Kyle Winterbottom's 3 Data Leadership Trends to Watch in 2022

Kyle Winterbottom, Founder and MD of specialist recruitment agency
Orbition, shares three trends he believes will reshape enterprise
data and analytics teams in the coming months

After 11 years in data and analytics recruitment, Kyle
Winterbottom has an intimate knowledge of the trends shaping
enterprise data and analytics teams. Since founding specialist
recruitment agency Orbition two years ago, he’s noticed a number
of significant changes in the industry.


In this week’s episode of the Business of Data podcast,
Winterbottom shares how three recent developments are influencing
the shape of enterprise data and analytics teams.
A Renewed Focus on the Data Foundations

The first theme Winterbottom says he’s observed is a renewed
focus on ensuring enterprises have the right foundations in
place, particularly where data quality management is concerned.
This is translating into demand for data governance and
engineering staff.


"The language historically used around governance has kind of
turned people off,” Winterbottom says. “It’s often seen as a
tick-box exercise, more about compliance. People realize now
that, if we get this right, it makes our analytics endeavors
better and more valuable.”


“Every organization is looking to start a data analytics journey
or to do more with what they have,” he continues. “Data scientist
was the sexiest job title of the 21st century until most
organizations realized they didn't have the infrastructure to
actually support the role. That’s why the last 2-3 years have
seen the rise of the data engineer.”
Shifting the Focus to Soft Skills in Data Teams

The pandemic changed the role data and analytics plays in many
organizations. Many teams are facing greater demand for
data-driven insights and pressure to collaborate more closely
with colleagues in other business units.


Winterbottom argues that this has affected the skills data
leaders prioritize when building their teams and pursuing their
own professional development. While technical skills remain
critical, they are increasingly focused on ensuring soft skills,
too.


“There’s a difference in the way organizations are considering
hard skills versus soft skills,” he says. “We’ve nailed the tech
side of things, for the most part. Now, there’s real emphasis on
an individual's ability to communicate, tell stories, create
buy-in and to influence people, especially at the senior level.”


“You could have the best transformation in mind, all the
processes and all the technology,” he continues. “But if you have
no people skills or can’t engage your team, nothing’s going to
work. I’ve noticed, especially on LinkedIn over the last few
years, more leaders are focusing on personal branding. More
people understand that they’ve got to be personable.”
The Drive to Create Diverse Data Teams

It is often said that technology reflects the people who make it.
Indeed, Gartner reports that diverse data analytics teams perform
better and have a better understanding of customer needs.


So, it