Coaching for Leaders

Stephanie Evergreen: Build a Data Culture

Stephanie Evergreen is a data visualization and design expert. She has trained future data nerds worldwide through keynotes and workshops, for Fortune 500 clients like MasterCard and Facebook and mission-aligned clients like the United Nations, the Boys and Girls Club, AARP, and The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. She has three books and a popular blog on data visualization.

Data: we’ve all got tons of access to it these days. But perhaps almost too much – how do we actually make sense of it and then communicate clearly with it? In this conversation, Stephanie and I explore how a leader can best use data to make their message land.

Key Points

Many of us are overwhelmed by access to data, but lots of leaders find that much of the data isn’t actionable for increasing performance.

Because dashboards attempt to answer many questions, they often result in doing a poor job of highlighting a key message or insight.

Instead of showing every data point you’ve ever collected, use smart formatting to highlight the single thing your team needs to know.

Decide in advance what the key message of a slide, chart, or presentation should be. Then, design for that clear message.

Answer the burning question that your audience is likely asking.

Leaders set the tone for transparency with data that isn’t good news. Encourage and reward hearing the honest story to establish a culture where truth is shared and addressed.

Resources Mentioned

Build a Data Culture by Stephanie Evergreen

Why Data-Packed Meetings Miss the Mark (And What to Do About It) by Stephanie Evergreen

Related Episodes

Performance Measurement That Gets Results, with Stacey Barr (episode 419)

The Way to Influence Executives, with Nancy Duarte (episode 450)

How to Respond When You Don’t Have Resources, with Laura West (episode 699)

Discover More

Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

Today is the FINAL day to apply for the Coaching for Leaders Academy.

Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Academy by the of the day today, Friday, September 11th.

Dave shares four words that detail what’s different about leaders who consistently get better – and even THRIVE – and those who don’t.

Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Coaching for Leaders Academy by Friday, September 11th.

Aiko Bethea: Anchored, Aligned, Accountable

Aiko Bethea is the Founder and CEO of RARE Coaching & Consulting, a leadership development firm that partners with Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, and global organizations to build accountable, values-driven cultures. She is listed as #3 on the list of Top Executive Coaches of 2026 by the Industry Leader and has spent over a decade coaching C-suite leaders across industries, and served previously as deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She is the author of Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

I have seen so many activities over the years to help leaders clarify their values. I have built some of them myself. And most of them, including the ones I’ve built, miss a big question: what do those values actually mean? In this conversation, Aiko and I explore that question in detail to help us all do a better job of staying grounded.

Key Points

In an era of information everywhere, it’s more challenging than ever to engage our inner awareness.

An anchor keeps a ship in place during the storm. Our values do the same for us as leaders.

Values aren’t just decorative. Simply naming a value doesn’t tell us much about what it means.

Explore the behaviors that come out of labels we use for values. Those behaviors help us better align with others – and ourselves.

A value label may mean one thing to one person and something entirely different to someone else. Curiosity will help you uncover what really matters to people.

Beware naming values that are simply aspirational. Instead, zero in on what is actually true for you.

Resources Mentioned

Anchored, Aligned, Accountable: A Framework for Transcending BS and Transforming Our Lives and Work by Aiko Bethea (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

Leadership in the Midst of Chaos, with Jim Mattis (episode 440)

How to Discover What Others Value, with Joe Hart (episode 616)

The Way to Build Collective Power, with Ruchika T. Malhotra (episode 759)

Discover More

Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. Go beyond the podcast to find the right ideas and apply them with confidence inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

Academy alum Jen Quammen joins Dave to share how she prioritized showing up at her best when taking on a major leadership role.

Are you at an inflection point? Apply to the Coaching for Leaders Academy by Friday, September 11th.