Reach for the stars

What’s the first thing that comes in to your head when you hear the phrase ‘Reach for the stars’??

·?????? The song Reach by S Club (which I hesitate to say turns 25 next year!!)

·?????? That well known 1983 video game ‘Reach for the stars’ (declared by Computer Gaming World, 1996, as ‘the 51st best computer game ever released’)

·?????? Perhaps Shirley Bassey’s song ‘Reach for the stars’ (which topped the UK charts 63 years ago in September 1961)

·?????? Virgil’s poem ‘Aeneid’ (written around 29 BC and often cited as the source for the phrase)

It may be a mix of all of those, or more likely some phrase people use about setting ambitions which are stretching and seemingly out of reach, but something to aim for as a destination.

The reality is it’s not so much the ‘star’ we set out to reach, but the steps we take day in day out to move us a bit closer to that goal. I’ve spoken in previous posts about looking at people you admire; the things they do you’d like to do more of yourself; the way they present themselves you’d like to be able to carry off; the way they apply their skills and passion to their work. Whatever it is, there are attributes, skills and behaviours we admire and would like to build in to ourselves.

Being honest – at the moment I aspire to be a mix of Andi Orlowski mixed with Tiankai Feng and a dash of Rob Wall (musical video creativeness!) – talk about reaching for stars!!

Often our stars are not distant celebrities, but people we work with or who work in the same fields as we do. People who take their skills and build them and apply them in ways we never thought of, to achieve amazing things.

So… I hear you cry – What has this to do with the National Competency Framework ???

In the data world, we can see people we admire and want to work toward becoming similar to the things they do. The Framework gives you a roadmap of what some of those skills are, and increasingly we are building a resource bank of how to develop and hone those skills.

Not everything is something you need to learn. Some of it is things you need to experience and build up a portfolio of practical application doing it.

The Framework helps you scan the range of skills in different roles, and to plot your route to take you closer to where you want to be.

Another digression!

The last two years I’ve worked in London. There are many ways to travel from A to B on the underground – some direct, some a more scenic route – but all with an aim of moving forward.

Some connections in the stations involved walking the passageways from one track to another, and some of those (particularly connecting to the Elizabeth line) have a mix of walkways and travelators (the horizontal version of an escalator).

Think of the Framework as your skills travelator – taking you that much quicker to where you want to go.

Even if you say ‘The Framework’s not for me, I’m happy as I am’ – that skills journey is still happening around you and you either stand still and get left behind, or walk alongside the travellator, accepting your journey will take longer and some people will reach the destination before you.

The inexorable truth is the world of analytics is evolving. Whether that’s the things we are asked to do, the systems and softwares we have to do the work on or the insights and impacts we are looking to evidence. This change requires us to maintain some core skills, drop some old practices and to develop new approaches and specialisms. To adapt to this changing environment to ensure we can be as effective in our work as possible and ensure best use of resources and support the optimum outcomes for the populations we serve.

It is our inherent duty to continue to evolve in our role and be the best version of ourselves, with one eye on the stars as something to guide us. The Framework helps you make this journey a bit quicker.

If you are ready to jump on the Framework travellator, then all you need to do is pledge to adopt, and begin your journey.