LBB - Bossing it

Be The Fox co-founder on being a director at the BBC, striving to improve gender representation behind the camera and why running a business is a creative endeavour

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.

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