I keep watching the same movie play out at different companies.

Brilliant analyst gets noticed. Leadership says "You'd make a great manager." Analyst takes the bait because it feels like the only way up.

A year later, they're drowning in budget meetings and performance reviews, wondering when they last built something that mattered.

The whole promotion-to-management thing is a trap for most analytics people. We're wired to solve problems, not manage personalities. We thrive on deep work, not constant interruptions.

Yet every career guide pushes the same tired ladder: Analyst → Senior Analyst → Manager → Director.

There's another path. One that lets you lead through expertise instead of headcount.

This weeks issue is a little contrarian. Give me 4 minutes on this take.

Lets go.

The Leadership Myth That's Killing Analytics Careers

We've been sold this idea that leadership equals management. That influence requires direct reports. That the only way to make real money is to stop doing the work you love.

This is horse-poop.

There are high-paid, influential analytics professionals I know that don't manage anyone. They're too valuable solving the problems only they can solve.

Netflix doesn't pay their Staff Data Scientists $500K to run team meetings. They pay them to build models that drive billion-dollar content decisions.

Google doesn't hire Principal Engineers to write performance reviews. They hire them to architect systems that millions of people use.

The secret about management: Most companies promote their best analysts into management roles because they don't know how else to reward them. Then they lose their best analytical talent to administrative work.

Smart companies are figuring this out. They're creating parallel tracks that recognize expertise without forcing people into management.

Four Paths to Influence Without Management

Let me show you what technical leadership looks like:

The Infrastructure Builder

You create the systems everyone else uses. The data pipelines, modelling frameworks, and analytical standards that become company DNA. When new people start, they learn your methods. When decisions get made, they follow your architecture.

What this looks like day-to-day:

• Designing the company's analytical infrastructure that scales across teams

• Creating reusable model templates that become the standard

• Setting data quality standards that prevent garbage-in-garbage-out scenarios

• Building tools that make other analysts 10x more productive

Your career leverage: When the CEO asks "How do we know our data is reliable?", people point to your systems. You're not managing people—you're managing the foundation everything else is built on.

The Problem Firefighter

You're the person they call when everything's broken and nobody knows why. The revenue forecasting model that's been wrong for six months? You fix it. The customer segmentation that three consultants couldn't crack? You figure it out.

What this looks like day-to-day:

• Parachuting into failed analytics projects and turning them around

• Debugging complex data issues that have stumped multiple people

• Building models for the highest-stakes business decisions

• Taking on the "impossible" problems that expand what's possible

Your career leverage: When the stakes are highest, you get called. Your reputation is built on solving what others can't. You become irreplaceable not through hierarchy, but through capability.

The Executive Translator

You sit in C-suite meetings not because you manage a budget, but because you can explain what the data actually means for business strategy. You turn complex analytical insights into decisions that move the company forward.

What this looks like day-to-day:

• Presenting analytical findings to executive leadership

• Translating technical complexity into business implications

• Influencing strategy through data-driven insights

• Building relationships with non-technical stakeholders who control budgets

Your career leverage: You become the bridge between the analytical team and business leadership. Executives trust your interpretation of what the numbers mean for the company's future.

The Domain Authority

You become the definitive expert in something critical. Pricing optimisation. Customer lifetime value. Demand forecasting. When anyone in the company has a question in your area, you're the final word.

What this looks like day-to-day:

• Going deeper in your specialty than anyone else in the company

• Staying current with cutting-edge research in your domain

• Consulting across departments on decisions in your area

• Building methodologies that become company-wide best practices

Your career leverage: You own an entire knowledge domain. When strategic decisions touch your area of expertise, you're automatically included in the conversation.

The Simple Test for Your Real Path

Here's how to know which ladder you should climb:

Think about your best day at work in the last month.

Was it spent in deep focus, building something complex that nobody else could build? Or was it spent in dynamic conversation, helping others succeed and removing their obstacles?

Now think about your worst day.

Was it endless meetings that kept you from real work? Or was it grinding alone on a technical problem with no human interaction?

Your answers tell you everything. Most analytics people are energised by creating and drained by coordinating. If that's you, management will slowly kill what makes you valuable.

The energy audit: Track your energy levels throughout different types of work for one week. Note when you feel most engaged and when you feel most drained. The pattern will reveal your natural path.

The Expert Track Playbook

Step 1: Audit Your Current Value

Make a list of the three most impactful projects you've completed in the last year. For each one, ask:

• Did this require expertise only you had?

• Would this project have failed without your specific contribution?

• Did your work create lasting value that others still use?

If you can't answer "yes" to these questions, you're not yet operating at expert level.

Step 2: Choose Your Domain

Pick the analytical area where you could become your company's definitive expert. Consider:

• Business criticality: How much does company success depend on getting this right?

• Complexity barrier: How hard is it for others to become competent in this area?

• Your natural strengths: Where do you already have an advantage?

• Growth potential: Is this area becoming more or less important to the business?

Examples for analytics pros:

• Forecasting and predictive modelling

• Customer segmentation and lifetime value

• Pricing optimisation

• Product analytics and experimentation

• Marketing attribution and ROI measurement

Step 3: Build Your Expert Moat

Depth over breadth: Instead of trying to be good at everything, become exceptional at your chosen domain. Read every paper, know every technique, understand every edge case.

Create intellectual property: Build frameworks, methodologies, or tools that others use. When people use your creation, your influence scales beyond your direct work.

Document your expertise: Write internal guides, create training materials, present at company meetings. Make your knowledge accessible but establish yourself as the source.

Connect to business outcomes: Always tie your expertise to measurable business impact. Track how your domain knowledge influences decisions and drives results.

How to Build Influence as a Technical Leader

The Authority Building Framework

Month 1-3: Establish Competence

• Volunteer for the most challenging project in your chosen domain

• Deliver results that clearly demonstrate your expertise

• Document your approach so others can learn from it

Month 4-6: Scale Your Impact

• Create tools or frameworks that other teams can use

• Train colleagues on best practices in your domain

• Start getting invited to meetings where your expertise matters

Month 7-12: Become the Go-To Expert

• Lead initiatives that shape how the company approaches your domain

• Get consulted on strategic decisions in your area

• Have your methodologies become standard practice

Year 2+: Own the Domain

• Set company-wide standards in your area of expertise

• Influence hiring and tool selection decisions

• Get pulled into the highest-stakes projects automatically

The Stakeholder Influence Map

Identify the decision-makers who need your expertise:

• Which executives make decisions that touch your domain?

• Which department heads could benefit from your insights?

• Which high-influence peers could amplify your work?

Build relationships strategically:

• Offer to present your findings to their teams

• Volunteer to help with their highest-stakes projects

• Make yourself available for quick consultations

Demonstrate value consistently:

• Send brief, valuable updates on trends in your domain

• Flag potential issues before they become problems

• Celebrate wins that resulted from your expertise

The Conversation That Changes Everything

Next time someone suggests you'd "make a great manager," and you feel a better fit for a technical track - try this response:

"I appreciate that. I want to maxximise my impact on the company's success. For me, that means staying close to the complex problems that only I can solve. I'd like to explore how I can grow my influence and compensation through technical leadership instead of people management."

Then propose what you actually want:

• More complex, high-stakes projects

• Input on architectural or strategic analytical decisions

• Recognition as the go-to expert in your domain

• A career path that rewards expertise, not just management

The follow-up conversation:
"What would need to be true for the company to create a senior individual contributor role in my area of expertise? I'd like to discuss how we can structure my growth path around becoming irreplaceable in [your chosen domain]."

Most managers will be relieved. They'd rather have a brilliant IC than a mediocre manager. Many have been promoted ICs themselves and understand the dilemma.

Your Next Move

This week, run the Energy Audit. Track how you actually spend your time for five working days. Mark every hour as "Creating" or "Coordinating."

If "Coordinating" is more than 30%, you're already sliding toward management whether you chose it or not.

If you want to stay technical, it's time to have a conversation about protecting your deep work and steering toward expert-level projects.

Reply with your Create/Coordinate split from this week's audit. I want to see what percentage of analytics pros are accidentally climbing the management ladder.

"The best technical leaders don't manage people—they manage complexity. They don't build teams—they build systems that make teams successful."

Keep climbing.

Best,

Tom.

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