Executing your Data Strategy: Communicate

We talked some about what a data strategy is and how it needs to line up with business outcomes. Now lets talk about the largest "soft" skill that you will need to successfully execute the strategy.

Communication

When you are executing on a data strategy you become the focal point of expectation and outcomes. At this point your job is going to be as much a facilitator as it is a technical leader. As a facilitator you will have to step up your communication game. Notice I did not say speaker. In this role you will spend more time listening than talking. The business will have certain goals that you have to accomplish. How do you understand what they want without asking probing questions. Just because you hear that the business wants to improve sales is not enough. Sales of what? An underperforming brand, a product that has a high margin, maybe something that is made at an "at risk" plant that the business is trying to save. You have to ask the probing question "Why?" and then listen.

Once you know the business details do not think your job as a communicator is done. I am not sure how many "IT" people you have met but I will let you in on a little secret. We DO NOT like change. We are very happy to sit in our own well controlled environment with a minimal amount of variables that change. I have rarely seen a data strategy get implemented that did not up end the entire IT stack. That is the nature of what it is. Today we are doing things that are not getting us to the desired business goals so we will make an about face and go in a different direction. New software, new processes, new way of thinking about data. New, New, New. As the leader of the change you cannot just write a memo and go about your life. Educating the IT team that will be making the change is as critical if not more so than educating the business.

The entire layer of people that will have their hands in the mix making the strategy real need to feel comfortable with the What and Why. Spend time diving into both topics. Make formal education available to cover the What. Engage with the team in small groups so that you can listen to their concerns. Spend time with a white board and work out some of the details. There will be no way that you can be involved in all of the details but if you start taking out the big "problems" with the team they will see your commitment to them.

One thing that I cannot stress enough is: Do not hide details from the team. There should not be any part of the broad strategy that is "for management eyes only". Sure there are details that the team cannot get into like vendor cost and staff augmenting strategies but why a decision about technology was made or why one department is doing something that another is not should not be covered up or omitted in the education process. When communication is not clear you appear to be hiding something. If you are hiding something you cannot be trusted, and if you cannot be trusted you just lost your team's loyalty. Without your team's loyalty moving up this mountain will be very difficult.

What other strategic things can you do? Here are just a few:

  1. Start by getting buy-in from senior leadership. Senior leadership needs to be on board with the data strategy in order for it to be successful. They need to be willing to invest in the resources needed to implement the strategy and they need to communicate the importance of the strategy to the rest of the organization.
  2. Make sure the data strategy is aligned with the organization's overall goals. The data strategy needs to be aligned with the organization's overall goals in order for it to be successful. The strategy should identify the data that is needed to achieve the organization's goals and it should outline how the data will be collected, stored, managed, and analyzed.
  3. Involve the IT team in the development of the data strategy. The IT team is responsible for implementing the data strategy, so it is important to involve them in the development of the strategy. The IT team can provide valuable input on the technical aspects of the strategy and they can help to ensure that the strategy is feasible and scalable.
  4. Communicate the data strategy to the entire organization. Once the data strategy is finalized, it is important to communicate it to the entire organization. This will help to ensure that everyone understands the strategy and their role in its implementation.
  5. Provide training on the data strategy. Once the data strategy has been communicated, it is important to provide training on the strategy to the people who will be using it. This training will help to ensure that everyone understands how to use the data strategy and how to contribute to its success.
  6. Measure the success of the data strategy. It is important to measure the success of the data strategy in order to track its progress and make necessary adjustments. The metrics that are used to measure the success of the data strategy will vary depending on the specific goals of the strategy.
  7. Be clear and concise in your communication of the data strategy. Avoid using jargon or technical terms that people may not understand.
  8. Be patient and persistent. It may take some time to get everyone on board with the data strategy. Be patient and persistent and continue to communicate the benefits of the strategy.
  9. Be willing to adapt the data strategy as needed. The business environment is constantly changing, so you may need to adapt the data strategy to reflect these changes. Be willing to make changes as needed in order to keep the data strategy successful.

Reviewing all of the "best practices" when executing a data strategy one stands out above them all. Communication is the driving force that will make or break your strategy. Communication enables trust and accountability. It will be the foundation of all the success KPIs you will be evaluated on and it will be the motivating force that will give your team purpose. When you get ready to execute your data strategy get comfortable communicating. You will need it to succeed.

Tomorrow we will make it to our next stop in our Data Strategy series: the road map.

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