Despite the growing appetite for data-driven decision-making, many analytics teams remain stuck in delivery mode—churning out dashboards, answering ad hoc requests, and rarely shaping the strategic conversations they could meaningfully influence.
At a recent roundtable hosted by DataIQ’s The Discussion, I moderated a session that captured this tension exactly. A UK energy business posed the core question:
How can we shift the perception of analysts from order-takers to trusted strategic advisors?
The challenge was instantly recognisable to everyone in the room. Stakeholders now expect data support, but they don’t always engage with the analyst function in ways that allow it to contribute strategically. What emerged was a set of shared barriers—and some encouraging signs of progress.
Here are two of the most persistent challenges we explored.
Trust in Data: The Root of the Problem
Key Issues Identified
- Stakeholders request data to validate decisions they’ve already made, not to explore options
- Slightly reworded requests for the same metric signal a lack of data fluency—and a lack of trust
- Analysts become fact-checkers, not advisors, constantly reconciling inconsistent numbers
- Data quality ownership is unclear—business users expect data teams to fix problems they didn’t cause
What’s Shifting the Dial
In organisations where trust in data is strong, three things stand out:
- Data quality ownership sits where the data is produced, not where it’s consumed. When upstream teams are responsible for accuracy and completeness, analysts are freed up to deliver value, not just spot errors.
- Structured request templates make a real difference. One leader shared how they now require business users to define the problem they’re trying to solve before asking for data. That small change reframes the analyst’s role from passive responder to active partner.
- Analysts are embedded into business teams, not siloed in central functions. This proximity builds trust, and makes it easier to challenge flawed assumptions before they make it into the PowerPoint.
Ultimately, trust isn’t just technical – it’s relational. Governance and lineage help, but what shifts the dial is analysts being seen, and treated, as close collaborators.
Culture Is the Real Battleground
Key Issues Identified
- Analysts hesitate to challenge senior stakeholders—even when requests lack clarity
- Many default to task execution, avoiding strategic conversations
- Business leaders don’t always know how to use analysts beyond report delivery
- Analysts are often measured on speed, not business impact—reinforcing the service role
What’s Shifting the Dial
Culture isn’t solved with tooling or training alone. It starts with changing how the organisation sees the analyst role—and how analysts see themselves.
A few themes stood out:
- Embedding analysts within business functions helps create the context and confidence needed to speak up. When analysts understand the strategic goals, they’re more able—and more willing—to challenge misaligned requests.
- Performance metrics are evolving. Rather than measuring output volume or speed, some teams are starting to evaluate analysts on the impact of their work: did the insight change a decision? Did it move a KPI?
- Training is being rethought. It’s no longer just about tools or SQL. The focus is shifting to stakeholder management, consultative thinking, and storytelling—skills that help analysts become participants in decision-making, not just observers.
Finally, executive sponsorship matters. Leaders who position analysts as strategic partners—and model that behaviour—give others permission to do the same.
Other Themes That Emerged
- External resourcing can help—but only if it’s used to build internal maturity, not bypass it
- Self-service analytics often creates more dashboards, not better decisions—unless it’s intentionally designed
- Career paths for analysts need to allow for strategic influence without requiring a move into management
Final Thought
You can’t shortcut your way to strategic influence. But you can start shifting expectations -of analysts, of stakeholders, and of leadership itself. The more we treat analytics as a thinking partner, not a delivery function, the closer we get to the value we all want it to unlock.
Want the full insight?
This article is part of a three-part series available exclusively to DataIQ clients via the Member Hub.
In the full series, we break down the key barriers holding analysts in execution mode, share real-world case studies from senior data leaders, and outline a practical roadmap for making the shift to strategic influence.
Access the complete series – along with over 600 articles, case studies and best-practice guides – at the DataIQ Member Hub.
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