You have your skills, interests, talents and bring a unique perspective to everything you do.
That makes you someone worth learning from and in today’s newsletter I want to invite you to entertain a thought: How can you share more of what you know and pass it on to the next generation of data professionals?
You might think what you know and do surely can’t be that special.
What I’ve learned during my decade-long career in data is that it’s your perspective and the way you do things that can be eye opening to others.
What makes you special?
Put humility aside for a moment and think about the things you’ve been complimented and praised for.
There are people in my life whom I admire for their skills and how they use them. For example:
-
Many people have excellent Tableau skills, but not many can explain table calculations (and a ton of other stuff) as well as Andy Kriebel, because he keeps finding new ways to make it easy to understand.
-
Many people are great at writing SQL, but not many can combine their analysis and insights with as much enthusiasm and genuine curiosity, as my colleague Felipe Hoffa.
-
Many people can design data visualisations very well, but not many have developed as distinct a style as Priya Padham.
It’s not only that they have specific technical skills, it’s what they do with those skills that makes their contribution so unique and impactful.
What’s your speciality or uniqueness?
One way to think about this is to list your specific ‘hard’ skills, e.g. coding, Photoshop, speaking French, and combine this list with examples of how you apply them and what others say about those skills.
Teaching others and passing on your knowledge
Teaching other people is a very effective way to find out whether you’ve truly understood something. It’s also essential for building the next generation of data experts.
I feel very passionate about teaching, because it combines your existing knowledge and adds a new challenge: public speaking. And not just any public speaking: communicating information and ideas so that others can learn from you and leverage their new knowledge to accelerate their own career.
What’s in it for you?
There are not many things quite as fulfilling as helping someone achieve progress in their life. Don’t underestimate the impact you can have on a colleague’s or friend’s career, which in turn can set a new direction for their whole life.
Of course, not everything you share will be mind-blowing and it doesn’t have to be. Stick with it, though, and consistently build up others, and you will be amazed by the impact you’re having.
How you can get started in small steps (that don’t require a lot of your time)
You don’t have to teach a course at university or do any formal teaching at all. You don’t even have to know your ‘audience’ personally.
The easiest way to get started is to share your knowledge inside your organisation or online. It can be social media posts, blogs, videos or podcasts.
You can start with a short weekly tip, a small piece of advice, or a series of shortcuts that save you a lot of time. If you like writing, post these things on a blog, on social media or on the relevant forums. If you enjoy doing videos, YouTube is your friend.
It may take a bit of time to get your momentum, but the feedback from those you’re helping will encourage you to continue. Something that seems small to you might completely transform how they go about their day at work and how much they enjoy doing their job.
We can all teach something to others. You know stuff today that you didn’t know 2 years ago. You’ve learned things in your career that others would love to know. Experiment to find that intersection of your knowledge, skills and the uniqueness you bring and put it out there in the world 🌎.