Artistic vision

What attributes or skills do you have that make you a leader?

I’m passionate about what I do, and I believe that if you’re passionate about something and have clarity about why you’re passionate about it - and you can communicate that passion to other people - that makes you a good leader. I’m very certain about what I do, and why I do it, and this can be communicated to others. I was also brought up to trust my instincts, so I do things quite instinctively.

For me, leadership is very much about making others feel empowered to do their best, and to create a really positive environment. Everybody thinks I’m a good leader, but actually they’re doing all the work.

I don’t want to come to work and have to behave in a different way in order to be successful. I don’t need a massive separation between my workplace and my home life. I want to be able to be the same at work as I am when at home. That’s really important for me. We don’t need to have another side to ourselves. We can bring all of ourselves to the workplace; it feels holistic and good.

You studied drama at Manchester University. Why did you decide to choose directing rather than acting as a career?

When I was younger, I was obsessed with theatre, but I thought I wanted to be an actor because I didn’t know about any other roles in theatre - you see, I didn’t have any family or anybody who worked in theatre. All I knew was acting. When I went to university, I studied a degree in drama, but not a practical degree. When I left university, I still thought I wanted to be an actor, but then I realised I was a terrible actor. You know, there’s nothing worse than going through life trying to do something you’re not very good at. So, I was lucky enough to realise this quite young, sort of about 20. Then I made the shift to being