Twice weekly, I share proven strategies to help data scientists get noticed, promoted, and valued. No theory — just practical steps to transform your technical expertise into business impact and the freedom to call your own shots.
My Stakeholder Whispering Wake-Up Call
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I'll never forget the moment I realised that in data science, what stakeholders say they want and what they really want aren't always the same. It was one of my first projects as a data scientist. My stakeholder - an executive in my organisation - pointed me in the direction of a dataset. and told me to find some "interesting insights". I saw it as the perfect opportunity to show off my new skills, so I didn't think to question what she'd asked. Big mistake. One month later, I returned with what I had - a flashy presentation, filled with beautiful visualisations and examples of every statistical technique I could manage to apply. I was so proud of my work. It took my stakeholder less than 1 minute to flip through my slide deck from end to end. "Yeah, I already know this. Tell me something I don't know." I was devastated. And honestly? I blamed my stakeholder for not being more clear. But after it happened again... and again... I realised the problem wasn't my stakeholders. It was me. I hadn't yet learned the art of stakeholder whispering. It was only after figuring out this secret that I was finally able to advance my career. I recently sat down with Bill Shander, author of Stakeholder Whispering, to share this story, and the lessons I learned from it, in the latest episode of Stakeholder Whispering Live. You can watch our conversation HERE. If you've ever felt like you're playing a guessing game with your stakeholders, this conversation will give you a clear path forward. Talk again soon, Dr Genevieve Hayes First published: June 29, 2025 |
Data Science Impact Algorithm
Twice weekly, I share proven strategies to help data scientists get noticed, promoted, and valued. No theory — just practical steps to transform your technical expertise into business impact and the freedom to call your own shots.
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