Data returns: slither of normality in an abnormal world

The Confession

If you get half way through reading this blog and your immediate reaction is that it seems disjointed meandering, and incoherent… that’s because it is. It’s essentially lots of separate stalled blogs resuscitated and clumsily bound together. It’s essentially the equivalent of the monster out of Frankenstein, except instead of a talented scientist using actual human body parts, it’s been stuck together by someone wearing boxing gloves and using offal, cardboard, and string.

Originally this was going to be about making external data returns, how to overcome the challenges and establish an effective framework for managing the exercise. I had begun writing it in a non-linear structure, using lots of metaphors and making it complicated to follow and almost impossible to understand – ‘why would you do that?’ you might reasonably ask… well, the answer is I’m that insecure. I figured it would give the impression of depth and relevance, seemingly saying a lot without actually saying anything of note. You see, I am at times fearful that I’m actually just a vacuous fraud desperately trying to feign knowledge and skill as I bluster my way through my career. When I reflect on this I always arrive at the same conclusion – it hardly matters how true it is, if I feel it then it’s valid, and if it’s valid then it needs unpacking.

Adjust yourself, settle, and steel yourself for this is going to get uncomfortably personal. The safe word is ‘NOTACT’.

For those of you who know me you’ll know that I’m an extrovert. You’ll likely know me as confident (at times mistaken for arrogance), positive, and outgoing. I am none of those things, or at least not inwardly.

I doubt myself, my capabilities, literally all the time. I often replay my work day over and over in my mind, regretting something I’ve said or a decision I’ve made, letting it get hold of me and pull me under. I worry people are sat in meetings with me thinking I haven’t a clue what I’m doing or saying. I seem to be prone to extremes of mental wellbeing, fluctuating from positivity and happiness to pessimism and depression in a single day, and I find it hard to talk about myself and my vulnerabilities. Even at conferences I’m speaking at, I find it hard to approach people to talk to them, and in return people tend not to approach me – I guess I must come off as unapproachable. Ladies, do email me directly with requests for a date.

When we talk about data initiatives we often distil our approaches and resolutions into three categories of ‘people’, ‘process’, and ‘systems’. ‘Systems’ nobody cares for, ‘process’ is the most difficult, ‘people’ is the most important. The temptation here is to talk at length about supporting people through professional development around technical and soft skills. However, given the current times we are living through, staff and their mental wellbeing is much more important.

The Conversation

Technical and soft skills remain vital in delivering successful data initiatives, and it is apparent that the challenges around supporting this agenda will become only more acute given the financial context HE will be operating in for some years. It is where HESPA (and others such as Jisc) will play a vital role in delivering such development opportunities moving forward. Keep an eye on the various courses available over the coming months. However, in the immediate future we need to look after our people.

When my 4 year old daughter gets scared watching something (I’m using our time together to get her into the Saw films) she puts her hands over her ears but carries on watching. It’s adorable and more often than not makes me want to cry, but by any measure it’s stupid. We need to make sure we are not seeing colleagues visibly struggling but failing to open our ears to them. Mental wellbeing is complicated, people don’t need reductive suggestions of ‘have you tried to find a coping mechanism’. Sometimes it’s enough to know that they will be heard when they try to speak, that there is someone there willing to have the conversation.

If you are fortunate to enjoy good mental health then remember to keep your eyes and ears open, it might just make all of the difference. However, if you find yourself doubting all that you are, all that you can possibly be, your stomach tightens, the days become long, and your mind will not settle, then know this – I hear you, I see you.

The Solution

Time for some levity and positivity. Data without people is just data and it is all it will ever be. It is therefore an essential component of data operations that that we have the right people in place, and as importantly, that we support them in both professional development and their wellbeing.

Which begs the question – what makes the right person? Too often in the context of data we describe what we want from our people in terms of technical skillsets rather than their human qualities. ‘Attention to detail’, ‘ability to interpret complex information’, ‘awareness of emerging technologies’, ‘first degree in a numerate subject’ etc etc etc. Our job descriptions seem to be universally the same, and rarely if ever do they outline the human qualities that exist in excellent data practitioners.

Any success I’ve had in my career has been as a result of the sheer good fortune of having excellent and super talented people work for me. Perhaps the brightest of lights in that regard was someone who would never be afraid to say ‘I don’t understand what you are saying’. She was always speaking for the majority in the room. It’s a statement I do not hear enough – you want someone who is smart and brave enough to speak out when they don’t fully understand what you’ve said – it’s a firm indicator you haven’t said it right. I want humility.

A team full of people who are all overwhelmingly positive isn’t particularly helpful. People with a naturally negative outlook might at times feel trying and exhausting, and probably comments are passed about how they are ‘damaging team morale’, but it is rarely true and having that voice in your work and decisions is vital. I want someone to tell me when we’re heading straight for a brick wall, I don’t want everyone telling me the wall is probably made out of ice cream.

I want people who are patient in their approach and who (where appropriate) are willing to laugh at the task or situation. I once visited a tip and someone approached the worker there with a typical Black Country greeting of “Whatcha know”, to which he replied “Not a lot, that’s why I work here”. He was proactive and brilliant at this job. A sense of humour in all of the madness goes a long way.

I want passion, I want arguments, I want anger, and then I want willingness – willingness to, in spite of it all, to recode 25,000 records because somebody somewhere changed their mind.

I’ve run out of string so I’ll finish this monster by sticking it’s head on using some masking tape and then prop it up against the wall and hope nobody brushes past and knocks it over. Its data returns season, and based on my experience, you’re going to need all of these qualities and staff wellbeing is going to come under further strain. I mean, just consider the task of reconciling HESA and SLC datasets. Two datasets that rarely dance the same dance – one a sort of poetic nod to graceful and sophisticated ballet, the other an avant-garde drunken thrash of the arms and legs before losing balance and falling into the speakers.

For some of you I suspect you’re quite looking forward to it – a slither of normality in a now abnormal world. A bit like missing the feeling of pushing through a crowded sweaty pub against the tide of competing impulse to get to the bar, music thumping, raised voices, laughter, before eventually getting there and realising you didn’t want to be there in the first place, and you only came because you felt pressured into it by that deeply unhappy ‘friend’ who always seems to set the rules for the night out.

Either way, look after yourself and others, and if in the future you ever see me hunched over my phone at a conference pretending to be busy, come over and say ‘hi’. I’ll be waiting.