Phill Elston is Operations Director of Brompton Bicycle and is responsible for leading the manufacturing organisation in the production of the famous Brompton bicycles. Phill joined the company because his values were aligned, and he felt able to express himself. He talks about the importance of being driven not being at the expense of having joy and fun and seeing a team as an organism. He has a special way of bringing his team together called ‘Rum and Coke’ that has transformed the relationships and results.

I enjoyed hearing about Phill’s leadership style and the way he encourages his team to be themselves. I particularly loved his phrase: “I like being myself because it takes less calories’! So true! The ongoing and constant disruptive change people are experienced often leads to fear and Phill’s approach to helping his team navigate those fears is refreshing. If we can encourage people to be themselves and show up fully, we can resolve tension and differences of opinion more quickly before they build out of proportion.

What are you currently concerned about? What would the authentic version of you think, say and do?

Topics covered:

Leading a team
Being driven to create results by having fun
Authenticity
Transforming a team
Remote working and collaboration
Teamwork in sports and the Marines

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28: Phill Elston on inspiring teamwork, collaboration and radical change