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From accidental manager to confident leader: a workshop with Fi Craig

BCI Workshop

17th Jun 2026

9.30am

-

1pm

adm-Indicia, 40 Queen Square, Bristol, BS1 4QP

News

>by Bristol Creative Industries

The first workshop on this topic in April sold out quickly, so due to popular demand, we are running it again!

Accidental managers are usually first-time people managers who’ve been thrown in at the deep end – still doing their old job while figuring out how to manage people through trial and error.

If someone on your team has just stepped into management, they’re probably juggling people and projects, wearing two hats, and figuring it out as they go. That’s exactly why this Accidental Managers half-day workshop exists.

Join Fi Craig to feel confident leading people, define your own version of good management, and gain practical frameworks to guide you as you figure the rest out. Gain confidence and simple tools to start leading a team effectively straight away.

What to expect

  • Short practical frameworks rather than lots of theory
  • Time to reflect on your own experience of being managed, and how that relates to your future management style
  • Discussion with other new managers facing similar challenges, finding moral support from others
  • Simple tools and resources you can use immediately with your team, quick wins to support your thinking

Workshop content

  • Warm up exercise: Reflecting on your experience of what a good manager looks like (and bad!)
  • The three core responsibilities of every manager: Delivery, Development, Direction
  • Thinking of management as an identity rather than a series of tasks, and what this means for balancing your day job with managers duties
  • Continuous performance management framework (a flexible approach to feedback, 121s and performance reviews)
  • Identifying what good looks like

What will you take away?

  • Clarity on what your job as a manager actually involves
  • A simple, adaptable structure for managing performance
  • Ability to define your own version of good management
  • Understanding how to balance delivery, development, and direction while still contributing individually

Who should attend?

This session is suitable for first-line managers (typically with 1–3 direct reports) or those with little or no formal management training. You may be working in an SME (up to 200 people) with or without formal people processes, and you’re likely still contributing to your original role. It would also be ideal for early-career professionals stepping into management for the first time.

Tickets

> BCI member tickets are £125 + VAT

> Non-member tickets are £185 + VAT

About Fi

Your host for this session is Fi Craig, qualified and experienced team and individual coach, and founder of GoodThinking. With a 20 year career at the coal face of creative agency behind her, Fi understands the world of managing people while trying to do the day job. Fi has mentored new starters, trained managers new and experienced, and has run leadership workshops of many kinds across many industries. Her style is warm, informal but with lots of ideas and tips to share.

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About Bristol Creative Industries

Bristol Creative Industries is the membership network that supports the region's creative sector to learn, grow and connect, driven by the common belief that we can achieve more collectively than alone. 

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