Emotional Intelligence and Leadership in Analytics Delivery
Originally Posted: Successinsightsindia
When it comes to delivering large small-scale projects one of the biggest driving forces for its success is having a ‘modern leadership’ in place that embraces ‘better practices’ and not just ‘best practices’. In a work environment that is constantly evolving and throwing curve balls at every given point, it is important to explore new dimensions of leadership that can strengthen and challenge the ability to build resilient teams.
When it comes to the delivery of analytics projects, critical aspects such as leadership, mindset, and culture are often ignored, which are technically key to improving the delivery of projects.
Some of the challenges faced when it comes to analytics delivery are understanding the problem statement itself and not including the stakeholders’ perspective. Why is this important? Because stakeholders are the most aware of a problem, however, they might not have clarity on the methodology and may not be able to identify the right output, and the right process to get them there or even might have some biases because they know the business so well. For example, the stakeholder might be used to using channel A for sales, but the data suggests another channel/ route. Herein, change management plays a crucial role in changing the ways of working.
So, what are the Components Required for a Successful Analytics Delivery?
One of the key ingredients for the success of a delivery project is emotional intelligence tied in with leadership. Socio-emotional ties can help build personal connections between employees spread out in today’s hybrid work environments. So, how do you empower your top leaders managing critical analytics projects to understand how to deliver growth and innovation while maintaining team effectiveness, capability building, and cultural change?
Re-thinking Analytics Leadership
As organizations embark on a new world of work, there are some things to keep in mind to build effective social-emotional relationships, collaboration, team efficiency, and innovative business outcomes.
Managing Complexity
Analytics projects often involve ambiguity, vast datasets, and intricate challenges. Leaders with high EI (emotional intelligence) can maintain composure amid uncertainty, make balanced decisions, and effectively adapt to changing circumstances.
Stakeholder Management
One of the most critical things to consider is how to empower stakeholders to understand analytics and think about the means of delivering successful projects. To manage stakeholders, it is important to understand the different personalities one is dealing with. And because analytics delivery projects run in a tight frame of time, a must-do is to keep stakeholders aligned with the purpose of the project, its expectations, and the impact it will have on the client side.
Change Management
Change management is another element when it comes to rethinking analytics leadership. Leaders who possess and apply EI competencies can navigate the complexities of change more effectively, address employees' emotions and concerns, and create a supportive environment that fosters successful change implementation. Studies show that the psychology of rewards and recognition (R&R) stimulates part of the brain and keeps dopamine levels high. Right from introducing training programs, R&R programs, and internal and client feedback ensures key leadership in analytics roles receive recognition for their roles in transformation initiatives.
Building Cohesive Analytics Teams and Foster Inclusivity to Drive Mindset Change
EI also plays a crucial role in creating a positive team environment.
Leaders who demonstrate empathy and social skills can foster trust, open communication, and collaboration among team members, which are essential for successful analytics delivery. To emphasize human creativity and connections, there is a dire need for customized and tailored inclusive solutions across organizations.
With a mixed bag of personas that might be working on an analytics delivery project such as Genz, new employees or working parents, it is important to analyze the organizational pulse and sentiments via sentiment analysis, pulse surveys, and dedicated R&R programs to tailor recommendations for each of the employees.
Top management leadership can also use town halls, weekly catch-ups, and one-on-one meetings to build support and effectively ensure that each of the employees has an analytic mindset.
Invest in Long Term Practices
Project delivery leaders need to also ensure that they drive change by following some practices such as investing in the team, ensuring timely decision-making, and adopting a forward-looking people management strategy for long-term success.
The Science and Art of Delivering Successful Projects
Not just the science of it, but also the art of project leadership in analytics delivery can go a long way in delivering complex projects successfully and enable leadership to gain greater outcomes with increasing project size and complexity.