Data leaders must showcase the tangible benefits of data analysis and literacy in business. One of their priorities should be to drive governanve and instil an innovative approach to the Protection of Personal Information (POPIA) Act to help their organisations benefit from a clear compliance strategy.
This is according to data analytics and business leaders who participated in a panel discussion at the 2023 ITWeb BI Summit in Johannesburg this week, focused on the skills and capabilities that data leaders of the future will need to have.
Mediator Maritza Curry, head of data, RCS, triggered the conversation by asking about the impact of industry trends like data governance on the role of data leaders, given that not all are legal experts.
Matthew Bernath, head of data ecosystems at ShopriteX, commented: “A lot of people see POPIA as a negative thing … obviously good in many aspects – that it protects personal information – but negative in that there are limited use cases. It’s something that’s tough to implement, but it’s actually an opportunity when you get it right, to enable many use cases and showcase that it’s a benefit to consumers … It’s an opportunity to do right by the business, by the customers, and by the regulatory body.”
Visionary
The data leader of the future will have to be a visionary. They will need to serve as a conduit to show how data can make a difference to the bottom line and how any employee can improve their understanding of data and data analytics (data literacy).
Claire Tolmay, global head of analytics, Games Global, stressed the need for data leaders to effectively demonstrate their vision and secure management buy-in, particularly in terms of the direct link between data collation, analytics and frameworks, and sales revenue.
“How we build this vision is really important. It’s the vision of being seen as the leaders in this framework, in being seen as the ethical and responsible leaders in the industry, and how that ultimately does affect our sales and revenue, and ultimately that is something that can be a driver for growth,” she said.
Tolmay added, “It’s changing people’s mindset and then making those links. This morning we were speaking about data literacy and how we make that link for people, allow people to look at it through a critical mindset and realise there are those links.”
But having the vision is only one component. Data leaders will also have to have the ability to articulate that effectively in the business.
Carina Marais, director of analytics and insight, Procter & Gamble SA, added: “I think if you are only inspiring your own team, if you are only inspiring the other data nerds to do something, then you are losing a big chunk of the power that ‘that something’ may have.”
Data leaders will need to answer the ‘but why?’ question, and be ready with a call to action that will be inspirational to people to achieve inclusivity.
Paul Morley, executive – group data services, Nedbank, said if what’s possible is clearly communicated by data leaders, the question of why is automatically answered.
But he warned that data leaders must be balanced and critical in their thinking, especially regarding technology. “If you don’t understand the risk of technology and deploying it as part of the routine of the organisation, the positives are irrelevant.”
The panellists wrapped up the conversation with a conclusion that data leaders of the future will need to be both optimistic and cautious – in fact, be realistic and serve as an anchor in their organisations.
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