"My interest in maths began at a young age as I was blessed with having a maths teacher as a mother who made education a primary focus. At the time, though, it felt like a curse every time she ripped out my homework and said: "do it again, but this time properly". Looking back, this contributed to my determination and perseverance, skills which helped me complete the actuarial exams years later.

While guiding our proteges through their careers, we come across challenging work situations which have the potential to worsen or completely derail a business relationship. Constructive (win-win) conversations are the ideal, but sometimes there are clashes and misunderstandings, perhaps rooted in differences in personality or values between individuals, or cultural norms.

One of our members recently shared an assessment she had previously done and told us how it helped her and her colleagues to understand each other better, especially in more stressful situations. It focuses on situations when an apology is given, and we agree that it can help to make sense of what different people expect from a sincere apology (as well as understand what you yourself like to hear from others).

The challenge is that “I’m sorry” can contain different layers of meaning depending on who is saying it, and more verbal explanation is often needed – others can’t infer what you specifically mean unless you explicitly tell them. To help smooth relationships, Dr Gary Chapman and Jennifer Thomas developed the 5 Apology Languages, based on their extensive discussion sessions with their customers, building too on their previous research.

When working with other people, wires can get crossed, tension can arise, and feelings can get hurt. Learning to move beyond these moments of frustration is crucial for collaboration. Specific and sincere apologies can go a long way to averting ‘sad, sad situations’. Read more to discover the 5 apology languages: adapting your approach to take genuine account of your co-workers’ apology preferences can help to smooth things over faster. 

​The roles of Chief Data Officer (CDO), Chief Analytics Officer (CAO) and Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) are relatively new, having grown in adoption significantly over the past decade as data has become ‘the new oil’ and as traditional companies seek to contend with digital competitors. These senior roles are now found within a variety of data-intensive industries, especially within Financial Services and Healthcare, and increasingly in others too.

​A 2019 NewVantage Partners survey found that almost 70% of respondents reported having a CDO, significant growth from 12% in 2012 when their first survey was done. While Financial Services firms compromised the majority of respondents (“data-mature firms that maintain high-value customer relationships and invest significant sums to manage their data”), Healthcare firms also shared their views (“businesses that are undergoing rapid transformation – data rich, but often less data-mature”), as did businesses in other industries. The survey highlighted the “creation of a yet newer role [than CDO] – the Chief Data and Analytics Officer – integrating the data and analytics responsibilities within a single executive.”

As Forbes Insights puts it: ““It’s safe to say that a flood of data – 250 billion terabytes created every day – has swept the chief data officer into the C-suite.”

As firms globally strive to harness the power of data and face challenges along the way, the demand for data scientists and analysts continues to increase. This post discusses the evolution of data-driven roles, some challenges of executive roles in these disciplines, and key skills to improve the likelihood of success in these roles, drawing on the insights of Tom Davenport, A. Charles Thomas and others. Read more to explore the nature of data and analytics roles, and their growing executive influence, in this latest entry in our Routes to the Top series...