How to Transition from Analyst to Analytics Manager

As an analyst, it's relatively easy to become proficient in your role, steadily improving your skills and gaining recognition as the go-to expert. However, what happens when you're suddenly tasked with stepping up to manage an analytics team? Whether it's because your team has grown and needs someone who understands data analysis or your manager has moved on to a different role, this transition can be both exciting and challenging.

This article is aimed at those moving into a managerial role within their existing company, rather than starting fresh in a new organization. While the advice is tailored to those stepping into leadership within their current team, the principles are broadly applicable.

Your Peers Are Now Your Direct Reports

If you've worked with your fellow analysts as peers, you’ve likely developed strong relationships. These relationships are crucial, and while they can continue, the dynamics will change significantly when you transition into a managerial role. As a manager, you will now have the responsibility of overseeing the work and development of your colleagues.

Here are a few key considerations:

1. Delegate Effectively: As a manager, your role is to lead the team, not to do all the work yourself. It’s crucial to delegate tasks in a way that challenges your team members and allows them to grow while ensuring the right tasks are handled by the right people. Make sure to share interesting and engaging projects to inspire your team.
2. Hold Them Accountable: Being in charge means holding your team to account. This doesn’t mean micromanaging, but it does mean setting clear expectations and checking in to make sure those expectations are being met.
3. Be the Example: Your team will look to you for guidance. As a manager, you are setting the standard for professionalism, work ethic, and attitude. Always strive to demonstrate the behaviors you expect from your team members.
4. Defend Your Team When Necessary: As your team’s leader, you will often find yourself in the position of having to defend them, whether it's justifying their work, resources, or decisions. Advocate for your team and ensure their contributions are recognized and protected.

From a Doer to a Planner

One of the hardest aspects of stepping into a management role is shifting from a doer to a planner. As an analyst, your focus was on execution, digging into the data and producing actionable insights. But as a manager, your role will change, and it’s important to focus less on the analysis itself and more on the strategy, planning, and coordination of your team’s efforts.

Here are a few guidelines to help with this transition:

1. Limit Your Hands-On Involvement in Analysis: It’s tempting to dive into the analysis, but you should aim to spend no more than 30% of your time doing actual analysis, with a maximum of 50%. Your primary focus should now be on overseeing the workflow and ensuring that your team is on track.
2. Avoid Using Your Team as an Extension of Your Skillset: A common pitfall for newly promoted managers is to offload their less desirable tasks to their team while retaining control of the more interesting or challenging work. This can create frustration among team members, who may feel like they’re doing the “grunt” work while their manager gets to focus on the exciting parts of the job.
3. Develop Leadership Skills: To be an effective leader, you need to focus on developing the skills of your team and mentoring them to take on more responsibility. Instead of focusing solely on executing tasks, help your analysts grow in their roles and elevate their capabilities.

Being a Communicator

In your new role, communication becomes a critical part of your responsibilities. Not only do you need to communicate your team’s priorities and workload, but you also need to make sure the higher-ups understand the value of your team’s work.

1. Represent the Team: The “buck stops” with you, meaning you are responsible for both the successes and failures of your team. You’ll need to engage upwards, keeping leadership informed of your team’s progress and challenges. Your team depends on you to communicate their achievements and roadblocks to ensure they get the support and resources they need.
2. Proactively Contribute to Strategic Objectives: You’re no longer just the “data guy” who crunches numbers. As the manager of the analytics team, you represent an entire domain of expertise. You need to actively contribute to the strategic direction of the company, showing how analytics can influence key business decisions and drive success.

Being a Champion for Analytics

As the leader of your team, it’s essential to promote the value of analytics across the organization. You need to make sure that analytics isn’t just seen as a support function but as an integral part of the decision-making process.

1. Get Senior Executives Involved: One of your main tasks is to raise awareness about the importance of analytics within the business. It’s important that senior executives recognise your team not just as a service department but as a crucial player in achieving business goals.
2. Push for Analytics to Be Part of the Decision-Making Process: Show other teams how they can use analytics to improve their operations, rather than waiting for them to come to you. Take the initiative to educate the broader organisation on how data can inform better decisions.
3. Give Credit to Your Team: As a manager, you must recognise the contributions of your team members. When the team succeeds, ensure that credit is shared and that your team’s work is acknowledged by senior leadership. This not only boosts morale but also ensures your team feels valued and motivated.

Embrace the Role of Manager

While it’s difficult to give up the hands-on analysis you’ve grown comfortable with, it’s essential to embrace your new role as a manager. The best managers are those who lead with confidence and act decisively. This means being proactive in shaping the direction of your team, molding its culture, and ensuring that it functions at its highest potential.

1. Stamp Your Mark on the Team: Inevitably, as you step into your managerial role, you will begin to shape the team in your image. Use this opportunity to define your leadership style, establish clear expectations, and create a working environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, and growth.
2. Act Like a Leader, Not Just a Senior Analyst: Don’t fall into the trap of thinking of yourself as a “more senior analyst.” You are now the leader of a team, and your role is to guide them, mentor them, and ensure they have the tools and resources they need to succeed. You are responsible for their growth and the overall performance of the team.

Conclusion

The transition from an analyst to a manager is a significant one, and it’s normal to feel overwhelmed at times. However, by focusing on delegation, strategic planning, communication, and leadership, you can successfully navigate this new role. Remember, you are no longer just the person analysing data, you are now the person who is shaping the future of your analytics team and helping to drive the organization’s decision-making process. Embrace the opportunity to mold the team into a powerhouse of analytics that delivers strategic value across the business.

In my book, 'Data Culture', I discuss how to manage and lead data teams. You can buy it from Amazon https://amzn.to/3Pg6lqk or from the publisher, Kogan Page's, website https://www.koganpage.com/business-and-management/data-culture-9781398614208