When Anne was a kid, she was convinced that monsters really were under the bed. The monster of the evening could vary (Dracula, Frankenstein…..) but she was convinced something was under the bed, and she used to take a running leap to avoid having her ankle grasped, and getting pulled under the bed into the scary darkness - and being exposed to whatever terrible things happened when monsters grab the ankles of unsuspecting kids. She also jumped into bed with the light still on (because monsters only existed in the dark) and made sure her bedroom door was open (because if someone else was in hearing distance, the monster couldn’t get her). In other words, she did everything within her power to avoid a confrontation with the monster under the bed.
When we write about the “Data Fear Monster” and how that monster impacts the careers of hard-working students and professionals, we are talking about very similar kind of fear. The feelings we have as those fears manifest themselves lead to negative behaviors; these negative behaviors tend to reinforce our fears. A monstrous cycle, to be sure.
The fear monster works in a very specific way: its power comes from the fear itself. The fear of encountering the “it” - whatever “it” is - is the power behind the fear monster - encountering the monster and either vanquishing it or being vanquished by it. The way those in the power of the fear monster put off possibly being vanquished is by avoiding the encounter. As a child, Anne used magical thinking to convince herself that if she could avoid the “it” she could keep the monster at bay, thereby remaining safe. She made sure it could not get her – she avoided encountering “it”. People who are intimidated by using data in their work often do the same thing – they avoid data.
Avoidance does the job of shielding scared kids from imaginary monsters under the bed; but at a cost – and only on a temporary basis. Anne never knew for sure that the monster wasn’t there, just waiting for her, and if she needed to get up in the middle of the night, she had to go through the whole routine again to continue with her avoidance strategy.
Similarly, avoidance can shield the working professional – but also at a cost, and only for a time.
Avoiding working with data can give the impression of being protected from the fear monster. In reality, however, all it does is allow an individual to ignore information that is either potentially useful, and should be investigated or utilized, or is potentially damaging, and should be addressed. By saying things like “I don’t do data” or “I don’t have a brain for that” we can create a false belief that it is ok to ignore or abdicate a portion of the work.
Vanquishing the fear monster:
In our work with colleagues and clients, we have learned that there are some simple and straightforward ways for people who are intimidated by data to start using it. In our upcoming book: Data is Not a Four-Letter Word: Turning Data Fear Into Data Enthusiasm we share what we have learned. Here are some highlights:
1. Acknowledge that you are having fear feelings. Awareness is the first step in any change process. Practicing mindfulness can be helpful here.
2. Relax. Breathing will not just help you survive your data encounter; deep intentional breathing actually helps your brain work better.
3. Understand where the fear is coming from, so that you can begin to address your specific fear. Most data fears can be categorized by either worry about one’s lack of skill, or worry about how data could be misused. Understanding which type(s) of data fear you experience will help you identify the right steps to overcome those fears.
4. Stop avoiding/ignoring the data, and learn to use your enlightened ignorance to start asking questions about the data that will help you understand it better. We’ll write more about enlightened ignorance in an upcoming blog post. A key to dealing with any fear is to do the opposite of your intuitive or learned defense against the fear. Move toward the data rather than hiding or running from it.
5. Breathe Again. Don’t let your fears “ramp up” as you actually begin to engage in the data task at hand. Use an incremental, “one-step at a time” approach to breaking down data-related tasks into bite-sized pieces that you can manage and successfully accomplish.
6. Don’t do it alone—get a little help from your friends. Whether you need some help with learning a new data analytic method, or using a statistical software package, building a data visualization, or coming up with strategies to mitigate the risks of sharing and reporting data, use your peers, mentors, and other connections to get the support you need.
We believe the best way to deal with data fear is to start with a few small steps. Your fear is likely to diminish with each step you take, and each task you perform. Positive experiences will begin to break the negative fear-reinforcement cycle.
If you are interested in learning more about our work, contact us at anne@action2outcomes.com or rschack@charteroakgroup.com -- we’d love to help you vanquish your fear monster.
Anne McIntyre-Lahner is the CEO of Action2Outcomes, an outcome-focused management consulting firm based in Guilford, CT. Anne teaches program evaluation and program development at the University of Connecticut and Criminal Justice at The University of New Haven. Anne is the author of Stop Spinning Your Wheels: Using Results-Based Accountability to Steer Your Agency to Success.
Ron Schack, Ph.D., is the Managing Partner of The Charter Oak Group, LLC, a performance management and public policy consulting firm based in Glastonbury, CT. Ron teaches performance management at the University of Connecticut. Ron is the author of Confessions of Data Scientist..or Warrior-Priest? Lessons from 25 Years of Data Science, Performance Measurement, and Decision Support.
Drawing on their experiences as former state agency employees and as consultants, Anne and Ron are finalizing a new book, Data Is Not a Four-Letter Word: Transforming Data Fear Into Data Enthusiasm —coming very soon.