Every Data Leader Has a Plan Until They Get Punched in the Mouth

The realities of starting a new leader role

Many years ago, I was the first data leader of a team of three people. There was a Data Analyst and two Developers. The developers were based in Europe, but the Data Analyst was local. Within nine months, they were gone, and I had to start building the team from scratch.

Because of this, any plans I had when I joined the company quickly disappeared. My role shifted to handling team dynamics, getting buy-in from my team members, and handling HR issues. Dealing with resignations, posting new positions, interviewing, and hiring is no small feat. Add to that delivering projects. I’ll provide a summary of what happened with each team member.

Developer 1

Developer 1 was based in Germany. He was a nice person, and he and I got along great. However, we had a significant problem. The leader who he reported to before I arrived made a critical error. Dev 1 felt that he was promised a specific raise. When the raise was outlined on paper, he believed it wasn’t what he initially agreed to. At that point, it was over for him, and the clock was ticking. There was no way he was sticking around after something he felt was promised was taken away. Within my first two months at the job, he was gone.

Developer 2

Developer 2 was also based in Germany. He was an interesting person. He did not say much. But he was also pretty headstrong. He wouldn’t do anything he didn’t want to do. We once had an onsite workshop in France, and he was requested to attend. However, he didn’t see its value, so he didn’t go. I remember giving him several reasons he would be valuable, and he said no thanks. He was also not a fan of how things were going in the past. I tried to build a relationship with him, but it was very challenging, considering he was remote. He also left the company within my first four months on the job.

Data Analyst

This person stayed the longest of the original group. When I joined, there was immediate tension with him. I found out during the interview process that he had interviewed for my job but wasn’t going to get it. Within a few months, I discovered he was reaching out to my leader behind my back. He was trying to advocate for himself to get a new leadership position. He even created a position for me in his proposal so that I could stay on. How nice of him.

Then, things got tense with him and a new team member. My leader and I went to discuss it with him. At the end of the conversation, he admitted that he had already handed his resignation to HR. His resignation was submitted before the meeting started, but we were not informed. My leader and I both said, “That would’ve been nice to know before we had the discussion.” Out of the three original team members, he was the person I was most happy to see leave.

Not What I Signed Up For

This ordeal happened early in my data leader career. It was a difficult time, but I’m happy it happened retrospectively. I learned that you have no idea how a new position will be until you speak with people within the business and your team.

A modern data stack, LLMs in production, Dataflake implementation, and other data technology innovations won’t protect you from internal team challenges. If the team isn’t working together, nothing will get done.

Every new leader thinks they’ll go from 0 to data-driven in 30 days, fix all the problems in 60 days, and then world domination by day 90. However, as Dr. Ian Malcolm states in the movie Jurrasic Park, “Life finds a way.”

Start With the Basics

When you start a new role, I tell leaders that the significant work is learning about your team. Considering the shelf life of a CDO is 18-24 months, I suggest getting a handle on this immediately.

When you start, there will be a narrative about your team. Hopefully, it’s positive. Your job is to determine how the narrative will change and put a plan in motion to make the change. You must learn about the business and figure out your team’s intricacies.

Here are some initial questions to ask when you speak with your team:

1. Who was promised a promotion but wasn’t given one?

2. Who applied for your role and didn’t get it? Were they told why?

3. Who is frustrated with the way things are currently operating?

To my current or aspiring data leaders, I hope this gives you something to consider as you embark on new opportunities. Ask as many questions as possible before starting your new role to understand what you’re getting into. Preparing for what is coming your way is critical for a long-lasting tenure.