Creative Teams, Real Risks: Coaching Teams for Courageous Innovation

Event ID: PP1150869

Tue, Mar 17, 2026 | 9:00 PM - 10:00 PM

Venue: Room 412 (Hilton Austin Downtown)

View on Official SXSW

Summary

Innovation in tech isn't just shipped features—it's the everyday risks teams either take or avoid when AI, data, and customers are all moving at once. This session shows how ICF-credentialed team coaching helps product, engineering, and innovation teams talk honestly about those risks, use conflict productively, and turn uncertainty around AI and new tech into small, testable experiments instead of stalemates. Gain a realistic view of what blocks team courage, practical language for your teams, and a simple structure to support braver, more creative decisions in high-stakes work.

Contributors

Raw Event JSON

Large nested arrays are compacted for page readability. Full payload remains in dataset files.

Open JSON payload
{
  "id": "PP1150869",
  "track": "Culture",
  "focus_area": null,
  "category": "Core Conversation",
  "event_id": "PP1150869",
  "event_type": "panel",
  "format": "Core Conversation",
  "genre": null,
  "subgenre": null,
  "name": "Creative Teams, Real Risks: Coaching Teams for Courageous Innovation",
  "presented_by": null,
  "publish_at": "2026-02-27T15:25:00.000-06:00",
  "reservable": false,
  "reservable_id": null,
  "reserved": false,
  "date": "2026-03-17",
  "end_time": "2026-03-17T17:00:00.000-05:00",
  "start_time": "2026-03-17T16:00:00.000-05:00",
  "message": null,
  "image": null,
  "credentials": [
    {
      "name": "Platinum Badge",
      "type": "platinum"
    },
    {
      "name": "Innovation Badge",
      "type": "innovation"
    }
  ],
  "contributors": [
    {
      "id": 103606,
      "company": "International Coaching Federation Greater Austin Charter Chapter",
      "credential_types": [
        "innovation"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2272290,
      "name": "Sandy Schwan, ACC",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "Business Alliance Director",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Sandy Schwan, ACC",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/TzPYPvBxGoHvJKgsUD3XyAFcAzk=/217x0:893x676/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/d0d595e0-fb25-4700-97ff-9983190a4196/pcid-1654524"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": "Most teams think they're collaborating. They're actually just agreeing with whoever talks\rfirst. Sandy Schwan has spent 25+ years inside this problem — coaching executives at\rcompanies from PepsiCo and United Airlines to high-growth tech teams through the\rmessy, human work of building teams that actually think together. As founder of\rEvolving Strategies and an ICF-certified coach, she helps leaders see the hidden\rdynamics — anchoring bias, groupthink, missing perspectives — that quietly derail team\rdecisions. A Forbes Coaches Council member and former Northwestern University\radjunct in Learning and Organizational Change, Sandy designs sessions around one\rrule: if you can't use it Monday morning, it doesn't belong on the slide. Her SXSW Core\rConversation hands you a three-question decision stress-test you can deploy in your\rnext meeting.",
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    },
    {
      "id": 103605,
      "company": "International Coaching Federation Greater Austin Charter Chapter",
      "credential_types": [
        "innovation"
      ],
      "entity_id": 2272289,
      "name": "Wendy Irwin",
      "speaker_types": [
        "Speaker"
      ],
      "title": "ICF Austin Community Outreach Director",
      "image": {
        "alt_text": "Wendy Irwin",
        "credit": null,
        "url": "https://images.sxsw.com/mNsf3vjUrTcpa2AtvM3pigGD-A8=/29x0:608x579/600x600/images.sxsw.com/48/c6ee134f-99d5-4954-b272-1d66af3b6b70/pcid-1654093"
      },
      "speaker_type": "Speaker",
      "details": null,
      "links": {},
      "type": "person"
    }
  ],
  "venue": {
    "accessible": false,
    "age_policy": null,
    "floor": "4",
    "id": "V0368",
    "indoor_outdoor": "INDOOR",
    "mixhalo_url": "https://translate.mixhalo.rocks/?venue_id=429&partner=true",
    "name": "Room 412",
    "parent_id": "V0365",
    "parent_venue_name": "Hilton Austin Downtown",
    "venue_entry_info": null,
    "formats": null,
    "location": {
      "address": "500 E 4th St.",
      "lat_lon": [
        30.2651364,
        -97.7381904
      ],
      "city": "Austin",
      "postal_code": "78701",
      "state": "TX",
      "name": "Hilton Austin Downtown"
    },
    "root": {
      "id": "V0365",
      "name": "Hilton Austin Downtown",
      "mixhalo_url": null
    },
    "events": "[omitted 5 venue events]"
  },
  "description": "Innovation in tech isn't just shipped features—it's the everyday risks teams either\rtake or avoid when AI, data, and customers are all moving at once. This session\rshows how ICF-credentialed team coaching helps product, engineering, and\rinnovation teams talk honestly about those risks, use conflict productively, and\rturn uncertainty around AI and new tech into small, testable experiments instead\rof stalemates. Gain a realistic view of what blocks team courage, practical\rlanguage for your teams, and a simple structure to support braver, more creative\rdecisions in high-stakes work.",
  "experience_level": "Intermediate",
  "audio_url": null,
  "accessibility": [],
  "accessible_venue": false,
  "add_bcl_url": false,
  "add_slido": false,
  "after_midnight": null,
  "age_policy": null,
  "american_sign_language": false,
  "apple_url": null,
  "audio_description": false,
  "caption_url": null,
  "captioned_qa": false,
  "closed_captioned": false,
  "cpe_credit": false,
  "event_status": "none",
  "has_subtitles": false,
  "hash_tags": [],
  "high_sensory_experience": false,
  "live": false,
  "long_description": "Innovation in tech isn't just shipped features—it's the everyday risks teams either\rtake or avoid when AI, data, and customers are all moving at once. This session\rshows how ICF-credentialed team coaching helps product, engineering, and\rinnovation teams talk honestly about those risks, use conflict productively, and\rturn uncertainty around AI and new tech into small, testable experiments instead\rof stalemates. Gain a realistic view of what blocks team courage, practical\rlanguage for your teams, and a simple structure to support braver, more creative\rdecisions in high-stakes work.",
  "meeting_url": null,
  "meeting_url_live": false,
  "mentorly_url": null,
  "mobile_audio_url": null,
  "open_captioned": false,
  "playlist_tag": null,
  "rebroadcast": false,
  "recommended_ids": [],
  "search_conversions": null,
  "short_program": false,
  "slido_url": null,
  "sort": "CREATIVE TEAMS, REAL RISKS: COACHING TEAMS FOR COURAGEOUS INNOVATION",
  "source": "Official",
  "squad_up_url": null,
  "stream_embed": null,
  "stream_id": null,
  "stream_url": null,
  "strobe_warning": false,
  "subdiscipline": null,
  "summit": null,
  "summit_display_name": null,
  "tags": [
    {
      "id": 2576,
      "name": "Recently Added",
      "created_at": "2026-02-26T12:08:59.538-06:00",
      "updated_at": "2026-02-26T12:08:59.538-06:00",
      "sort": "RECENTLY ADDED",
      "alpha": "R"
    }
  ],
  "talent_attending": null,
  "title_only": false,
  "track_display_name": "Culture",
  "trailer_id": null,
  "trailer_url": null,
  "video_on_demand": null,
  "vimeo_id": null,
  "vod": false,
  "xr_project_type": null,
  "youtube_id": null,
  "related_events": [],
  "related_sales_client": null
}