Exploring Life & Business with Cristina Amigoni of Siamo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cristina Amigoni.

Hi Cristina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Italy, just North of Milan and near Lake Como. As the daughter of an American mother, from New York, and Italian father, from Milan, I experienced two different worlds from birth, practically. Spending my childhood summers in camps around Europe and language programs in the U.S. to become bilingual, helped me deeply appreciate learning about different cultures, hearing multiple languages, and making friends from around the world. I began to realize that human connections span beyond time and space at age 19 when I became a camp counselor in Switzerland. The friends I made there over multiple summers, as far back as 27 years ago, are still some of my closest and most genuine friendships.

I left Italy a few years after college to find “my way” in New York City, where I discovered management consulting. Combining my already natural passion for learning, teaching, and everything human development with the problem solving of consulting was as natural as good wine and cheese pairing. I moved through various “careers” looking for the right answer to “what do I want to do when I grow up?”. I learned a lot, I tried (and succeeded in) Organizational Change Management, HR technology, People Leadership, Project Management, and many other paths. The one thing that made me come alive, time and time again, was the people side of work, the humans around me.

Three years ago I decided it was time to focus on the humans and create environments where they can shine and connect as their authentic selves, so my business partner, Alex, and I started our latest adventure on the human experience in the workplace (culture, coaching, people experience, leadership development, etc.)

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Overall, it is now clear to me that everything I went through had to happen exactly as it did to get me here. I wouldn’t want to change what I have learned, the relationships I have made, and the challenges I have faced, because I know they were all necessary to help me become who I am today.

Was it smooth? No, it was not. I have felt lost, frustrated, alone, lonely, rejected, confused, and not good enough many times. While I know it is all part of the journey, every transition brought its own degree of heartbreak and questioning of my decisions. I had to find my self-confidence and motivation to keep going each and every time. Some days I trusted the process, others I dreaded it.

The struggles I have faced are probably not unique to me, from the comparison to others and their journeys to wishing I could find my “one” path and stay on it until retirement. Reinventing ourselves is always harder than we remember, regardless of how often we do it.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Siamo means “we are” in Italian. We are a full-service culture improvement team. We break down silos, develop leaders, and work with human nature rather than against it to form collaborative, creative, and cohesive teams.

We help organizations create SPACE (safety, purpose, authenticity, connections, and energy). We founded our company with the belief that when we can bring our true selves to work – when we feel seen, valued, and connected – we are able to give 100% and face any challenge.

We specialize in optimizing people’s experience, engagement, and collaboration in organizations by creating cultures of WE. We have a fairly unique combination of experiences and skills, from learning and development to technology consulting, from coaching and emotional intelligence to data & analytics solutions development. What sets us apart is our deep understanding of the different, and often disconnected, sides of businesses and the ability to always consider the connective tissue between them.

Our podcast, Uncover the Human, is something we are particularly proud of. It has provided us with the opportunity to meet genuine and courageous people, while living our WHY – to establish authentic connections so we can all lift each other.

We provide leadership, culture, and people development programs. We focus on emotional intelligence assessments and enhancements, personal and organizational values alignment, and interpersonal skills learning and application.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love the weather and the proximity of nature. I am a mountain girl at heart and could spend hours just looking at the beautiful mountain range in our backyard, hiking and just being with beautiful surroundings of the Rocky Mountains.  I also really like the combination between skyscrapers and neighborhoods with parks, trees, and single homes.

What I like the least is the distance from Europe and cities like New York, that are full of culture, diversity, people and foods from all over the world.

Contact Info:

• Email: hello@wearesiamo.com
• Website: https://www.wearesiamo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearesiamo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreSiamo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXey00mO1bzseDIv62bnfhA
• Other: https://uncoverthehuman.wearesiamo.com/