3-4 minutes reading time
As leaders we would like analysts to provide us with insightful findings. As analysts we want to prove our worth by providing insightful results. But what is “Insight”? Have we got this all wrong? Lets unpack its meaning.
Insight
(the ability to have) a clear, deep, and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation (Cambridge Dictionary, Online).
Having read numerous definitions of Insight, I found the above most clear. It’s important to note there is no reference to Insight needing to be unique, i.e., synonymous with ground breaking, or scientific advancement. Insight is therefore, subjective, and dependent on the individual.
In this definition, Insight is the result of understanding of a “complicated problem or situation”, which gives significance not just to the outcome, but effort involved to get there. It occurs to me, for something to be insightful, at minimum, two perspectives coexist:
(1) As a requester (or recipient) of insight, such as a product owner, you make a request for something that you know will be of great insight to you, where the result would give you “clear, deep and sudden understanding” in relation to your product.
(2) As a doer, such as an analyst, you present new insightful findings of a “complicated problem or situation” that is either requested or a result of discovery.
In either case, the other party may not agree that the findings are insightful, because either: (a) the doer already has the information the requester asked for (prior knowledge), (b) the recipient knows the answer because they have been presented with similar findings previously (prior knowledge), (c) the recipient or doer are not interested in the findings – this does not mean the findings are not insightful.
In summary, as a leader, it is not productive to expect insightful work to happen without some guidance as to what insight means to you. As analysts, some of the most insightful work comes from exploration and discovery, which should be encouraged; however, do not expect outcomes to be insightful to your initial target audience. Don’t let good work go to waste mind. Share findings with others – ideally, with help from others – you may enlighten someone else. Most importantly, an improved view of what insight means can be gained from two-way conversation between the doer and the recipient/requester, with an agreed understanding of what insight means to you both.
