Sonia Rao began writing to survive. She grew up in an environment of terror, control, and silencing. With no outlet for what she was living through, she turned to journals, songs, and poems. That early practice became the foundation of her work.
Sonia is a multidisciplinary artist working across music, writing, and visual art. She has released three albums, performed internationally at 1,000+ shows, appeared on NBC’s The Voice, and had her original songs featured in over 40 television shows and films. Her work has been honored by the NYC Mayor’s Office, New York Foundation for the Arts, and Los Angeles City Council, exhibited at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, and featured in Forbes. She is a three-time TEDx speaker and has given artist talks at organizations including Microsoft and Disney. She is also a classically trained multi-instrumentalist.
Through Creativity Coaching, Sonia works one on one with accomplished people across industries—from CEOs and senior executives to political leaders, startup founders, designers, and artists—to develop their creativity. She also works with organizations to cultivate the uniquely human capacities of creativity, imagination, and original thinking as AI reshapes the way we work.
Sonia has an organizational background in management consulting and organizational development. She is the founder of Belonging Workshops, an organizational development program that combines psychology, creativity, and facilitated dialogue to help organizations build trust, belonging, and meaningful connection.
Sonia studied psychology at UC Berkeley, and DEIB and Organizational Effectiveness at Stanford Graduate School of Business. She is queer and first-generation Indian-American.
Across music, writing, and visual art, Sonia approaches creativity as a record of consciousness and reclamation.
Creativity Coaching
Write the book.
Start the business.
Make the art.
Change careers.
Publish the essay.
Start singing.
Start posting.
Begin.
What are your people capable of when given the space to create?
AI is changing the nature of work. Creativity, imagination, and original thinking matter.
Creativity Coaching for People
You’ve been thinking about writing that book for years. Starting the business. Making the art. Changing careers. Maybe you want to start posting on Instagram or TikTok—to share your art, talk about your business, or simply put yourself out into the world. Or maybe you’re so exhausted you can barely imagine wanting anything except rest.
Most of us are just trying to survive. We are dissociated, overwhelmed, and grieving multiple things at once. We’re living through a polycrisis—political upheaval, climate change, economic insecurity, AI, and systems we once relied on beginning to collapse. At the same time, horrific truths about the systems we’ve lived within—systems built on supremacy, exploitation, and abuse—are being exposed. It is terrifying to live through. And it is also an opening for change. If we are living through a time when the systems we’ve inherited are being questioned, we need people capable of imagining and building something different.
Our creative desires are never accidents. That longing is information. There is real pain in knowing there is something you want to do and not doing it. In watching other people live out dreams you wish you were living. In holding in your voice.
I believe each of us was born in this time for a reason. And that the key to healing our planet and each other is each of us living out the creative dreams planted inside our hearts.
My approach is shaped by my life as a working artist and seven years of one-on-one Creativity Coaching with CEOs, founders, senior executives, political leaders, designers, artists, and other accomplished people. Clients describe my approach as both emotionally safe and extremely practical. As I’ve watched my clients’ creative dreams unfold, I’ve also seen the ripple effects through the rest of their lives. Their relationships improve. Their health improves. They become more fully themselves. The change is beautiful to witness.
Sessions are weekly, over Zoom, and confidential. An invoice can be provided for employer reimbursement through professional development benefits. If you're ready to begin, book your first session below.
Creativity Coaching for Organizations
My work is about humans. AI is changing the nature of work. For organizations to thrive in what comes next, it is more important than ever to cultivate the uniquely human capacities of creativity, imagination, intuition, judgment, and original thinking.
Creativity is not just about making things. It is how we imagine what doesn’t exist yet, make unexpected connections, ask better questions, challenge our assumptions, trust our judgment, and see a problem differently.
Why these capacities matter now:
-
AI can generate ideas, variations, and solutions at extraordinary speed. The harder question is which ideas are actually worth pursuing. Creativity allows us to make unexpected connections, see possibilities that aren't obvious, and imagine approaches that haven't been tried before.
-
AI works from patterns and information that already exist. Imagination allows people to envision new products, new approaches, and futures that aren't simply iterations of what already exists.
-
When everyone can use AI to produce a polished answer, the answer itself becomes less differentiating. What matters is the thinking behind it: a perspective, connection, question, or idea that comes from seeing something differently rather than reproducing the familiar.
-
AI can analyze the options, make recommendations, and tell us what is likely to work. It cannot take responsibility for the choice. Judgment is knowing what to prioritize, what to question, what tradeoffs to make, and when the obvious answer isn't the right one.
-
The more people rely on AI-generated analysis, the easier it becomes to overlook what isn't showing up in the analysis. Intuition helps people notice that something is off, recognize patterns from experience, read a situation, or sense that an important question hasn't been asked.
In Creativity Coaching, people have dedicated time to make things, explore ideas, follow their curiosity, and work on creative projects and questions that their day-to-day roles may not leave room for.
Creativity Coaching helps people:
Generate more original ideas
Make unexpected connections
Strengthen judgment
Navigate ambiguity with greater confidence
Experiment more freely
Trust intuition
Approach problems from new angles
Think beyond the boundaries of a role
See possibilities others may not see
I bring the perspective of a working artist and seven years of one-on-one Creativity Coaching with CEOs, founders, senior executives, political leaders, designers, artists, and other accomplished people, along with a background in management consulting and organizational development. I studied psychology at UC Berkeley, and DEIB and Organizational Effectiveness at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
I work with organizations through six-month engagements, providing one-on-one Creativity Coaching to people across the organization, virtually or onsite. Sessions are completely confidential. To bring Creativity Coaching to your organization, book a consult below.
Client Testimonials
“Working with Sonia has been the most transformational experience I’ve had as a writer. Her deep empathy and creative guidance in the form of thoughtful and tailored coaching sessions have steered me from my first tentative steps into writing to having completed drafts of a novel and a novella and a finished short story under my belt. Sonia has taken great care with bringing alive and nurturing my creative spirit. She has taught me to better understand my own work and writing process and as a result of her generous input, helped me problem solve my way out of tricky plot points, discouragement and decision paralysis! My work with Sonia has given me the gift of new daily habits to support my writing and new frameworks with which to see both the world around me (as reflected in my stories) and my own creative process. Were it not for the past 3+ years of regular coaching with Sonia there is no way I’d have completed even one, let alone 3 projects. She is an integral part of my process and is an utter pleasure to work with.” - SPD
“Tatiana Manaois has a song called 'Like You'. In the song she sings, "People will find you, but they don't define you. And you will find people who help redesign you." Sonia Rao is that person for me – she is the creative midwife to a process of personal redesign that has made my life so rich, so beautiful, and so exciting. Over the process of working with Sonia for the last 4 years, I have become a different person: I used to think I was a musician who only played other people's music; now, I have 10 of my own original songs on Spotify. I used to feel that I didn't have the stories or skills to be a singer-songwriter; now I'm sharing what I've learned and made at music workshops from the United States to Sierra Leone. I used to idolize musicians whose songs I heard in published channels; now my kids and their friends add my songs to their playlists. Sonia is the facilitator of this change: her open, non-judgmental, and practical attitude toward creative work; her deep lived experience and training as a creative; and her lifelong learner attitude make her the best of coaches. I'm so grateful that our paths have crossed in this lifetime, and that I'm one of the privileged people to experience Sonia's gifts to the world.” - Kate Krontiris
“I have been doing Creativity Coaching sessions with an artist and coach named Sonia Rao. My life had been feeling chaotic with balancing a variety of projects. I felt overwhelmed and didn’t know how or when to split my time. Sometimes I would just sit down in my studio and start to spiral with anxiety because I couldn’t decide what to work on. And if I was working on one thing, I felt like I was neglecting another. She helped me organize my work schedule, map out exactly what was required of each project and plan a day for each one. It sounds so simple, but it felt really overwhelming to do by myself. And now that I’m in this new schedule, I feel 10x more productive and relaxed! It’s kind of a miracle.” - Bess Rogers
“Sonia helped me navigate a career transition and the process of negotiating my salary and ultimately securing the compensation I was looking for. Her guidance was invaluable.”
“I’d been in a creative slump for eight months by the time I began working with Sonia. After years of making music I became disenchanted in the process. The anxiety I developed about what this meant for my future felt palpable. I desperately wanted to find the joy and wonder I had seemed to have lost. Sonia approached things slowly—helping to guide me through understanding my relationship to my creativity and my own thoughts, values, and feelings. She challenged me when it mattered, and opened my eyes, mind and heart to appreciating my own unique voice and perspective. She reconnected me with why I had started to create in the first place.” Everytime we meet, Sonia is able to create a safe and open space to share ideas, celebrate wins, and explore new creative opportunities. Each session feels specifically catered to me and my own creative needs. Her guidance has been invaluable to my life over the last year. I’ve found new ways to express my creativity, and joy at the possibility of what’s next.” - Sabrina S.
“Sonia Rao is a musician who's not only seriously talented but also extremely productive and because of these two factors, very successful. At the beginning of COVID, when we all hunkered down and tried to navigate working from home, I was only ever: a) procrastinating b) getting annoyed with myself about this and c) telling people I was procrastinating and annoyed with myself about this. I had a head full of projects and managed about three hours a day on a good one. While wearing the same dressing gown covered in drippy eggs and very drippy almond butter.
When I learned Sonia was offering Creativity Coaching, I had to look it up because it doesn't sound like a thing. But it is. In one-on-one zoom sessions, she helps people get creative or already creative people get more so. Sessions are individually tailored to each person's needs. We talked about my creative history, structured my work day from waking up to going to bed, came up with a morning routine, got my inbox down to zero, organized my projects, unpicked a lot of my creative blocks, did breathwork exercises and journalling and all sorts of fun artist dates.
In the one month since I started with her, I've written every weekday for six hours, which is huge for me. I've got such a great routine and a better work life balance. I know I'm really lucky to be able to write for a living, but now I'm grateful for that AND actually doing it. Rather than annoyed with myself for not making the most of it, while still covered in egg butter.” - Amy Hoggart
When I started working with Sonia, I think I was hoping she'd offer me some long-elusive secret tools for approaching my creativity and creative entrepreneurial journey better. (You probably know the ones. The ones it seems everyone else has, but not you.) What I've found, instead, is I've had them all along. The process with Sonia has awakened new avenues to cultivate and fall more deeply in love with the creative journey. The coaching process also holds up a mirror showing me what I wasn’t seeing. Rooting me in tools and strengths unique to me. Rooting ever more deeply in the power of my own journey to take me where I want to go. Not someone else’s secret superpowers. My own. So, yeah, I’m a fan. And I 100% recommend working with her. But only if you want to fall in love with your craft again and connect with your own power. - Brian Perry
“Sonia was one of the most inspiring people we’ve brought in. People were asking about her afterwards and repeatedly telling us how much they loved her.” - Penn State University
“I worked with Sonia when I decided it was time to start a solo music project and record an album. She helped me get organized, make a plan, and take things one step at a time. With her extensive experience as an artist, Sonia was able to give me loads of practical advice, but equally important was just having someone who could warmly hold space for me as I stepped outside my comfort zone.” - Audra Nemir
“Working with Sonia has been transformative and is constantly being integrated into my life in ways I could never have foreseen. Our sessions made a real impact on my psyche and made me think deeply about how I’ve spent the hours of my life, and how out of alignment I’ve been with the values I actually hold dear. It shook me, and since then I’ve done a lot of reevaluating and setting new priorities and goals. I’m really ready to take action—maybe for the first time ever in my life.”
“I feel Sonia rooting for me. Her support, affirmation, and understanding have helped me see that I haven’t been buried—I’ve been planted and prepared to grow into new life. It is a gift working with her.”
“Working with Sonia has been the kick up the ass I needed to focus my creativity but in the most lovely way. Meeting with her weekly online gave me the motivation to do the things I was avoiding that were holding me back from developing further as a songwriter / producer and if I didn't make one of the goals, I wasn't made to feel bad or guilty. I was consistently guided in a gentle way towards what I wanted to achieve and if my goals were unrealistic, we made them fit for me in a way that encouraged me and gave me confidence rather than a fear based approach. Also Sonia's nervous system based approach, focusing on regulation and mental well being before getting into what needed to be discussed was invaluable and something I have taken into my everyday life to great effect.
I now have a general routine in my week that helps me prioritize my creativity at the right times so I don't get sucked into admin when I should be songwriting or vice versa and this has massively helped my productivity. I feel more in control of my career as a songwriter. Since working with Sonia, I have hired a recording studio that I write in regularly with collaborators rather than my home which is far more professional and has led to some great music being made with new artists. I'm about to pitch an EP to labels that I have co-written / co-produced with an artist and more tracks are in the pipeline to be released in 2024. I have arranged and recorded music for a feature film called This Is Christmas and appeared in it too.
The most surprising thing to me about working with Sonia is how focused I became when not being bullied into it! I wanted to make my goals, not because I'd get told off but because I knew they would help me in the long run.” - Dom Martin (Shevlane)
“I started working with Sonia because I felt very blocked with my creativity after becoming a mother and going through some major career transitions. She helped me explore the root causes of this block, accept and heal from old wounds, and find a new creative path forward that aligns with where I am in life now. An unexpected and wonderful bonus was the impact her work had on other areas of my life. Sonia guided me towards understanding, loving, and trusting myself in my relationships, in business, in society... I think that’s the beauty of her work. She knows that creativity can’t fully thrive if the person as a whole isn’t thriving. I feel like I am finally thriving and Sonia was, and still is, instrumental in getting me here.” - Bess Rogers
“Sonia is meant to do this work. A lot of coaches phone it in or are plug and play, but I can tell that she actually thinks about me and tailors things to me. I can bring my writing, my creative dreams, and my fears to her and she really hears and understands me. She is extremely smart, and the resources and connections she’s provided have been invaluable.”
“Speaking with Sonia always has a calming influence on me. She is so supportive, patient and kind. She understands my waves of creativity and has a way of helping me to keep distractions at bay, and my self belief strong.” - Natalie S.
“Sonia, that was amazing and I'm really so grateful. This is opening a whole new outlet for me. I really can't wait to pour some of myself into some songwriting...was already tinkering and had to stop because I was tearing up too much (not because it was good but because my well is dug very deep and I've been missing a bucket to bring it up). Thank you for generously sharing your gifts. 🙏. I am indebted.” - Marcos G.
“I absolutely LOVE my sessions with Sonia. Every session feels like a gift to my soul. I always feel so seen and understood by her, and working with her helps me to see and understand myself more deeply. I could gush on and on and on. I’m just so incredibly grateful for how much she’s helped me.”
“Things are finally progressing for me. Sonia has been instrumental in getting this going for me again and providing inspiration through our sessions. Her support has been invaluable.”
“Working with Sonia helped me get more deliberate with my songwriting and composition. I was tired of guessing chords instead of knowing where to go. The wild thing is, working with her showed me I had way more knowledge than I thought. Empowering!” - Richie R.
“Sonia was super helpful! She walked me through what I should be doing before, during, and after shows which made me feel a lot better. It made me feel like I had a plan rather than just hoping things would turn out well.” - Julia Bhatt
“I so appreciate Sonia’s wisdom, especially her guidance around using social media in a way that feels good to me. I have clarity now about how to move forward with my album.”
“There is 100% no way, I’d be at this point if it weren’t for Sonia. It has made a WORLD of difference. Had we not worked together I’d have a half baked outline and maybe a couple of chapters written. Instead, I’ve written the entire first draft of my novel.”
“Sonia has been an incredible source of support, kindness and inspiration to me for four years. Working with her has meant the world to me: spiritually, creatively and PRACTICALLY!”
“Sonia’s guidance has made such a difference in what I’ve accomplished. I’ve really gone for everything this year, and it’s amazing to think how much I’ve accomplished since I started working with her. Our sessions have been invaluable.”
“Sonia is truly a safe space. She is a godsend and truly invaluable, and I’m so grateful for her continued guidance.”
“Sonia was a terrific listener – that's what stood out above all. She had the ability to take in what I was saying without any preconceived notions, and then help me construct a plan based on my needs. She had a calming presence and was easy to talk to, a big plus when you're trying to discuss long-neglected creative ambitions.” - Hiten Samtani
“Having a solid framework and go-forward plan with Sonia has really helped pull me out of the existential questions and into execution mode. It’s made me a lot less anxious generally, because I have a structure within which to operate that feels calming and safe. I feel night and day different about this relative to before.”