1. The power of leadership and buy-in
Creating a data culture in an organization requires both leadership support and buy-in from employees at all levels. In this video, we will explore the roles these factors play in building a data culture.
2. Data leadership
The difference between leadership and executives is an important one.
When discussing leadership, we're not necessarily referring to top-level executives. Instead, data leaders can be anyone within an organization. They champion data and drive buy-in, play a crucial role in shaping how data is viewed and utilized throughout the organization.
Data leaders also must lead by example, embodying the spirit of data. Communicating and aligning data with strategic objectives serves as a beacon for how data can enhance an organization.
3. Data leader responsibilities
Becoming a data leader might sound daunting but it is easier than you might think. Let's look at the responsibilities of a data leader and understand the value it brings to a data culture.
The first responsibility of a data leader is being data-first. Seeking an answer that is supported by data demonstrates the ubiquity that data has within every organization. Data isn’t perfect, and by being data first, data leaders can highlight potential places where organizations can improve how data is used.
Next, data leaders share their knowledge and their passion beyond themselves. This doesn’t mean they are constantly holding large meetings where they share their love of data with everyone. Instead, they capitalize on opportunities to share their expertise. This can come in the form of mentoring a colleague or holding office hours to talk data or just being known as the person who can reach out when running into data-related issues.
4. Data leader responsibilities cont.
Data leadership will be different for everyone but the spirit remains the same. Show people what is possible with data and enable them to use data better and you can call yourself a data leader.
Top-level executives steward their organizations by managing and deploying resources, mainly time and budget, to support their objectives. Many executives are also data leaders and fulfill their responsibilities of both roles to make a data culture successful.
5. Buy-in matters
Determining how to approach a data culture and allocating the right resources is a challenging task. Aligning data leaders with executives allows the data leaders to get buy-in on resource-intense opportunities that would normally be out of grasp. Executives need the guidance and input of data leaders to prioritize effectively.
Together both data leadership and executives are responsible for preparing their organization to succeed. Data cultures are not formed overnight and creating buy-in at every level makes the whole process more achievable and sustainable.
6. Be mindful of barriers!
Like every journey, there will be barriers along the way. Lack of understanding, fear of data, or simply a lack of access to data are all examples of what can prevent buy-in across the organization. Data leaders and executives must unite to identify, understand, prioritize, resource, and ultimately overcome these barriers.
7. Let's practice!
Awesome! Now let's practice!