Leading Insight: strategy and people

Successful Insight teams work hard to identify value and to drive change. But as Insight leaders we also need to choose, shape and articulate a proactive role for Insight in our organisations. This section provides best practice advice aimed at helping Insight teams be more effective in:

Insight strategy: a strategy with conscious decisions around scope, scale and goals

Insight people: a great leader and a strong team with a wide and growing skillset

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Insight strategy guides and videos

An introduction to Insight strategy - guide

IMP501: If we want Insight to transform our organisations' performance, we first have to transform our Insight teams. But very few companies have a comprehensive plan for making this happen. This guide sets out the reasons for having an Insight strategy and the key steps involved

How to identify the opportunity for Insight - guide

IMP502: A key part of having a successful Insight strategy is having a well-articulated vision for how Insight will make a difference within your organisation. This guide outlines the 6 key steps that will help you to first understand the lie of the land.

How to define your ambition for Insight - guide

IMP503: To develop an Insight strategy you need to understand the lie of the land, but then it is time to reflect on your ambition for Insight to change your organisation. The IMA's Insight Participation Matrix will help frame your vision for the role you want Insight to play in your company

How to identify options for your Insight strategy - guide

IMP504: Like any other department, an Insight team will operate within certain parameters, for example carrying out work of a certain type, within a certain budget. This guide lays out the 7 key choices that effective Insight teams make explicitly to define those parameters.

How to execute an Insight strategy - guide

IMP505: This is where the rubber hits the road - you can formulate a brilliant strategy, but unless you can execute it, you might as well not have bothered. This guide shares best practice for what is essentially organisational change management.

Developing an Insight strategy - summary

IMS501: (July 2023 Insight forums) Very few companies have a comprehensive approach in place to transform Insight in their organisations. This 1-page summary outlines the key steps involved in developing an Insight strategy to support this.

How to prioritise an Insight team's work - summary

IMS506: How do you prioritise your Insight team's work and resources? This is really important as it reflects the type of team you are and helps determines the role you will play this year

Defining an Insight-driven organisation - summary

IMS509 (July 2023 Insight forum) In this summary we highlight the importance of taking a step back from the strategy development process to think about our organisational context and landscape, with the aim of creating an Insight-driven organisation.

Developing an Insight strategy - video

IMV501: (July 2023 Insight forums) Very few companies have an Insight strategy in place to help transform Insight in their organisations. This video explains what an Insight strategy is, and outlines the key steps involved in developing one.

How to prioritise an Insight team's work - video

IMV506: How do you prioritise your Insight team's work and resources? This is really important as it reflects the type of team you are and helps determines the role you will play this year

New data for Insight - video

IMV507 (September 2021 Insight forum): Julia Joskey discusses the challenges faced by organisations in getting value from their data investments, and the fact that Insight has a fundamental role to play in creating the data-driven organisations of the future

New decisions for Insight - video

IMV508 (September 2021 Insight forum): Jane Woolley examines our assumptions about the types of business decision that Insight teams set themselves up to inform, considering the 5 key sources of value.

Defining an Insight-driven organisation - video

IMV509 (July 2023 Insight forum) Tim Downing discusses the importance of taking a step back from the strategy development process to think about our organisational context and landscape, with the aim of creating an Insight-driven organisation.

Transforming Insight strategy at NPR - video

IMV510 (Sept 2023 Insight forum) In this video James chats to Lori Kaplan, VP Audience Insights at NPR and hears about her mission to transform Insight strategy at National Public Radio of America.

Insight people guides and videos

An introduction to developing successful Insight people - guide

IMP601: As Insight leaders we are heavily reliant on the talent of our people, but relatively few companies take a really comprehensive approach to recruiting, managing and developing Insight specialists. This guide provides an introduction to 5 key areas of focus.

How to lead an Insight team - guide

IMP602: To successfully lead an Insight team, Insight leaders need to think like small business owners. In this guide, we examine the broad range of responsibilities of Insight leadership and present a tool which can help all who lead Insight in their organisations

How to identify key Insight skills and attributes - guide

IMP603: Are the right people on the bus? Successful Insight leaders make this their primary concern as for an Insight team to perform well, the calibre of its people is crucial. This guide outlines the four main categories of skills and attributes required in an Insight team.

How to develop an Insight perspective - guide

IMP604: According to Hans Rosling, "People constantly and intuitively refer to their worldview when thinking, guessing or learning. If your worldview is wrong, you will systematically make the wrong guesses". So how can we develop an Insight perspective to improve our organisations' worldview?

How to recruit and develop an Insight team - guide

IMP605: If Insight is to deliver competitive advantage, then our organisation must be at least as able as its competitors to recruit, develop and retain really good Insight people. This guides sets out the approaches which Insight leaders have found effective.

How to develop successful Insight teamwork - guide

IMP606: What matters most - how well you perform as an individual within an Insight team or how well the Insight team performs overall? In this guide we focus on what excellence looks like in terms of how the individual members of an Insight team work together to maximise their collective impact.

Working on our Insight teams - guide

IMP608: (November 2022 Insight forum). This guide discusses some of the key internal and external challenges that many Insight leaders are continuing to face and highlight the importance of leaders working on our teams, not in our teams, to deal with these challenges effectively.

Leading Insight people post-pandemic - guide

IMP609: (November 2022 Insight forum). This guide discusses the challenges that many Insight teams are facing in this new 'hybrid age', and she talks about 4 key roles that Insight leaders can adopt when dealing with some of these challenges.

Our Insight people today & tomorrow - guide

IMP610: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this guide we discuss some key considerations for the shape of our Insight teams today and we think about the impact of factors such as generative AI on our people tomorrow.

Recognising & managing imposter syndrome - guide

IMP612: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this guide we explain how imposter syndrome is common among many Insight professionals, and think about how we can learn to recognise and manage it most effectively.

Developing an Insight competency framework - guide

IMP613: In this guide, we discuss the use of competency frameworks in focusing Insight teams on the skills most relevant to the broader business, including those beyond technical insight and analytics excellence.

Prioritising an Insight leader's time - summary

IMS607: (January 2022 Insight forum). In this 1-page summary we highlight the ways in which Insight leaders can prioritise our own time and energy. If we can't manage our own diaries, we're in no position to lead our Insight team

Working on our Insight teams - summary

IMS608: (November 2022 Insight forum). This 1-page summary discusses some of the key internal and external challenges that many Insight leaders are continuing to face and highlight the importance of leaders working on our teams, not in our teams, to deal with these challenges effectively.

Leading Insight people post-pandemic - summary

IMS609: (November 2022 Insight forum). This 1-page summary highlights the challenges that many Insight teams are facing in this new 'hybrid age', and talks about 4 key roles that Insight leaders can adopt when dealing with some of these challenges.

Our Insight people today & tomorrow - summary

IMS610: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this 1-page summary we discuss some key considerations for the shape of our Insight teams today and we think about the impact of factors such as generative AI on our people tomorrow.

Guiding our Insight people through change - summary

IMS611: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this 1-page summary, we explain the key role that coaching can play in developing our Insight people and guiding them through change.

Recognising & managing imposter syndrome - summary

IMS612: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this 1-page summary we explain how imposter syndrome is common among many Insight professionals, and think about how we can learn to recognise and manage it most effectively.

Developing an Insight competency framework - summary

IMS613: In this summary, we discuss the use of competency frameworks in focusing Insight teams on the skills most relevant to the broader business, including those beyond technical insight and analytics excellence.

Recognising & managing stress in our Insight teams - summary

IMS614 (July 2024 Insight forum) Stress feels like it’s an ever-growing issue in all areas of our lives, so how can we recognise the signs and symptoms in our Insight teams and manage it most effectively?

Developing an Insight perspective- video

IMV604 (November 2020 Insight forum) In this video James Wycherley discusses the importance of Insight teams developing an Insight perspective, and he using the US elections as a reference point.

Prioritising an Insight leader's time - video

IMV607: (January 2022 Insight forum). In this video James Wycherley discusses the ways in which Insight leaders can prioritise our own time and energy. If we can't manage our own diaries, we're in no position to lead our Insight team

Working on our Insight teams - video

IMV608: (November 2022 Insight forum). Tim Downing discusses some of the key internal and external challenges that many Insight leaders are continuing to face, and he talks about the importance of leaders working on our teams, not in our teams, to deal with these challenges effectively.

Leading Insight people post-pandemic - video

IMV609: (November 2022 Insight forum). Lisa Dutton discusses the challenges that many Insight teams are facing in this new 'hybrid age', and she talks about 4 key roles that Insight leaders can adopt when dealing with some of these challenges.

Our Insight people today & tomorrow - video

IMV610: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this video we discuss some key considerations for the shape of our teams today and we think about the impact of factors such as generative AI on our people tomorrow.

Guiding our Insight people through change - video

IMV611: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this video, Lisa Dutton & James Wycherley discuss the key role that coaching can play in developing our Insight people and guiding them through change.

Recognising & managing imposter syndrome - video

IMV612: (March 2024 Insight forum) In this video, Emma Jones discusses imposter syndrome and provides some tips on how to recognise and manage it most effectively, both in ourselves and in our teams.

Recognising & managing stress in our Insight teams - video

IMV614 (July 2024 Insight forum). Stress feels like it’s an ever-growing issue in all areas of our lives, so how can we recognise the signs and symptoms in our Insight teams and manage it most effectively?