ (DPoP) tool and EXTEND framework for ambidextrous thinking and innovative problem solving are also provided to support implementation strategies for managing the complexities of (AI-drive) change and the related competing demands.
How to Make Responsible Decisions about New Innovations
Mastering the art of purpose-driven innovation leadership for driving sustainable change
How is it possible to make rapid and responsible decisions about new innovations when the landscape is changing so fast?
In this fascinating session, Gaia Grant shares fresh research insights from interviews with global innovation leaders and in-depth case studies with a range of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies to not-for-profit enterprises. The session reveals how striking characteristics of leaders and organizations that are able to drive purpose-driven and sustainable organizational change, and demonstrates how she has applied the principles in her consulting work with impressive results.
The session explains how it is imperative to innovate both radically (for agile adaptation to rapid change) and responsibly (for reliable and sustainable performance) – and covers how to determine key objectives, develop multidisciplinary teams, and align roles and responsibilities based on understanding the core competing demands.
The session includes an interactive AI ethical dilemma, which reveals the unique competing demands when trying to innovate responsibly. The ‘Purpose-driven Innovation Scanner’ (PDIS) tool provides practical guidance on how to measure innovation biases and activate strengths to drive purpose-driven results and sustainable change.
The Collaboration Deception
Leading collaborative innovation
Collaboration is a term often used by leaders and found in mission statements, yet implementation can be a deceptive challenge. This unique session delves deep into the concept of collaboration, exploring the critical question: “Under what conditions will people really cooperate?” This seemingly simple question holds significant implications for anyone seeking to foster a collaborative environment, from corporate managers to governments & even countries in conflict. Through honest and detailed investigation of this topic, the program strives to comprehend how to effectively incentivize cooperation (especially in the context of a competitive corporate business environment). During the session the participants engage in a social experiment (gamified simulation) to explore the behavioral economics of individuals, teams and whole business units. In a safe, reversible environment, they will experience firsthand the consequences when trust and accountability are removed from the equation and quickly discover the power of real collaboration to achieve outstanding results.
The Creativity Crisis: Is creative thinking dying just when companies need it the most?
(Alternative heading: Who Killed Creativity and how can we get it back?)
Creativity is the cornerstone of innovation. However, the incessant drive to innovate swiftly can often foster a detrimental culture that undermines the entire creative process. In our haste for immediate results, we might paradoxically be extinguishing the very spark that leads us to innovation: creativity. A survey of 1500 CEOs highlighted creative thinking skills as the most crucial attribute for future leaders. Yet, while IQ levels are rising, creative thinking (CQ) is on the decline. While 98% of children are classified as “geniuses” in divergent thinking, this figure plummets to a mere 2% in adulthood.
This session embarks participants on a creatively memorable CSI-themed journey, transitioning from the classroom to the boardroom, aiding them in comprehending the current crisis in creative thinking. The session offers an engaging, interactive platform for examining potential obstacles to positive change. It delves into workplace implications, transcending design thinking tools and AI, to enable all participants to cultivate a creative mindset and foster an innovative culture.
The outcomes ensure that participants comprehend both the neurological (internal) & environmental (external) forces that hinder creative thinking, acquiring essential skills to flourish in complex, unpredictable contexts. Learn how to tackle wicked challenges & generate superior ideas more rapidly! (Interactive keynote + optional hybrid integrated workshop.)
EXTENSION HYBRID WORKSHOP OPTIONS:
- Diagnose creative blockers (cultural, environmental and psychological)
- Investigate the creative thinking enablers, and learn strategies to counter the blockers
- Allow creative thinking to thrive in individuals, teams and organizations.
Creative and Critical Thinking Rescue Strategies. How to solve wicked challenges, better ideas faster!
Harnessing Creative Intelligence (CQ) skills for a competitive business advantage
From the classroom to the boardroom –why adults seem to have lost their creative ability right when they need it the most. Recent research has revealed that creative thinking will be the most important leadership attribute in the next 10 years. Yet it has been identified that even though IQ has been on the rise, creative thinking (CQ) has been declining since the 1990s. People with higher CQ are more inquisitive and open to new experiences. Mapping the CQ skills into applicable business attributes & design thinking to show how they are crucial for anyone expecting creative solutions.
EXTENSION HYBRID WORKSHOP OPTIONS:
A hybrid keynote / workshop allows for the participants and all stakeholders to walk away with actionable data from the collective intelligence of the group’s contributions to real live workplace challenges and solutions. This can include gathering and supplying data collection using an online Padlet board to use and keep, during and post, the session. This comes complete with audience solutions, follow-up action planning, goal setting and gap analysis. (rec up to 2 hours.) * may require additional facilitator(s).
- Map the 7 CQ skills needed to implement creative thinking, critical thinking & design thinking strategies.
- Connect KPIs to CQ skills, and harness CQ skills as a competitive business advantage
- Conduct a gap analysis to assess current and needed CQ skills in a work context
- Learn how CQ skills can counteract creative blockers
- Use the CQ skills for each step of a Design Thinking process and solve a real workplace challenge