A new survey by Gartner found that only 44 percent of data and analytics (D&A) leaders rated their teams as effective in adding value to their organizations.
Gartner says that chief data and analytics officers (CDAOs) must add "presence, persistence, and performance" to attain tangible results.
The survey took place online from September to the end of November last year, gathering results from 566 D&A leaders worldwide.
Donna Medeiros, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, said: "D&A is in the business of driving stakeholder value.
The most successful CDAOs are outperforming their peers by projecting an executive presence and building an agile and strategic D&A function that shapes data-driven business performance and operational excellence.
Adding Value with Presence
The D&A leaders, which rated themselves as "effective" and "very effective" across 17 leadership traits, also reported having effective team performance.
43 percent of these D&A leaders committed time to their personal development, as compared with 19 percent of low performers.
Alan Duncan, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner, commented: "Successful CDAOs must be elite leaders.
Top-performing CDAOs invest in their success by developing skills to thrive in ambiguous circumstances, articulate compelling value stories, and identify D&A products and services that can drive business impact.
Adding Value with Persistence
CDAOs have a broad range of responsibilities, including defining and implementing D&A strategy (60 percent), managing D&A strategy (59 percent), implementing D&A governance (55 percent), and overseeing data-driven culture change (54 percent).
Many D&A functions are gaining greater investment, such as data management (65 percent), data governance (63 percent), and advanced analytics (60 percent).
44 percent of D&A teams grew over the last year, and the mean average D&A budget is $5.41 million.
Medeiros said: "The demands being placed upon D&A, as well as increased investment, reflect growing confidence in CDAOs’ abilities and recognition of the data office as an indispensable business function.
