^{READ TIME: 5 MINUTES}

Some companies are pretty content burying their data teams in the basement. They’ll open the trapdoor only when the need something from them, allowing a little bit of daylight and fresh air to creep in, if only for a second.

I’m not the first person to say it, but it needs saying again: Data teams often lack serious visibility around the business.

The lack of visibility comes with a tremendous list of costs, and missed opportunities. They hold you back as a data leader seeking more influence, and they hold your team back as legitimate contributors to the company’s strategy, and its success.

But you know what? No one is coming to open that trap door for you. Data leaders who want more visibility and influence need to make that happen on their own. To succeed at this requires you to network internally like a MoFo. You’ll need to learn to speak up and amplify your teams work and value add (I wrote about that here) while also learning the difference between value metics and value narratives.

And that’s exactly what this week’s edition is about: Practical ways to maximise your internal networking skills. Let’s do this!

Let’s be clear. Internal networking is not about being a kiss *ss or sucking up to people so you get sweet promos and invites to Friday drinks. Internal networking is the deliberate work of building relationships across the business so that the right people trust you, listen to you, and pull you in early.

When you do it well, some reaaaallllyyyy good things happen. You get invited into decisions before they are made, rather than afterwards when you’re usually just asked to make some pretty charts. Stakeholders start bringing you actual problems to solve instead of prescriptive solutions, because they have learned that a conversation with you is worth having. Your team's profile rises across the business because people can finally see the value they’re adding. And cooperation between data and everyone else becomes easier, buoyed by the existing strong relationships you’ve been able to cultivate.

After the poll, we’re gonna take a look at some practical steps to becoming a better internal networker, so cast your vote and then keep going! 👇🏻

1️⃣ Map your stakeholders before you start

Networking is NOT about getting on with anyone and everyone. You have limited time, and spreading it evenly across the whole business is how you end up with a lot of shallow acquaintances and very little influence. Networking is a resource allocation problem and it needs a good map.

The simplest one I know is Mendelow's Power-Interest Matrix. It help you plot the people around you based on two things: how much power they hold over what happens, and how much interest they have in what your team does. That sorts a messy list of stakeholders into four groups, each needing a different approach. The people with high power and high interest are the relationships you invest in most heavily. Those with high power but low interest need to be kept satisfied, and it is worth working out how to raise their interest in data and your team. The high interest, low power group are your future champions, so keep them close and well informed. I won't labour the detail here, but it is well worth ten minutes of your time. You can read a clear breakdown here and map your own stakeholders this afternoon.

2️⃣ Book the coffees before you need anything

Everybody likes coffee (surely). Casual coffee catchups can be a gold mine. The most common networking mistake is only showing up when you want something. But a great network is built long before it’s needed, so get proactive now. Once you know who matters, put a light, standing cadence in place with them. A thirty minute monthly with the head of product, or finance, or marketing, with no agenda beyond you better understanding their world. Ask them LOTS of questions. The goal at this stage is not to pitch anything. It is simply to become a known, trusted quantity before you ever need their support. That, and getting some caffeine in.

3️⃣ Do your homework on their world

Before those conversations, find out what each function is actually measured on and what is keeping these folks up at night. When you speak in terms of their targets, their risks and their priorities, you stop sounding like a service desk and start sounding like a partner to them. Learn their language and use it with them.

4️⃣ Lead with usefulness

Bring something useful to each relationship before you ask for anything in return. That might be a quick piece of analysis that makes someone's job easier, an early heads-up on a metric that has moved, or an introduction to someone helpful in your own network. When you help people consistently and without an immediate agenda, they become far more willing to help you when you later need their support.

5️⃣ Get into the rooms where decisions happen

Many of the decisions that matter get made in cross-functional initiatives, steering groups and planning forums. You cannot shape a decision if you are not in the room where it happens, so put yourself forward for these. Volunteer for the working group. Ask to join the planning session. Your stakeholder map helps here too, because it shows you which rooms are worth your time and which are not..

6️⃣ Build cooperation that does not depend on you

The data leaders who handle this well turn their best relationships into something more structured. That could be a standing monthly meeting between data and another function, a shared Slack channel, or a short note each month setting out what is coming up. When cooperation is built into a regular process, it carries on even when you are busy, on leave, or you move to another role. It is also worth identifying your champions, the well-connected allies who will speak up for the data function when you are not there, and giving them the results and the talking points they need to do it.

Networking of this sort has nothing to do with schmoozing or pretending to be someone you are not. It is the steady, deliberate work of building the relationships that let good data work do its thing. Map the terrain, book the coffees, be useful, and get yourself into the rooms that matter. Do that consistently and you’ll see your profile and relevance rise across the business.

Helping data leaders build this kind of influence across their organisation is a big part of what I do in my data leadership coaching. If you know your work is strong but your voice isn't carrying the way it should, book a call and we can talk through what's getting in the way.

Free resources:
Data Leadership Playbook · Data Career Compass · Data Leader Assessment

Tristan Burns
Find me on LinkedIn