Data & Analytics

“I asked what time it is…not how the clock worked.”

That’s a sound bite we hear often from data leaders describing the biggest communication challenge in their groups. And it’s a common challenge across teams from Data Science to Marketing Analytics: how do you take expertise in analysis and turn it into recommendations for strategic direction?

Our answer is two-fold: it takes a communication structure that connects data to a storyline for the listener, and it takes a communicator who has learned how to connect their weekly reporting to long-term trends.

Content: Distilling a team’s expertise into memorable and repeatable messaging is an artform, but for a group whose role is so deeply embedded in analysis, there also has to be a formulaic approach to it. That’s why we design tailored blueprints for presentations to help this group organize their insights around an audience’s perspectives and key interests. When data teams can agree on a common approach to communication, their insights become that much more transferrable.

Style: This team isn’t stepping out of the spotlight anytime soon. Companies need to make smart decisions and that means pulling data managers and leaders into moments of high visibility. To ensure that visibility doesn’t become a liability, it’s crucial for this group to get comfortable being in the spotlight. Our work with data teams on style builds confidence in high-stakes conversations and provides the core concepts for strengthening overall impressions.

Situational: Analysts are promoted based on their individual skill sets…until suddenly they’re not. And once that switch is flipped from a manager to a leader, there’s a whole new set of expectations and measurements. We can help a new data leader adopt a strategic mindset and pivot from “deep in the weeds” of research initiatives to broader insights that influence opportunities across the organization.

For teams, these three steps are the start of a Tailored Program.

For individuals, a combination of Open Programs helps you build your own toolkit.