Data Scientists as Leaders

Organizations too often fail to recognize the valuable leadership data scientists can and do provide

Making informed decisions, based on an empirical analysis of quality data, is an essential component of modern organizational success. Data scientists can play a crucial role in this process. Despite the “hype” around it, data scientists are often not fully valued by their organization.

For better or worse, data scientists are the experts in collecting, analysing and interpreting data. The disconnect I see is when organizations fail to value the contributions they can make beyond these three functions.

An important nuance in this history is that in decades past, data scientists were not yet called ‘data scientists’. Instead, they were analysts. Perhaps you can identify with or recognize the dysfunction exemplified by organizational members who tell analysts to “stay in their lane”.

However, professionals in this field can also be organizational leaders. With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), we might also extend that statement to say data scientists should be organizational leaders. As businesses continue to pursue opportunities that leverage generative AI, it would be a mistake to not include data scientists among the cadre of an…