From Data to Decisions: Strategies for Building a Data-Driven Culture with Kevin Hanegan
Jun 23, 2023
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In this episode, data literacy expert Kevin Hanegan discusses the importance of data literacy, its impact on decision-making, and strategies for developing data literacy skills. They explore the significance of challenging assumptions and exploring multiple possibilities, as well as the application of data literacy in various industries. The podcast also delves into the importance of checklists and data-driven decision making, building a data-driven culture, and provides additional resources for further information.
Data literacy is essential for individual and organizational success, and should be recognized as being as important as computer literacy.
Building data literacy skills involves critical thinking, questioning biases, and developing a systematic process for decision-making.
Deep dives
The Importance of Data Literacy
Data literacy is crucial for individual and organizational success. It is as important as computer literacy, but unfortunately, it is not widely recognized. Low data literacy hampers effective data-driven decision-making. Data literacy expert Kevin Hannigan guides us through the essential aspects of data literacy and explains its transformative power. He shares practical tips and strategies for developing data literacy skills, discusses common challenges and misconceptions, and provides insights on fostering a data-driven culture within organizations.
The Key Elements of Data Literacy
Data literacy involves effectively and efficiently using data to make better decisions. It goes beyond reading charts and interpreting data. It requires critical thinking, curiosity, and the ability to challenge assumptions. Data literacy helps individuals reason with data, apply insights, and comprehend the implications of the information. It is not just about numbers; it encompasses all forms of information and evidence. Building data literacy skills involves understanding the denominator, questioning biases, and developing a systematic process for decision-making.
Lessons from Industries Embracing Data Literacy
Industries such as healthcare, aerospace, and scientific research excel in data literacy due to the high stakes involved. They rely on systematic processes, critical thinking, and diverse perspectives to make informed decisions. These industries emphasize the importance of questioning assumptions, challenging beliefs, and building a culture of intellectual humility. Organizations can learn from their approach and apply similar strategies to improve data literacy and decision-making.
Advice for Organizations Initiating Data Literacy
To start the data literacy journey, organizations should encourage individuals to show their work and explain their decision-making rationale. Emphasizing the importance of decision journals helps foster transparency and accountability. Organizations should also embrace diversity of perspectives and facilitate open dialogues to challenge assumptions, minimize biases, and enhance decision-making. Implementing a systematic process for decision-making is crucial, including defining the right questions, evaluating hypotheses, and considering alternative solutions. This process helps individuals develop critical thinking skills and adapt to the ever-increasing volume and complexity of data.
In a world where data is the new oil, being able to understand, analyse and interpret it is a vital skill. As the saying goes, "knowledge is power," and in this case, data literacy is the key to unlocking that power.
I argue that data literacy is as important to individual and organisational success as computer literacy, but unfortunately that is not a consensus view. For many organisations and their leaders, low data literacy is hampering their ability to make effective, data-driven decisions.
What is the key to creating a data literate organisation and unlocking the true potential of your data?
Who better to guide us through the many aspects of this question than data literacy expert Kevin Hanegan.
Kevin is the Chief Learning Officer at Qlik and a renowned author of the books “Data Literacy in Practice” and “Turning Data into Wisdom”.
In this episode of Leaders of Analytics, Kevin will be sharing invaluable insights and expertise from his books and his work at Qlik.
Listen in as we explore:
How data literacy can transform businesses, boost individual careers, and help us make better-informed decisions
Practical tips and strategies for developing data literacy skills
Common misconceptions or challenges that hold people back from becoming data literate, and how to overcome these
How to foster a data-driven culture within organisations, and much more.