Data Literacy: The Next Frontier for Executive Leadership

As we become more obsessed with AI, data literacy is no longer just a technical skill. It is a leadership imperative.

Many leaders find it tempting to delegate anything related to data. They often hand it off to analytics teams, IT departments, or innovation leads. However, when it comes to integrating data into culture, decision-making, and strategy, the tone must be set at the top. If a CEO does not prioritize data literacy — the ability to read, write, and comprehend data — then no one else will.

Yet, too many executive teams overlook this capability. The consequences? Strategies based on assumptions, underutilization of talent, and transformation efforts that fall flat.

Here’s how to change that.

Competent Leadership Depends on Evidence

Even with decades of investment in digital tools, many organizations rely on instinct over insight in decision-making. Harvard Business Review found that companies with strong, evidence-based management practices consistently outperform their peers on key metrics such as growth and profitability.

So, why don’t more organizations operate this way?

A significant reason is a gap in data literacy. When leaders lack confidence in using data, they tend not to build it into systems that drive performance. These systems include goal-setting, workforce planning, and resource allocation. Without data, organizations rely on habits, hierarchy, and hunches rather than clarity and evidence.

Competent leadership requires more than experience. It requires the ability to interpret and act on data.

That’s why data literacy is not just a skill for analytics teams, IT departments, and innovation leads. It’s a core capability for every senior leader.

The CEO’s Role in Fostering Data Culture

Data literacy isn't about learning to code or becoming a data scientist. It’s about asking the right questions, interpreting evidence, and making confident, informed decisions. For CEOs, it means ensuring data is not just available, but also usable and actively used across the organization.

The World Economic Forum refers to data literacy as “a foundational skill for the digital economy.” Their findings highlight its crucial role in areas ranging from productivity to resilience. Data literacy allows employees to challenge assumptions, spot opportunities, and navigate ambiguity with clarity.

It all starts with leadership. According to MIT Sloan Management Review, 89% of workers say their CEO’s digital leadership directly impacts their confidence in organizational change. When CEOs actively engage with data—asking questions about evidence and using it in strategic discussions—they create the conditions for a data-centric culture to take root.

Measuring Data Culture

To foster a data-driven culture, CEOs must shift their perspective on data from being a mere support tool to a vital component of the organizational strategy. This transition involves using data to analyze the company’s competitive position and to drive strategic decisions.

When leaders embrace data literacy, they can measure its impact through various means, such as employee engagement surveys or performance metrics related to data-driven initiatives.

A Framework for Action: What Leading CEOs Do Differently

Embedding data literacy into your leadership agenda requires more than a one-off training initiative. It entails treating it as a long-term organizational capability — one that is cultivated, measured, and tied to objectives.

Here are four actions that characterize data-literate CEOs:

1. Role Models of Data-Literate Behavior

Data-literate CEOs consistently refer to evidence in all settings, whether in board meetings or company-wide town halls. They frequently ask, “What does the data say?” This question becomes a standard response to strategic issues, making evidence-based thinking an intrinsic part of leadership behavior.

2. Investing in Targeted Development

Generic data training is insufficient. Successful CEOs leverage capability frameworks like Databilities® to identify the specific data skills needed for various roles. This includes monitoring performance metrics, collecting valuable data at frontline operations, and utilizing data to understand customers and innovate new products and services.

3. Embedding Data into the Strategy Cycle

Data-literate leaders ensure that every strategic initiative—whether a digital transformation or an operational program—is anchored in measurable outcomes. They incorporate data into company targets, budget cycles, and OKRs, solidifying its role in decision-making processes.

4. Measuring and Benchmarking Progress

Stating that you value data literacy is not enough; tracking it is essential. Tools like the Databilities® framework help assess an organization’s current data capability. Comparing results to the Global Data Literacy Benchmark allows for a data-driven approach to capability-building efforts and helps prioritize focus areas.

From Insight to Impact: Making It Real

When CEOs recognize data literacy as a strategic asset, three outcomes occur:

• Decisions Improve: Leaders ask sharper questions, challenge assumptions, and navigate uncertainty with more confidence.

• Performance Scales: Teams are equipped to track outcomes, learn from results, and deliver value faster.

• Culture Transforms: Data becomes a part of daily operations, not just a tool used occasionally.

  
  

However, achieving these outcomes does not happen automatically. Data literacy must be explicitly valued, developed, and measured. It should be reflected in leadership behaviors, reinforced through processes, and supported with the right tools and language.

Let’s Start With Your People

You do not need to become a data expert to lead in a data-driven world. However, you must understand and engage within the data ecosystem—and assist others in doing the same.

Begin by using the Databilities® framework to evaluate your organization’s data capability. Then, compare your results to the Global Data Literacy Benchmark to gauge your standing.

Make data literacy a fundamental part of your leadership culture—not merely a technical side project.

Because, in the era of AI, the most significant transformation will not stem from algorithms. It will arise from individuals who know how to ask better questions and act on the answers.