Why You Must Nurture Your Data Owners To Get Maximum Return On Your Data Governance Investment

First published on my website (Why You Must Nurture Your Data Owners To Get Maximum Return On Your Data Governance Investment — AHUJA CONSULTING LIMITED)

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In my last article, I discussed the importance of identifying the right data owners.? Failing to do so can severely hinder your Data Governance initiative.?

But finding the right people is just one side of the coin.?

The role of the Data Owner can be transformative for organisations.? But these people won’t necessarily become the change agents you want them to be on their own.?

You need to nurture and educate them.?

The Ubiquitous Monthly Data Governance Meeting

I’ve worked in organisations where data owners see their role as mere attendance at a monthly CDO led meeting.?

They weren’t engaged and didn’t see the value.?

Equally, I’ve worked in other organisations where data owners were enthused but didn’t know where to start!

Either way, they’re not contributing to your Data Governance initiative.?

So how do you Nurture your Owners?

The companies that nurture their data owners most effectively adopt a hands-on organic approach, as opposed to a formal and standardised one.?

Yet the majority of the organisations I’ve encountered don’t do this.? Instead, they rely on a formal “once and done” program to induct their new data owners.

Let’s take a moment to think this through.

A Learning Paradigm - 70:20:10

Most of you will have heard of the 70:20:10 paradigm.?

Here’s a quick summary:

·??????? Experience: 70% of learning is experiential through trial and error

·??????? Social: 20% of learning is through developmental relationships

·??????? Formal: 10% of learning is through formal training

Experience As Your Guide

Think about how you learn.?

Like most people, you probably really learnt to drive after you passed your test and were allowed to venture out – with some trepidation – on your own.?

You may have learnt the theory up to that point – don’t cross your hands at the wheel or Mirror, Signal, Manoeuvre, as a mechanical series of movements.?

But when you were on your own, you were able to internalise this theory so that it became second nature.?

Even if you did have a few dings, scrapes and bangs along the way!

You learnt most of your driving skills through experience.?

Those Water Cooler Conversations

Equally, think about those situations where you had new insight, or were able to see things in a completely different way, simply by talking it through with a colleague.?

If you’re anything like me, you may get so wrapped up in trying to look at all the angles in solving a problem, that you can’t see the wood for the trees!

Frustrating let me tell you.

Then there’s a breakthrough at last!?

One random conversation helps you to see things with a new clarity.? Sometimes, it’s not even what people say; it’s just being able to use someone else as a sounding board that enables you to see the light.

The ubiquitous Data Owner Training

Given what we’ve seen above, why do so many organisations merely mandate a course for new data owners to do on-line or attend in person but not undertake any meaningful follow-up and coaching?

I’m not against formal learning.? Some people probably do learn best in this way.?

As a means of providing your shiny new owners with chapter and verse on the responsibilities they are now taking on, it’s fine; although, my own experience is that this can just as easily put off your new owners as it can enthuse them.?

After all this approach tends to focus on a shopping list of responsibilities that owners are expected to take on – all of which would be on top of their existing role!

But think about the online courses you’re mandated to take when joining a new company.? How many of us really take the time to digest the content?

Or do we just pick up enough to complete the test and move on?

Let’s face it, whilst these kinds of learnings can be fine for picking up a technical overview, they tend to be used largely as a boxing ticking exercise to provide an auditor or a regulator with evidence of compliance.?

They’re not really substantive.? They provide a degree of knowledge but don’t effect change.?

So, taking into account all we’ve seen above, let’s now explore some practical strategies you can employ to coach and nurture your data owners.

Hints and Tips

Firstly, when it comes to data governance, I’m a firm advocate of one step at a time…

I’ve found that you need to start small and focus on one or two things to begin with.?

These are senior people and if you overload them, you can lose them.?

They just have too many other things going on and too many plates already spinning.?

Monthly Data Owner Catch Ups

I make a point of meeting with my owners 1-1 on a regular basis.? This is important.? You can’t just rely on the monthly formal Data Governance meeting as a means of engagement.?

Let’s be honest, if your monthly meetings are to be effective, the most important decisions are probably made beforehand anyway.? Those meetings are more about rubber stamping.

During my 1-1’s, I try to bring the role to life by doing a bit of investigation into some of the data within their domain and to use it as an opportunity for discussion.?

Case in point…

In one organisation, I noticed that one of the internal business codes was being applied inconsistently and was causing problems with reporting, with downstream consumers having to manually look up the correct information and manipulate the excel output of their reports accordingly.?

Remarkably, this had been an ongoing issue for well over a year.?

I used this as an opportunity to explore the root causes with the owner.? It turned out he had actually instructed his teams to apply the codes in this way to “get things through the system quickly”.?

They had no idea of the issues it was causing.? But the conversation was a brilliant use case on why they need to take a more holistic approach and understand the implications of how their teams process data.

Making your 1-1’s into informal coaching sessions is transformative.

Data Quality Metrics

I used to want to define all Critical Data Elements and associated metrics upfront.?? The boxes had to be ticked on all the Data Quality dimensions.?

This made for a busy-looking dashboard that looked like it was delivering value.??

What it didn’t do was to allow my owners to focus.? I was drowning them in a sea of information.?

Less is often more….

So now I like to build the criteria and metrics over time and engage my owners with the results and what those results mean as they emerge.?

It’s important to use these metrics to tell a story.? Sometimes, the owner will know why a particular piece of data is important and will understand the impact.?

Other times, you need to tell them the story.???

Stewards

When embarking on a new data governance initiative, I focus on ensuring that I have the right owners in place.?

I’m not so worried about stewards at this point.?

However, as I work alongside the owner to explore their role and the domain they are accountable for, there usually comes a point where they shy away from a particular area, system or process due to their lack of knowledge.?

This is where I look at bringing in the right stewards to support them.??

As with owners, I’m keen to get the right personalities on board as stewards and to make sure that they complement and can work well with the owners to provide the technical support and business knowledge the owner lacks.?

The steward role is integral to providing support to the data owner.

Makes you wonder why so many organisations just see the appointment of stewards as a tick-box.? This misses the point.

Nurturing as an ongoing activity

The analogy of data governance being a journey is now well-worn.?

But it’s true.

?You need to lead your owners on that journey.? Yes, formal and structured training can form part of it; I’ve used it as well as artefacts like data owner contracts myself.?

But the key is to work alongside and buddy them to build them into true champions.?

You need to show them how to undertake this pivotal role and demonstrate the value; both to them and the organisation.?

Leading them each step of the way further embeds your data governance initiative, baking it into the fabric of the organisation and bringing about that elusive change you desire.

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In the next article, we’ll look at where to start when embarking on a new DG initiative or re-invigorating an existing one.?

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