You’ve just sat down to brainstorm with your colleagues, have come armed with data that will undoubtedly shed new light on a project your team has been grappling with, and your boss decides they know better and nips it in the bud in favour of ideas they’ve come up with that aren’t based on evidence…

Welcome to the world of the workplace HiPPO, an acronym coined by author Avinash Kaushik for the highest paid person’s opinion.

Big resistance to big data

Unconscious bias can take on many forms in the workplace and although up-to-date data should remove any doubt from the equation, for some leaders, relying on more junior members of staff to provide actionable insights is inconceivable. Instead of taking research on board, they trample all over it with their own ideas instead. 

One recent study found that although 80% of participants said they relied on data to make decisions, 84% stated that managerial judgment frequently trumped data and remained the deciding factor. 

And this can have a detrimental effect. According to Gallup’s 2022 State of the Global Workplace Report, being treated unfairly at work leads to employee disengagement, which in turn can foster various forms of “quiet quitting”, aka doing what is expected, within business hours, but never going above and beyond your job description or working late or at weekends.

So, what can you do if your boss systematically rejects all your good ideas and defers to their own opinion in group meetings instead of welcoming a more collective approach? 

Cultural shift

Data doesn’t have to become a zero sum game, and using analytics to inform decisions won’t replace human-centric skills like communication, leadership and critical thinking. Using a combination of data and insights can help HiPPOs see the bigger picture. 

Another way to stop your boss from trampling all over your ideas is to present them in another way. Perhaps verbalising them in a group setting doesn’t work, but by creating a clear and concise presentation, you will create more impact in an easily digestible format. 

However, becoming more data-driven requires a cultural shift and often the only way to truly implement this is to have someone data-specific like a chief data officer in leadership. 

And if your current employer is resisting this kind of change, it could be time to start thinking about moving to a new, more senior role that allows you to take on more responsibility and be part of decision-making processes. 

If that is the case, SkillReactor’s Job Board is the ideal place to start your search. It features thousands of jobs in companies that are actively hiring, like the three below. 

Lead Data Scientist, Zopa Limited, London

At Zopa, data and the application of machine learning is at the heart of what it does and the products it brings to market. Reporting to the head of data and analytics, the Lead Data Scientist will define the roadmap and priorities for the data science team. You will be responsible for all machine learning and statistical models across the company, with applications in credit decisioning, fraud detection, customer engagement and operations strategy. You will also be required to drive innovation using new data sources for the benefit of customers and business while supporting and coaching new team members. View more information here. 

Cyber Security Operations Lead, Monzo, London

Monzo is looking for a proactive, technically-minded and creative Cyber Security Operations Lead to run and manage its security operations squad. As such, you will have full responsibility for all aspects of information security across the organisation. You will report to the chief information security officer (CISO) and be working directly with every aspect of the Monzo business by running the day-to-day security operations function, own security monitoring, incident response and threat intelligence. See the full job description here. 

Senior IT Support Analyst, Improbable, London

British metaverse technology company Improbable is looking for a Senior IT Support Analyst to join a team of experienced IT support staff and support a large team of experienced game developers and system engineers. You will be primarily responsible for helping support development teams with a focus on high-level desktop and laptop hardware builds and use your experience in troubleshooting technical hardware, fixing system issues, maintaining onboarding processes, and managing access control and assisting in the deployment of global IT initiatives across our international office locations. Access more details here. 

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