In this episode, I’m talking with Dr. Lily Blocker (formerly Lily Cushenbery), an Associate Professor of Management and Leadership at Stony Brook University in New York. Lily will share some research and insights on leading innovation — what makes an innovative team, and how leaders can foster more innovation within their teams.

Dr. Lily Blocker is an Assistant Professor of Management at Stony Brook University and the director of the Leadership & Creativity Research Lab. Her work in leadership, innovation, and conflict applies science-based approaches to practical organizational problems. Her research focuses on 1) the process by which leaders overcome failures and 2) the dynamics of innovative teams.

Dr. Blocker’s consulting clients include the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Del Monte Foods, Big Heart Pet Brands, PNC Bank, and Gold Coast Bank. Prior to joining Stony Brook, Dr. Blocker was a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the International Center for the Study of Terrorism, where she studied the process of terrorist deradicalization for a grant from the Office of Naval Research. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Penn State University and a B.A. in Psychology from California State University, Fresno.