Unexpected Tips for Data Managers

Based on my podcast with Robin Conquet on DataGen, I reflected on three tips to share with fellow Data Managers. First, responsibilities between Individual Contributors (ICs) and Managers. Second, Management training; and third, taking a long-term view on staffing. This comes from my experience managing BlaBlaCar’s 50-strong Data teams for 7 years. I’ll let you decide how this generalizes to other contexts!

Playing Like an Orchestra.

“Becoming a Manager is not a promotion for an IC. It’s a different job.”

Do musicians expect to be promoted to conductors? The question makes little sense: promotion implies ranking. In this case, there is none, musicians and conductors have different responsibilities. Harmony arises when these elements combine into a consistent and pleasing whole. A Data team behaves like an orchestra. Its performance comes from the interactions between the conductor (Manager) and the musicians (ICs). They are different jobs, so there’s no promotion between them.

Divide Distinct Responsibilities for Managers and ICs.

“A common misconception is that Managers and decision-makers are the same. The reality is richer. Teams make a lot of decisions. Some belong to the Manager. For instance, deciding a promotion or a pay rise. Most decisions are ICs’: from technical design to project delivery through project management.”

Most decisions in a team are IC decisions. Both them and Manager’s decisions trigger Team actions. Which should lead to further need to make decisions.

To ensure a well-functioning Data team, it’s crucial to recognize the distinct responsibilities of Managers and ICs. This clear division of responsibilities prevents overlap, which generates confusion. It allows each role to focus on its core functions, improving delivery. In BlaBlaCar’s Data teams, we’ve implemented the following distinctions:

• Managers create value by focusing on connections. Inside the team, that’s people management; it connects people together, from projects to processes. These include decisions on staffing, performance management, career development, team dynamics. Outside the team, Managers nurture connections with the broader company ecosystem. They share information, represent their teams, or handle roadmap dependencies.
• ICs create value when leveraging expertise to implement high-quality solutions. This requires decisions on designing and implementing data solutions, conducting analysis, and clarifying stakeholders’ needs. ICs are like musicians: they perform technically demanding art. They decide how to play their part, in collaboration with the rest of the orchestra.

Managers create value by nurturing the connections between teams. Abundant context leads to higher performing teams. They have more information, which enables them to make better decisions.

Inside the team, Managers focus on connecting people together. They also create new connections — through processes for instance — to make ICs successful.

These aren’t exhaustive lists. Build the one relevant for your team; and evolve it over time. This division of responsibilities allows Managers to provide effective leadership and support, while ICs can focus on their technical expertise and drive innovation. By clearly defining and separating the responsibilities of Managers and ICs, organizations create efficient data teams.

Shift Technical Decision-Making to ICs.

Making bad decisions leads to failure; so, try to avoid them. ICs typically possess the deepest technical expertise and hands-on experience. That makes them well-equipped to make informed decisions on the technical aspects of their work. For example, ask the Data Scientists and Engineers what their recommended AI architecture is vs. buying it off the shelf and telling them to “just use it”. Don’t ask managers to build your stack. Instead, have them set constraints for solutions. Then, give ICs the autonomy to pick solutions based on their context, their expertise and these constraints. That limits bad decisions, and saves time.

In BlaBlaCar’s Data teams, we implemented this through our “Data Stack Governance” and “Chapters” forums. We copied existing, well-functioning forums from the broader Engineering department, which Data teams are part of. There are the “BlaBlaCar Architecture Team” — codenamed “BAT” 🦇 — to review architecture decisions, the Backend Guild, the soon-to-be Software Factory Guild, …

Shifting decision-making to ICs empowers them. That’s because in an organization, decision-making gives power. Empowerment fosters a culture of ownership and accountability. By empowering ICs to make decisions, organizations reduce bottlenecks, speed up delivery, and improve the quality of their data products. Shifting technical decision-making responsibilities to ICs also helps to develop their leadership and problem-solving skills. This prepares them for senior roles. By trusting ICs to make these decisions, organizations foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

Create Growth Opportunities for ICs.

To retain and empower talented ICs, organizations must provide clear, actionable opportunities. There are three powerful levers to create opportunities for ICs:

• Internal mobility allows ICs to experiment with different roles and projects. They capitalize on their tenure, while discovering new topics. Moving to a new team helps share knowledge; it gives Managers more staffing flexibility, including for promotions. By providing these opportunities, organizations kickstart a virtuous circle: reduced turnover means a well-rounded workforce, which is more impactful, creating new opportunities.
• Chapter projects empower ICs with project ownership and leadership responsibilities within their skillset. A Chapter is the forum for people using the same technology. In BlaBlaCar’s Data teams, we have four Chapters: Data Engineering, Data Analytics, Data Science, and Data Back-End. It’s a great avenue to improve technically and deliver impact transversally. This enables organizations to create new opportunities for ICs, like the Chapter Lead role. The Chapter Leads guide and mentor other ICs in their area of expertise, define standards, identify talent, and represent the Chapter’s interests. By establishing these positions, organizations foster a sense of community, provide valuable mentorship, and increase job satisfaction and team performance.
• Career Ladder gives ICs perspective on future responsibilities. It sets expectations for how to grow. In the Data teams, we saw a significant change in behavior when we started promoting ICs to Senior roles. This created concrete role models to look up to. An added benefit of building a career ladder: it makes Managers’ assessments more objective.

ICs can grow through acquiring experience in their team, through Chapter projects, and sometimes by switching to another team. This accumulated experience move them up in the career ladder.

By investing in internal mobility and Chapter responsibilities, organizations can create a dynamic and fulfilling work environment for ICs, retain valuable talent, and drive long-term success.

Beware: ICs don’t buy promises. They want real opportunities; organizations must walk the talk. Measure how many internal mobility moves your organization delivers. Report on the time dedicated to Chapter topics. List which decisions ICs are making vs. Managers. These are yardsticks measuring the impact of your growth strategy for ICs. The last and most important point: compensation must support this strategy. This means that some ICs will earn more than their Managers. It happens in our Data teams. Failing to align compensation and opportunities dooms the effort!

Some facts about Data teams at BlaBlaCar.

• Since Q2 2023, we had ≥ 10% of the ICs doing internal mobilities. That excludes reporting line changes for reorganizations.
• We have 4 Chapter Lead roles since 2022, with 6 different ICs having been or being in this role.
• We created Senior and Staff positions, clarifying expectations and creating role models.
• As of Q2 2024, the seniority distribution of ICs in the department is: 26% Junior, 45% Confirmed, 21% Senior, 2% Staff. NB: this doesn’t add to 100%, as we have open positions whose level is TBC included.

Going Back to School.

Managers make mistakes and these mistakes are costly. That’s because they impact people, and are typically not reversible. Training helps avoid these errors. Deciding when to start management training is difficult: too early, it’s very theoretical; too late, and mistakes pile up. My recommendation is to train Managers after 6 months. At BlaBlaCar, all managers take the same training program. Beyond this initial training, I support organizing recurring sessions for continuous improvement. Within BlaBlaCar’s Data teams, we set up a 1h co-development session every 6 weeks. In this session, 5–6 people collaboratively solve one participant’s problem. We found this framework very efficient, both in terms of continuous improvement and team building. Data Managers are also part of the broader “Engineering Management Monthly Meeting”.

Training is indispensable for new managers. It’s valuable for tenured managers as well, contributing to building a consistent management culture throughout the company. Management training has a side benefit: clarifying managerial skill sets. This proves useful for ICs’ career development, clarifying the key factors of success in the managerial track. This knowledge equips them to make more informed decisions when considering a move into management. Below are three managerial skills that are often overlooked:

1. Exemplarity, composure under pressure. Managers keep their team’s and company’s interest in mind, even through challenging times.
2. Self-awareness and versatility in interactions. Managers cultivate self-awareness to compartmentalize form from content. They should master active listening and various communication channels.
3. Courage. Managers must have the courage to make tough decisions, and to carry them out.

From the outside, it’s easy to miss the importance — and difficulty — of these competencies. They are like utilities: you notice them only when they are missing. That’s one reason to highlight them here.

Management is more than a job title. You need to learn how to do that well. You are not born a manager, you painstakingly become one.

Staff Like You Buy a House.

When scaling a team, managers must anticipate decisions they’ll make in two or three years. This perspective ensures that staffing includes future needs and growth, not only immediate ones. Staffing decisions are similar to buying a house: you don’t decide to buy a house looking 6-month ahead. If a 6-month time horizon is the maximum you can get, consider renting…

One exercise I run systematically when we open a position in the Data team is to project our seniority distribution in 2 years. That identifies where we’ll have bottlenecks or competition for promotions I then walk backwards to today. This exercise ensures I manage growth opportunities for ICs. It frontloads difficult conversations, which I find useful; we can anticipate them. An example is when we backfill Senior roles with Junior ones. We bet on other Confirmed profiles growing into Senior roles within a 2–3 year horizon. That bet triggers ownership, mentorship, and deliver discussions. That’s also when we kickstart internal mobility moves. By taking a proactive approach in anticipating future challenges, organizations protect themselves against known unknowns.

“You make wildly different staffing decisions depending on the team’s context. A 6-month vs. 2-year staffing perspective yields specific dynamics and teams.”

NB: part of the staffing context is the team size. This limits solutions: a 2-people team has less staffing options than a 15-people department. Knowing that a 2-people team will double in size — or shrink — in 12–18 months is an important decision factor though.

To wrap up, I’ll point out three things that made a difference for the Data teams at BlaBlaCar. First, our investment in building meaningful IC careers. We clarified their responsibilities and provided them with growth opportunities. Second, investing in Management training. Third, taking a long-term perspective for staffing, aligned with progression through the company career ladder.
I hope you’ll find these three tips useful!

Why do ICs declare they want a managerial position? Too often, that’s the only way they think they can grow. When you break that mental barrier, you see ICs staying on their track longer.