from Environmental Policy to Data Analytics (Part 2)
Previously on tree hugger-turned-Data Analyst…
December 2018 — I was in my hotel lounge in Hong Kong learning Python. Having studied Environmental Policy in university, I had struggled with the technical aspects of becoming a Data Analyst and, of course, my old friend, Imposter Syndrome. Now, I embark on the second part of my journey, as I wrestle to embrace the softer aspects of Data Analytics and people management..
Year 3 — Working with humans and ugly PowerPoints
2019
I got my first promotion in 2019 after 2.5 years.
I was very happy and content writing code, getting deeper into the automation and engineering side of things. I felt like I had finally overcome my Imposter Syndrome, and felt confident calling myself a “Data Analyst”.
Alas, I could sit back. And cruise.
Or so I thought.
That year, I went on holiday, came back, and got a rude shock when my new boss, Rob, decided to pull me out of a technical project I was working on, and assigned me to undertake the first Data Analytics team’s “Book of Work”.
What the **** is a Book of Work?
Unlike writing code and automating people’s lives, I didn’t like the open-endedness of the task, and the fact that there was no clear measure of success.
I was upset, very upset. Pissed even.
I was a Data Analyst, a technical person! Why did I have to go and speak to business users to understand their needs, synthesize and translate it into a presentation? That shouldn’t be my job, right? I wanted to code and work with my computer. Humans were difficult and unpredictable.
With a lot of hair pulling, speaking to multiple humans, I produced a first draft. Proud, I showed it to my colleagues, Wai Leong and Jacquelyn. They looked at my laptop screen, looked at each other, and burst out laughing for a good 30 seconds.
“Why is your Powerpoint so ugly?” Wai Leong asked in disbelief, still recovering from laughter. They both proceeded to conduct a Powerpoint crash course, and reviewed my slides, draft after draft.
I eventually presented to Rob this Book of Work, and he was surprisingly, impressed. “I didn’t think you could do it but you surprised me,” he said.
Time went by, and Rob finally popped the question if I aspired to be a manager or a subject matter expert, as part of my longer term career plans. I never thought much about it, though I expressed my reluctance in dealing with human beings.
In Rob’s divine judgement and support from our Chief Data Officer, Jared, they promoted me to be a first time manager, leading the customer and operations domain within the Data Analytics team.
Year 4 — Hello Imposter, my old friend
2020
Leading 2 Data Analysts
Imposter Syndrome came knocking at my door again, and the cruising I enjoyed, came to a screeching halt.
It was my new responsibility to lead a small team of two — with one person, XJ, having had more work experience than me. That felt intimidating. What value could I add to this guy? There was also Vincent, a fresh graduate based in another country, which posed other challenges.
Struggling to get a grip on this new big change once again, I fell back to what was most natural. I led the only way I knew how — the way my previous managers — Ben, Rob and Jared, led me and kept me excited about work. They were authentic, cared personally, gave regular feedback, and threw me into several uncomfortable situations that forced me to grow.
I spent time and effort getting to know XJ and Vincent as individuals. They were both vastly different in personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. I learnt to adapt my working and communication styles to both of theirs, and listened to their unique frustrations, hopes, and aspirations. I wasn’t sure how I was doing, and felt uncertain if I was doing a good job (since unlike code, there was no immediate or clear feedback).
One day, XJ dropped me a message. He affirmed and thanked me for the good job I had done and expressed what he appreciated about me as his manager. That message meant a lot to me, and I still keep it till this day.
As soon as my confidence grew, I was quickly whisked away to meet with my next challenge — to lead a new growth marketing domain with more senior data analysts.
Leading 2 Senior Data Analysts and a new domain?
Marketing? Growth Marketing?? Lead 2 Senior Data Analysts?? I knew that this time, I was definitely in over my head.
Having said that, I knew I wanted to hire people better than me, because better people = better team = better work. So I did. I hired Elian and Safira, 2 experts in Experimentation and Web Analytics — both subjects I knew nothing about. I was excited about them joining, until the day drew near, and I started feeling anxious..
Apprehensively, I asked Jared, my then manager, if he was sure that I was the right person to lead the team since I knew nothing about the domain. Jared listened, was kind and empathetic. He assured me with his confidence that he knew I already had the right principles, and that I would value-add to their lives in bridging business gaps and communication. I felt slightly better, though I still had some lingering fears.
The voice in my head shouted, “Imposter, Imposter, Imposter!”
3 months into the new domain — with much Googling, learning from Elian and Safira, and consulting others, my inner turmoil started to stabilise, and I started to recognise I didn’t need to be good at everything.
Jared was right, my value-add was in other ways — bridging the gap between the data experts and our business stakeholders, improving the way we synthesised insights and communicated them.
I started to feel like, perhaps, I quite enjoy leading a small team, and that I’m not terrible at it.
Oh and also, by this point, with Jared’s help, my Powerpoint presentation skills improved to the degree that it wouldn’t be laughed at. Progress was made.
Year 5 — I’m (not) too good at Goodbyes
2021
As I write this section, it marks my last day of 4 years 10 months at Funding Societies, the first company I joined fresh out of university
Fast forward to February 2021, I got promoted to manage the Data Analytics team. It was sudden and once again, unexpected. This time, my old friend, Imposter, didn’t pay me a visit. I did think I could do the job. I was ready, excited even.
In spite of my self-confidence, I understood that there were some people who had their doubts (I don’t blame them) — Gwen? Isn’t she quite young? Does she have enough experience?
Somehow, that didn’t really affect me. I dived head first into the job, excited about the change I wanted to make and see.
Little did I know, I was not ready for the first 3 months of pressure and stress because I was not self-aware enough to recognise.
There were many more people to deal with beyond the team, much more talking, meetings, and a team of 9 people who I felt overly responsible for. I thought, all 9 people’s problems are my problems. I felt like I had too many problems, and not enough time. But it’s ok. I’m okay. I am not stressed.
Yeah, I was stressed.
I only recognised the bubbling stress within me one day when I had some time alone, and the tears just came flowing down. I was not upset, angry, so why was I crying? I felt overwhelmed and tired to say the least. I didn’t know why.
Thankfully, I was helped out of this rut by some wise insight from my new manager, Mark.
Mark, in the kindest way, dropped me hints telling me that I needed to learn to let go, and not micro-manage. Those words changed everything for me. Realising this felt like a key that unlocked me from my own dungeon of torture.
I wrote a note-to-self, DELEGATE! LET GO! With those truths, I took it and consciously learnt to be okay with 80% and not 100%.
Through the process, I slowly also learned more about myself and how I tend to be like when under stress — I become critical, quick to judge, and have poor follow up. Learning this about myself at work felt like I wasn’t just growing professionally, but in my personal life as well.
6 months flew by quickly, and I grew to love my job more than I ever did. I learned that I do love managing people — I loved developing personal relationships with each one of my teammates, getting to know them personally, and pushing them along on their own growth journeys. What fulfilled me more than the work of Data Analytics was, funnily, working with human beings!
Looking back, I have not only grown professionally, but have grown significantly as a person.
What I thought I hated, I now love.
