Bossing It: Standing By Your Decisions with Diana Ellis-Hill
Diana started her career making documentaries at the BBC, including the BAFTA award-winning Horizon and the RTS award-winning Wonders of the Universe. She chalked up 10 years' experience before making the leap into the world of brand content and setting up the female-founded and led creative and production agency, Be The Fox, with fellow BBC veteran Megan Price. Be The Fox combines Diana and Meg’s deep understanding of how to cut through to audiences with authentic creative that punches above its weight. They have produced creative for global brands such as Samsung, Bulldog Skincare, British Airways and Glenfiddich. They treat every client’s business problem as if it’s their own and are committed to improving gender representation behind the lens.
LBB> What was your first experience of leadership?
Diana> My first experience of leadership was when I became a director at the BBC. It had taken seven years of making my way up through the ranks from runner to director, but then suddenly it was my chance, and everyone was looking at me to make the decisions. There is something brilliant and scary about that all at once. My break came when I was an assistant producer, and my director had a family emergency just two days before the shoot in Italy. I was asked to step up to direct and so I found myself on a flight with a crew looking to me to call the shots. I knew each one of the crew had at least double my years of experience, so I asked for their help. I explained what I wanted to achieve, and they all pitched in on how we should do it. It was a collaborative, inclusive process. From then on, I learned from every single shoot and every single crew member, so that soon I was able to direct my vision for the shoot without help, though I always check in on what others think, I find it an important aspect of keeping content authentic. As a director, or leader, you always know that the buck stops with you. You have to make a decision, believe in it and stand by it.
LBB> How did you figure out what kind of leader you wanted to be – or what kind of leader you didn’t want to be?
Diana> I don’t think I have ever thought about this in terms of ‘type’ of leader. More wanting to be a good one. Of course, there are plenty of leadership styles, but I really think leadership styles depend on the situation. I didn’t become a director or business owner to be a leader at all, I wanted the freedom to create something I have a vision for. I co-lead our company with my co-founder Meg, so it’s really our vision. We are both practitioners who now run a growing business, so we have many more elements to our roles that we have had to learn - company leadership is one. We have had incredible coaches from different areas of expertise to advise us on how to improve ourselves and our business and we know this will never be complete! Leading and learning is a lifelong journey. Our work evolves, and so do our clients’ needs. To me, running a business is a creative endeavour, and so is working on being a better leader.
LBB> What experience or moment gave you your biggest lesson in leadership?
Diana> When we started the business, I would direct quite a few of our shoots, but as we grew and we had multiple projects at once, each with different teams, it became difficult to give both directing and running the business the focus they both needed. We didn’t have proper processes for doing things, we weren’t monitoring everything as closely as we should have, so it was very difficult to tell if we were doing well or not. At this point Meg and I decided to dedicate our time to improving as company leaders rather than practitioners. The more time we dedicated to that, the more cohesive the team became, and we were able to handle so much more as an agency.
LBB> When it comes to 'leadership' as a skill, how much do you think is a natural part of personality, how much can be taught and learned?
Diana> I think you naturally must be ok with people looking to you to make a decision. I’m sure that can be learned, but you have to think if that’s not naturally you, would you be happy with that role year on year. Leadership is a huge responsibility, especially when you are directly accountable for people’s livelihoods. It isn’t just about being in charge, and everyone doing what you say! It’s about inspiring people, selling a vision and making a positive mark on the world through our work.
LBB> What are the aspects of leadership that you find most personally challenging? And how do you work through them?
Diana> Everyone needs a bit of structure and a bit of freedom in their work - myself included. The thing I find most personally challenging is getting this balance right for people alongside the needs of the business. Our senior management team is fantastic at helping us identify what is working and what isn’t and what we can do about it. Everyone has a different perspective on the business, so it’s helpful to hear from their experience what they think to improve things.
LBB> In terms of leadership and openness, what’s your approach there? Do you think it’s important to be transparent as possible in the service of being authentic? Or is there a value in being careful and considered?
Diana> Meg and I talk about this all the time. I think it’s probably the question we ask our mentors and coaches about the most - and they all have different opinions and advice. We are happy to be open, but without context, being open about something can end up worrying people unnecessarily. So, it’s important to think about when you’re giving information on the quarterly results or the state of the pipeline that the people you are talking to can understand how this might affect them. Context is crucial.
LBB> In continually changing market circumstances, how do you cope with the responsibility of leading a team through difficult waters?
Diana> It’s tough not being able to see the future and the team looks to you for certainty. We have spent a huge amount of time ensuring we understand where we are financially at any given moment, this means we can flex where necessary for the good of the whole company. We ensure our team is agile and each has multiple skill sets, so we can put together different teams as the market demands it. In fact, our name Be The Fox comes from the story of the hedgehog and the fox. We are all foxes who draw on a wide variety of experiences, from our multiple viewpoints, to find the best solution.
LBB> As a leader, what are some of the ways in which you’ve prioritised diversity and inclusion within your workforce?
Diana> As co-founder of a company that is entirely female (and LGBTQI+) founded, in an incredibly male-dominated sector of advertising and film production, it is constantly at the front of our minds. For years my co-founder and I have been striving to improve the gender representation behind the camera on our productions. The industry has made improvements in gender representation on screen in ads, but behind the lens the crews and production teams are slower to be more representative of the population. We are aiming for a much higher percentage of female-identifying people within our crews (aiming for an average of 50% over the year). We are working hard to increase our network of female identifying crew and crafts people and ensure our producers are motivated to push for this. We are currently ensuring our entire team are trained in DE&I through the IPA’s training, to ensure it isn’t just us that prioritises diversity, but the entire team.
Being from an underrepresented group brings strongly to mind the need and the benefit of diverse teams. It creates more authentic, effective creative.
LBB> What are the most useful resources you’ve found to help you along your leadership journey?
Diana> Coaching has been invaluable, alongside connecting with other agency founders who have been through the same situations. Four years ago, I was selected as a member for the first cohort of the Creative UK Female Founders Scale Up Programme, which is for female founders of screen-based businesses. Now in its fourth year, it is an incredibly active network of 40 women who own companies in feature film production, TV production, Brand film production and gaming. The coaching from that programme opened my eyes to the benefit of having someone there for you who has been through everything before! They are then able to steer you in the direction of the right book, article, or podcast for you just at the right moment! Advocacy and coaching is invaluable.
My advice for any person about to embark on becoming a leader is to find people who have been there before and people who are doing it now, and surround yourself with them. Surround yourself with smart people, with diverse thinking. You will never be prepared for every challenge or obstacle that is thrown your way as a leader, but the chances are one of these people will have seen it before and will help you make the right decision.
