Meet Fiona Craig, our new Partner

What’s your role at Form?

I partner with our clients to support them with both coaching and consultancy. I’m an experienced and accredited executive coach and I’ve also got 20 years at the coalface of agencies – so I span strategy and people engagements. I can make practical recommendations or facilitate the internal insight of the team I’m working with.

Where has life taken you before you joined the Form team?

It’s taken me via book publishing and direct mail, to TV and radio advertising and CRM strategy. I’ve worked on major financial services brands like AXA and Virgin Money, to huge consumer brands like McDonalds and Sainsburys. But the red thread through it all is the study and influence of consumer behaviour. And now, with coaching, I’m focused on understanding behaviour – that’s what I love to get the heart of.

What’s an average day like for you at Form?

There really is no such thing – that’s what makes it such a treat! Each client engagement is completely different, each team functions differently. But every day has some things in common: the great project team at Form (super organised which allows my brain freedom to roam), the focus on bringing clarity to every situation, and the genuine sense shared by everyone here of wanting to support remarkable businesses.

What’s struck a real chord since I’ve joined the team is the sense that ‘growth’ and ‘success’ are measured in far more than pure commercial terms by the clients we support. We’re working with non-profits, B-Corps, businesses who want to put team enjoyment front and centre. Imaginative and generative ways to run a business that really contributes to society.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

A whole range of things. I’m working with the leadership team of a theatre in Liverpool, and a digital project agency in Kansas City, plus a whole list of others in between! I’m based in the South West and I’m also really keen to bring the sheer quality and impact of Form’s work down here, because we have some remarkable businesses who are doing amazing things. I’d love to support them.

What challenges do you think the tech, creative and digital communities are facing at the moment?

I think they are facing the same macro challenges as many communities in this tough economic environment: clients cutting budgets or negotiating hard on deliverables, challenges recruiting and retaining staff, wage inflation. Specific to this sector I think is the challenge of brain drain from smaller business to larger ones with deeper pockets, especially for devs, coders, data scientists and analysts. And on top of all this, I know leaders are trying desperately to invest time and headspace in their teams, while at the same time asking them to work super hard AND keep their own heads out of the weeds of delivery. But this last one is a perennial challenge!

When you’re not busy helping businesses overcome these challenges, how do you like to spend your downtime?

I have a host of bizarre hobbies including quilting, drumming in a band, and dinghy racing – so it depends on the weather and the time of day! Luckily I enjoy the company of teenagers so hanging out with my kids is also a highlight.

Are you reading any books / listening to any good podcasts at the moment?

I’m reading Small is Beautiful by EM Schumacher which was written in the 1970’s, and looks at our how our obsession with economic growth is fundamentally at odds with how we should be using our natural resources. It feels radical, but it’s over 50 years old and well worth a read.

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Want to start a conversation with the team? Let’s chat. 

Follow or connect with Fi on LinkedIn.