Overview

Data literacy for managers means reading a team dashboard fairly, questioning an analyst's numbers well, and avoiding the mistakes data-driven management invites. This practical course, a role-based companion to Data Literacy for Business 101, covers target-setting, performance conversations and building a data-informed team culture. Four short units, real scenarios, no hype.

Target Audience

Team leads and line managers who read data on behalf of a team. No technical background required.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion, learners will gain a full and clear understanding of:

• How to read a team-level dashboard accurately, and compare people and projects fairly
• How to ask an analyst constructive, well-targeted questions about their work
• How to recognise and avoid the specific mistakes data-driven management invites
• How to set targets and metrics that hold up, rather than quietly inviting the wrong behaviour
• How to build a team culture where honest reporting and good questions are the norm
• How to bring data into everyday management moments, from team meetings to one-to-ones

Course Contents

Unit 1: Reading a Dashboard as a Manager

• What genuinely changes when a dashboard covers a team, not just you
• Comparing people and projects fairly, without the comparison itself misleading you
• Telling a real trend apart from ordinary week-to-week noise
• Spotting when a red flag is actually a data problem, not a performance one

Unit 2: Challenging an Analyst's Numbers

• The difference between challenging a finding and simply disliking it
• The specific questions that make your feedback genuinely useful
• Recognising your own reaction when a result is inconvenient rather than flawed
• Building a working relationship with analysts that improves over time

Unit 3: Avoiding Data-Driven Management Mistakes

• Why you are often the one setting the target your team then optimises around
• Choosing targets and metrics that hold up rather than backfiring
• The risk of judging people by a single number, and what to do instead
• A practical checklist for any data-informed decision about a person

Unit 4: Leading a Data-Informed Team

• The manager's role in building psychological safety around honest reporting
• Modelling the habit visibly, and running a genuinely useful team meeting
• Setting good team targets together, and coaching your team's data confidence
• Handling disagreement about what data means, and knowing when to bring in an analyst