^{READ TIME: 4 MINUTES}

🙋🏼‍♂️ Hey, I got a question for ya…

Your success as a data leader will largely come down to your ability to foster relationships with your non-data peers. But accomplishing this isn’t always straight forward. How do you position yourself as a trusted partner who contributes real value to the business? It all starts by asking the right questions…

One of the most powerful questions you can ask a business stakeholder is:

Now, I don’t mean like noises coming from downstairs, or that creaking gate that might just be the wind and/or a serial killer trying to gain access.

I’m talking about a seemingly simple question goes straight to the heart of the business’s most pressing concerns. When asked at the right time - especially when meeting new stakeholders or stepping into a new role - it can open doors to deeper, more strategic conversations that elevate your role as a data leader.

Unfortunately, many data professionals miss this opportunity.

Instead, they fall into the trap of positioning their teams as service providers(😖) rather than strategic partners. The default approach often involves asking stakeholders how the data team can help, or simply waiting for requests to trickle in. This reactive stance limits the team’s influence and reduces its value to the business.

Here’s what happens when you don’t ask powerful questions like this one 👇🏻

Impacts of failing to ask the right questions:

Curiosity is key to success in data, so not asking the right questions can have dire impacts on our ability to effectively partner with the business and lead it from a data perspective.

Here are a few of those impacts:

📋 Impact #1: Misaligned priorities
Without understanding what truly keeps stakeholders awake at night, data teams risk working on projects that aren’t aligned with business-critical challenges.

💳 Impact #2: Limited influence and credibility
When data teams only respond to requests, they miss the chance to shape conversations and be seen as strategic partners.

👨🏾‍🔬 Impact #3: Missed opportunities for innovation
Failing to ask this question often means data professionals are unaware of key pain points where data-driven insights could make a transformative impact.

🙉 Impact #4: Stakeholder disengagement
If stakeholders feel that the data team doesn’t truly understand their concerns, they are less likely to engage in collaborative efforts.

But here’s the good news: by simply asking What keeps you up at night?, you can overcome these challenges and set your team on a path to delivering more impactful and meaningful work.

🙏🏼 It would mean a lot to me if you can share this newsletter with your team!

What makes this question so powerful?

“What keeps you up at night?”

It’s crucial to ask this question to frame your relationship as a partnership, not a service relationship.

Here's why and how it works:

1. Shifting the dynamic from service provider to strategic partner
   Asking what keeps stakeholders up at night signals that your role is about more than just fulfilling requests. It shows you’re invested in their success and deeply care about their challenges and obstacles.

2. Focusing on problems, not solutions
   Stakeholders often approach data teams with pre-conceived solutions that may or may not be effective. By focusing on their concerns instead, you open up more creative and tailored opportunities to solve those problems as well as other peripheral problems they may not be aware of. Nice!

3. Managing expectations without overpromising
   The question doesn’t imply that the data team will solve every issue. It simply demonstrates that you care about being aware of the business’s critical pain points. Notice as well that asking this question makes no promise to solve those problems in the way that, “how can we help you?” might.

4. Framing future work around stakeholder pain points
   When you understand what keeps stakeholders up at night, you can shape your team’s roadmap to tackle the issues that matter most. This increases your perceived value and strengthens stakeholder relationships. Who wouldn’t want that?

By making this question a standard part of your stakeholder conversations, you elevate your position as a data leader. You stop being just a problem-solver and become a trusted partner who drives meaningful, business-aligned outcomes.

✨ Affordable self-paced coaching products

For anyone interested in data leadership coaching, but concerned about the cost, I’ve got something great for you.

I’ve put together 2 self paced coaching products I know you’re going to love.

Both are only £49.00 for a limited time.

1. DIY Coaching For Data Leaders: This is for anyone feeling stuck in their career and not sure what direction to head in next, or what the longer term looks like for them. It contains 9 interactive worksheets to help you unblock and gain clarity over where your career is heading!

2. Data Leadership Frameworks: Based on hundreds of hours of calls with data leaders all over the world, I have captured the top 10 challenges they face. These frameworks supported by detailed guides provide actionable steps for you to work through to overcome and annihilate these challenges.

Click the links above to find out more!

Tristan Burns

Find me on LinkedIn or Book a 1:1 call