Creative Career-Management
Career Design as a Creative Process: The Art of Shaping a Career
Can the building, development, and restructuring of a career be approached with the same impulses that drive creative work—painting, making music, or dancing?
Yes—creative life is a unified whole, and shaping a career path is an integral part of that creative process.
In this workshop, we explore career development not as a linear trajectory but as an open, iterative process that allows for discovery, experimentation, and adaptation. Just like in artistic practice, intuition, resonance, and the ability to navigate uncertainty play a crucial role.
Drawing on Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of flow and Brené Brown’s research on vulnerability and creativity, we translate these insights into the realm of career design. Through interactive exercises, we examine how personal curiosity and intrinsic motivation can serve as guiding forces for building sustainable artistic careers.
When we frame the creative process as a balance of structure and openness, we ask: What conditions are necessary to not only make creative careers possible but to keep them alive and resilient?
Together, we develop personal and practical strategies for the future—embracing uncertainty with courage and approaching career-building as an act of creative design.
Read my blog post about creative career management.
About Heather:
Heather O’Donnell is a psychologist (M.Sc.), Artistic-Systemic Therapist (DGSF), and the founding director of TGR The Green Room. Drawing on her own transformative journey from professional pianist to therapist after career-disrupting injuries, Heather has spent years developing innovative approaches to support individuals seeking health recovery, self-actualization, and sustainable well-being.
Her academic path began with a B.Sc. in Psychology from Freie Universität Berlin, followed by an M.Sc. in Prevention and Health Psychology from SRH Hochschule. She also holds a certificate in Musicians’ Health from the Kurt Singer Institute / Universität der Künste Berlin and is trained as a mindfulness teacher (MTTC) by Christopher Titmuss and Ulla König and as an Artistic-Systemic Therapist (DGSF).
Heather specializes in helping clients move beyond dead-end situations, exploring the root causes of blockages and uncovering blind spots. She works with individuals navigating illness and health challenges, career transitions, and major life restructurings. Having lived across multiple continents, Heather also supports clients in understanding and navigating intercultural dynamics, providing guidance rooted in personal experience and cultural insight.
Beyond her one-on-one work, Heather advises organizations on systemic change and leadership development, fostering healthier, more sustainable workplace cultures. She has presented at international conferences, including the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) Symposium at University College London (2024) and Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City (2017, 2021), the European Network of Cultural Centers’ (ENCC) conference in Spain (2022), OTM On The Move’s forum on Mental Health & International Cultural Mobility (2023), the World Piano Conference in Serbia (2016), and the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany (2015).
As a guest lecturer, Heather has worked with institutions such as Columbia University, the New England Conservatory, Rhodes University in South Africa, and the Lebanese Higher Conservatory of Music. From 2017 to 2019, she served as a faculty member at the Eastman School of Music, offering workshops on well-being and professional development. In 2024, she was elected to the Board of Directors of the European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC).
Heather’s mission is to help clients (re)discover their potential, find resilience, and design ways of living that align with their values and aspirations.