Data Teams Need A C-Level Sponsor, But Most Don't Know How To Get One. Here's The Blueprint.
Recently, I spoke at a Northwestern University event about data and AI product management. After my talk, multiple attendees approached me with the same question. How do I gain C-level leaders' trust and get a seat at the table? What everyone was really asking is, how do I get a C-level sponsor?
I've been overcoming this challenge for over 25 years. The first time I earned a C-level sponsor, I had no idea how valuable they were or how much they would do for my team and career.
A Quick Story That Summarizes How To Get C-Level Sponsorship
A year into my first technology job, I was at a customer's site cleaning up after a botched installation. The customer's CEO came by and said he was on the edge of kicking us out and bringing in a competitor. I gave him the timeline for fixing the issues and getting them back up and running. I asked him to give us until the end of the day before deciding.
He did, and we delivered on our timeline. What should you take away?
Adopt a zero-excuse policy.
Explain what happens next and get it done.
The customer's CEO called me the next morning and said that if my company assigned me as their dedicated technical resource, he'd sign a long-term contract. I sent that request to my manager, and an hour later, I was talking to my CEO and the VP of Sales. I gave them a rundown of the last 48 hours, and my CEO asked, "Do you think he was serious?"
I said something like, "It's hard to tell with the sudden flip in attitude. I would recommend leaving me on site for the week as a sign that we're serious and to ensure nothing else goes wrong. Send the contract and see if he signs." I stayed in the middle of nowhere, Northern California, for a week, and the customer's CEO signed the contract before I left.
What should you take away?
When you're in front of C-Level leaders, give them the information they need to make a good decision.
Don't provide advice or recommendations until they ask, and avoid speculation.
Advice must be actionable; only sign up for what you can do.
Sales requested me for every botched install after that. I helped them save accounts by following the same script each time. I didn't realize it, but I had earned a C-Level sponsor. My career was on skates. I was promoted 4 times in under 2 years.
When my team needed resources, we got them. I asked to start testing releases before they shipped (field techs testing was unthinkable before that) and got approval. We prevented critical issues from making it to customers, and I was promoted to the QA team a few months later. Less than a year after that, I was running my QA team.
What should you take away?
Only ask your sponsor for help if you've exhausted all other avenues.
Make sure requests have significant business value.
Deliver the value you promise and be ready to step up if asked.
Most data teams think they control everything they need to deliver high-value products successfully. In reality, initiative selection and prioritization are decided at the C-level without their input. This creates roadblocks and barriers to progress that the data team cannot overcome alone.
C-level leaders can drive alignment and implement a unified strategy across multiple organizations. That prevents roadblocks before they happen.
In this article, I'll explain:
How to teach the C-Suite why the data team needs a sponsor.
How to build relationships at the C-level.
Where to look for allies and how to develop them.
How to build trust with C-level leaders.
Behaviors and success factors for working with the C-Suite.
Why Data Teams Need A C-level Sponsor
Data teams need a C-level sponsor, but most don't have one. In the early phases of maturity, sponsorship is essential to moving initiatives forward. What most haven't come to terms with yet is maturity isn't just focused on the data team. There's more to it than putting the pieces in place to ship more data and AI products. The challenge isn't isolated to the team and technology.
This section is a checklist to review with C-level leaders to help them understand why you need their sponsorship to succeed. It will help C-level leaders realize why they must be more involved.
1. Control Over Budget
With C-level sponsorship, data teams have greater control over their budgets, enabling them to hire the right talent and invest in the necessary tools and infrastructure. This financial autonomy allows data teams to optimize resource allocation.
2. Control Over Resources and Project Delivery
By owning the data science lifecycle, data teams can effectively manage the resources needed to deliver high-quality projects on time. Having control over project prioritization ensures the team can provide accurate estimates and deliver projects that align with the business's strategic objectives.
3. Initiatives Become a Priority
When C-level executives prioritize data-driven initiatives, external teams actively work with the data team. This support is crucial for the execution and achievement of long-term initiatives.
4. Higher Internal Adoption Rates
C-level sponsorship communicates the importance of data and AI within the organization. As a result, internal adoption rates of data-driven products increase.
5. Opportunities to Deliver New Products and Features
Data teams often face resistance when integrating new features or launching data-driven products. With C-level sponsors, they can overcome these obstacles and create new value for the business with data and AI products.
6. Setting an Example for a Data-Driven Culture
Someone must set an example for data-driven to take hold. Large behavior changes are implemented from the top down. C-level leaders set the culture; if they become data-driven, so does the rest of the business.
7. Goal Setting and Accountability
Leadership accountability is crucial for the business's data maturity and transformation to progress. C-level executives must set clear goals for other teams to support the data team's initiatives and hold them accountable for delivering results.
8. Enterprise Alignment vs. Siloed Progress
A unified vision and strategy driven by the C-suite ensure that the enterprise moves forward cohesively rather than in silos. This alignment creates a more efficient maturity journey.
9. Setting the Innovation Mix
C-level sponsors are critical in determining the innovation mix – balancing resources allocated to innovation projects and incremental improvements. This decision shapes the organization's data-driven innovation landscape and directly impacts its competitive advantage.
This is part of my course, The Value-Centric Data Professional, and paid subscribers get free access to guides like this one as well as course discounts. Consider a subscription or taking the course to accelerate your career.