About

We say we want to democratise data. But what about the people responsible for delivering it?

In technical organisations, it’s common to promote brilliant analysts, engineers and data scientists into leadership roles – without preparing them to lead. These newly promoted data leaders understand the numbers, the tools, the models – but often lack the confidence, communication skills and cross-functional influence to land their message. And that’s a cultural gap no stack upgrade can solve.

Drawing on 20+ years of experience in analytics and risk leadership, and now coaching senior data leaders and leadership teams across sectors, Alex Patient offers a compelling argument: the key to building a successful data culture isn’t more tech – it’s more trust, alignment and influence.

Using real-world stories from high-stakes projects like the COVID loan schemes at NatWest, and coaching lessons from cross-functional teams, Alex explores how to help technical leaders shift from expert to influencer, align leadership teams around shared understanding of data’s value, use coaching questions to unlock trust, reduce friction, and foster strategic alignment and move from siloed decision-making to team-led, culture-driven impact.

Takeaways

• Why technically brilliant people often struggle in leadership – and how to help them.
• How to diagnose and resolve misalignment in leadership teams using coaching techniques.
• A practical set of coaching questions to improve influence and trust across pillars.
• The difference between insight delivery and insight impact – and how to bridge the gap