As I look toward the new year, I find myself thinking differently about data than I did earlier in my career.
When I was a school leader, data helped us answer clear, practical questions. Where were students struggling, and what adjustments did teachers need to make in instruction, pacing, or pedagogy? We used data to inform decisions, communicate clearly with families, and ensure our systems aligned in service of student learning.
Later, as my roles expanded to leading leaders and making system-level decisions, data took on a different weight. It informed how we allocated resources, supported leaders, and built coherence across schools and teams. The stakes were higher, timelines were longer, and the cost of choosing the wrong indicators was far greater.
As a nonprofit leader, data again played a critical role. We relied on it to determine which services were making the most significant impact, which strategies needed refinement, and how to make responsible organizational decisions in complex environments.
Across all of those roles, one thing remained constant. Data was never the point. Learning was.
Now, as I support organizational leaders and executive teams, data still matters deeply. But the challenge has changed.
In 2026, the problem is not a lack of data. It is the sheer volume of it, and the difficulty of choosing the right signals, asking the right questions, and using data in ways that actually help people do their work better.
Data Is a Mirror, Not a Manager
Many leaders feel a tension between leading with empathy and leading with data. They want to stay grounded in human connection while facing increasing pressure to quantify nearly every decision.
I have come to believe the truth is more straightforward.
Data does not replace leadership. It clarifies it.
Used well, data helps leaders examine assumptions, surface patterns, and check their thinking before acting. It provides a mirror that reveals what might otherwise remain unseen. Used poorly, data creates noise and a sense of urgency that obscures rather than strengthens judgment.
The most effective leaders I work with no longer ask, “What does the data say?”
They ask, “Why are we looking at this data, and what decision is it meant to inform?”
That question matters more than ever.
Why Data Feels Harder to Use Well Than Ever Before
In organizations that use data thoughtfully, I see consistent benefits:
- Leaders make decisions with greater clarity and less defensiveness
- Teams operate from shared language and shared understanding
- Accountability becomes more objective and less personal
- Emotional load decreases as ambiguity decreases
- Strategy becomes easier to adjust when patterns are visible over time
And yet, despite these benefits, many capable leaders feel increasingly overwhelmed. Dashboards multiply. Indicators compete. New tools promise deeper insight but often deliver more complexity.
In 2026, the challenge is no longer measurement. It is meaning.
The leaders who struggle are not resistant to data. They are buried by it, often without enough clarity about which signals actually matter for their people, their mission, and the moment they are in.
Three Ways Leaders Commonly Get Data Wrong
- Expecting Data to Make the Decision
Data can inform direction, but it cannot determine values. Leaders still decide what matters, which trade-offs are acceptable, and how success is defined. Data is insight, not authority. - Collecting Too Much Instead of Choosing Better
More data rarely leads to better decisions. Relevant, timely, and well-interpreted data does. The discipline is not in the collection. It is in the selection. - Treating Metrics as Self-Explanatory
Numbers without context invite misinterpretation. The meaning behind the metric matters more than the metric itself, especially when people’s work and well-being are involved.
A Human-Centered Approach to Data in 2026
The leaders I admire most use data to strengthen connection, not distance themselves from it.
They ask questions that bring numbers and lived experience together:
- What story is this data telling us?
- Where does it align with what we are hearing on the ground, and where does it conflict?
- What conditions or behaviors likely produced this outcome?
This is where data becomes most powerful, not as a scoreboard, but as a learning tool.
In practice, this means fewer dashboards and better conversations. Fewer vanity metrics and more longitudinal insight. Less pressure to respond immediately, and more intention about what to address.
How We Approach Data at RMA Consulting
At RMA Consulting, we help leaders move from data overload to data clarity. Our work is grounded in the belief that data should support learning, alignment, and better decision-making, not compliance or control.
We do this in several ways:
- Organizational Listening and Experience Diagnostics that combine qualitative interviews and targeted surveys to understand employee experience, culture, and system alignment, and to make sense of the data with leaders and teams.
- Leadership and Coaching System Effectiveness Assessments that examine how leadership development and coaching structures are experienced across roles, helping organizations strengthen support systems rather than focusing on individual blame.
- 360 Leadership Insight and Development Assessments designed to help leaders surface strengths, uncover blind spots, and build clear development roadmaps for themselves and their teams.
Across all of this work, our goal is the same. To help leaders choose the right data, interpret it thoughtfully, and use it in ways that support people and performance.
Let Data Support Your Leadership, Not Complicate It
At every stage of my career, data has been invaluable. What has changed is how intentionally I believe it must be used.
As we move into 2026, I am less interested in helping leaders collect more data. I am far more interested in helping them slow down, ask better questions, and use data as a mirror for learning rather than a mechanism for control.
When we integrate data with clarity, empathy, and purpose, leadership becomes easier. Conversations improve. Decisions feel more grounded. Strategy becomes more adaptive.
That is the work I am committed to in the year ahead.
If You Want Support Using Data More Intentionally in 2026
If you are entering the new year wanting data to support better decisions, stronger culture, and more sustainable leadership, we would welcome a conversation.
At RMA Consulting, we partner with organizations to design data practices that are rigorous, human-centered, and actionable.
