#13: Understanding Leadership Role Cycle - What you do when matters. In a BIG way.

A successful Transition is just the beginning. What we do and do not do (that we are supposed to) at each stage in that role matters greatly.

Today, I want to focus on the concept of the role cycle.?

I have addressed the content for data leaders, but these are applicable if you are an expert leader, CIO, or business leader in any other function. The concept is the same. What you focus on and take action at various steps will change according to your area. So, read on and modify the approach as it applies to you.

Datapreneurs Role-Cycle

Doing certain things at certain phases of your role cycle is extremely important to succeed as a data leader.

Whether it's your first time as a data leader or you have been through the rodeo on several occasions, you will find that every job you take up goes through a set of phases.

Of course, the individual scenarios, challenges, and opportunities within them will vary, but they generally fall under a few large buckets.?

I did not look at it this way in my first leadership role, but when you have done it a few times, you start seeing the similarities and sequence when specific needs arise.

And it was easier for me to create this model and perfect it over a few roles. I now take the business-technology leaders and coaching clients I work with as a guideline to keep the focus on what matters at each stage of their growth.

Here is my model of the Datapreneurs Role Cycle:

This approach should not be confused with a checklist or a prescribed set of to-do's. This is a broader view of crucial focus items and activities at each stage of a leadership journey within a role.

As you can imagine, your cycle will be unique across roles and situations. Accordingly, it is essential to remember that:

• The time you spend in each of these phases will vary.
• You may have some overlap across these phases, and that is normal.
• You will revisit some of these phases through each delivery cycle.?And it is a must as you want the lessons learned to be applied to future work.
• Business shifts like Mergers and Acquisitions, company shutting down, or organizational make-over and role consolidation will happen at any stage in the cycle.?

Lastly, what you do between roles, between phase 6 and phase 1 of the next position, will be completely different and depends on your personal and professional situation. You may decide to take a break (sabbatical), be unemployed, take a consulting role, or just travel, play golf, or take care of yourself.

Linking Role Cycle to Priorities

What must you prioritize as you go through the five stages in the role cycle I covered earlier? I won't be able to discuss the last step - exit, as my goal is to help you establish a solid foundation to deliver in your current role.?

Depending on your unique situation, you may also have a slightly different list of areas to focus on. You can modify this approach, or if you need help, you can always book an exploratory call with me.?

I only cover the segments and not the individual items within this newsletter.

1. Enter & Evaluate

As you start in a new role, your core focus must accelerate your transition. (My first ten posts in the Datapreneurs Newsletter were all focused on this area)

Two primary items are involved here - gaining situational analysis/awareness and managing tactical demand.?

It is critical that you get some mastery over these two items as soon as possible to ensure that you are using most of the initial leverage (I will cover the concept of leverage bank in a separate newsletter) in creating the future vision, making plans, getting support, and through execution and adoption stages.?

Rushing into anything else without having adequate knowledge and control across these two areas will result in definite setbacks and failures.

And yes, you cannot plan or start executing for the future based on preconceived ideas or past experiences. An accurate evaluation of the current state is a must.

Situational Analysis?

Situational Analysis (getting a view of your inheritance in your role) saves companies and careers when done right. A sound sense of situational awareness is vital to leadership decision-making. ?

As the incoming data leader, you must focus on three things now.

1. Context?(what is happening)
2. Circumstance?(what has happened)
3. Consequence?(what could happen) ??

Tactical Demand

Popular belief holds that leaders have a "honeymoon period" after taking up a new role. Things will be slow during this time, and there is a window of time to blame the predecessor for whatever is not going well.

Great leaders do not consider a "honeymoon period" or a "blame period." They just own up all opportunities and challenges.

I suggest you take responsibility for everything in your area on day 1. This way, you don't have to pick and choose, and you will quickly separate the problem from the person.

At role transition, it is crucial to ensure that what is in place still works well, does not have outages, and the inflight critical projects are getting done. That is a definite way to show confidence to the leaders who decided to bring you in.

2. Enhance

The next step is probably the most critical work you will do as a leader. Build an organization that will help you deliver peak performance in your role. The team and structure you build should comprise leads and doers who will complement and supplement your abilities and effectively work with others in the company.

The foundation of any good data work is based on the strategy it is built on, and this should align with your company's business strategy for it to be effective.

And an approach will only look good on paper if the company cannot commit resources and support to your initiatives. So, you must build a strong business case and procure the budget to support that work.?

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3. Execute

I have had the opportunity to work with most of the leading consulting players during my corporate roles, and there was one thing in common.

Most strategy documents stalled and choked as we got to the stage to define a realistic program, create a workable plan, and ensure agile delivery.

Why is that the case??

The work in this stage cannot be outsourced but must be done in-house. The templates, processes, and spreadsheets are all necessary, but what is even more important is the experience of having done the job end-to-end - from Analysis, planning, execution, and even support for an extended time.?

If you do not have the talent within your company to do this, could you engage a firm's services that can provide you with talented people who have been in your situation and done similar roles in their careers??

Still, every company, situation, and stakeholder group is different, and the real work must come from you and your team.

Depending on your situation, you may be better off with an advisor who can take you and your team through this process.?That way, you get access to the right advice and guidance while your team learns and can execute confidently, knowing they won't get off course.

4. Enable

Who does not like results? And we know everybody loves excellent results.

Successes and failures have taught me that.

enablement with data happens not when you execute successfully but when you make it easy for your users to adapt to the new.

Training, marketing, communication, legacy cut-over, and driving adoption become critical.

All your work is practical only when used by people across your company's functions, customers, or vendors.

Your success as a leader will be measured not based on what you created but on where, how, and how the company used your creations to deliver bottom-line growth.?

For this reason, the company appointed you as a data leader. And I see too many leaders ignore these things fundamental to enabling results or focus on them only as an afterthought.?

Attention is hard to get commodity these days, and what is not given attention will be forgotten easily.?

Besides your business, technology, or people skills, enhance your marketing, sales, networking, and communication skills if you want to succeed as a data leader.

And people with such talent must be part of your team and included in the enhanced stage I mentioned earlier.?

5. Evolve

Data work is seldom done. I propose an evergreen book of work to ensure your investments continue to yield results for years.

Are your operations, accounting, or finance functions ever "done?" No. They last as long as your company exists. Why do you have to constantly justify existence of the data function?

I think it is because of the following reasons.?

• Companies approach data work as an expense and not an investment
• Data leaders need to set aside more for lights-on work and have to justify all their budgets all the time.
• Much of the usage of the output from data/analytics work is left to choice. The company employees do not have an option but to use the application systems when doing their jobs. However, most of them are still optional items to use when it comes to reports, models, and analytical applications.?

Rather than spending time and energy trying to convince people of its value, think of ways to use data to deliver results faster.

The goal is to develop a culture where data leadership efforts are welcomed and appreciated. Set a high bar for your team's performance, evolve with the changing business landscape, and be open to new ideas.

Evolving the outcome of your initiatives involves ensuring that usage is widespread. It is also about finding new uses for data.

As you expand your data work by continuously bringing in more use cases, sources, attributes, and feedback, the use value of your data and platforms increases. Now, your users and executives can do more and learn more.?

So, in this phase, explore alternate uses for the data, analytics, models, and reports you have.

Here are a few ideas:

• Can you create new API interfaces, micro-services, or mobile apps?
• Share data with vendors to drive innovation in serving your customers?
• As you continue to expand, you may also hit areas that are entirely new ways to leverage data and analytics within your company but may need to be smaller for you to handle. Can you break them into manageable chunks and deliver them over multiple iterations?
• Who else must you bring into your data councils to effect this expanded use?

You can do a lot, and I am excited about the opportunities around you. If you think I can help you and your teams in any way, schedule a time for us to discuss.

Want to work with me and my team to accelerate your success?

1. If you are in a new role and want to start strong, I welcome you to explore the "Accelerated Transition " service from Khyanafi Corpsulting. Our team of Corpsultants (former corporate leaders in consulting) and I work directly with leaders like yourself to ensure a great start. Early Wins Matter.
2. DAAMAAS: Data Architecture And Modeling As A Service. Finding field-tested, reliable talent for #dataarchitecture and #datamodeling work continues to challenge many companies. If this is your problem, write to us at [email protected] .
3. If you are a leader looking for my advisory, mentoring, or coaching help for your Company Board, yourself, and your team, [email protected] .