Objects in the Mirror are Closer than They Appear

What leaders can do to help employees tell stories with data

This is part of an ongoing series of articles on storytelling with data. Catch up on previous issues about framing decision making, why we love taking sides even when it doesn't matter, and five key steps to telling stories with data.

“How can I listen better when my employees are presenting?”

Charlie, a Business Unit Leader, asked me this a few months ago over lunch following my keynote.

I’ve shared before that the problem people lead with rarely is the one they need to solve. The more Charlie talked, the clearer it became that this was one of those cases. I kept thinking of the warning etched onto side-view mirrors: Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. This wasn’t about listening—it was something much bigger.

Charlie explained that he’s required to report specific data to his leadership and regulatory officials. But when his team presents, they focus on the wrong details. They share too many irrelevant data points, ramble without landing their ideas, and fail to equip him with the information he needs. As a result, he often grows impatient, interrupts, and redirects the conversation, frustrating everyone involved. He knew his approach wasn’t helpful and believed that listening more intently might solve the problem.

“OK, I see what’s happening,” I said. “You’re the problem.”

“What?!” He raised an eyebrow as his colleagues started snickering.

“Do your employees know what information you’re responsible for reporting?”

“No,” he admitted. “We haven’t discussed it in detail.”

“Have you shared, ‘Here’s what I care about’ before someone begins analyzing the data? Or are they guessing what you want to understand? This isn’t about listening. What you need is upfront alignment on the questions you want answered.”’

He slowly shook his head and whispered, “I’m the problem,” as his colleagues burst into laughter.

“Think about it from your employees’ perspective,” I said. “Their job is to bring you insights, patterns, and recommendations. But they’re staring at a mountain of data that can be analyzed eleven ways. Without knowing what matters to you or what you’re expected to communicate, they throw in a bit of everything, hoping something sticks. You’re left confused and unclear about what action to take.

“What if you started differently?

“Before any data gathering begins, spend ten minutes aligning on the initial questions and angles you want explored. Share what you care about learning. Co-create a problem statement to guide the analysis and presentation. Then invite the team to surface any surprising outliers or insights they uncover, even if they fall outside the original scope.

“This isn’t about doing their work for them; it’s about helping them focus. Otherwise, everything they share becomes background noise. You miss the point because you’re listening for insights they didn’t know you needed.”

“Wow. You’re right. That’s it, I’m signing up for your newsletter.”

Spoiler alert, he didn’t. ;)

What Leaders Often Get Wrong About Storytelling With Data

Communicating data is hard. It’s not enough to share the information, you have to help people connect to it and trust both you and the data.

Employees often present dense charts with no clear takeaway. They say things like, “I’m not going to talk to this—the data speaks for itself,” then ramble without offering insights or recommendations.”

Years of leaders picking apart the data have conditioned employees to share too many graphs and charts that only make sense if you spend hours analyzing them. They fail to connect the audience to the story behind the data. Both sides leave frustrated, and time is wasted on planning and reworking versions.

Some leaders try to fix this by handing out dashboards or slide templates to focus the message and streamline the time. But dashboards don’t tell stories. They monitor key indicators, not explain them.  Dashboards and templates can help organize information, but they often strip away what’s essential to telling a compelling story.

Leaders often say employees don’t know how to tell the story of the data. But they unknowingly contribute to this problem in several ways:

Not Sharing What They’re Looking For

Vague requests like “Give me an update on performance” lead to overpreparation and overwhelm. Teams share too much or miss the point entirely.

Relying Too Heavily on Dashboards and Templates

Dashboards are great for tracking known metrics, but they don’t explain why something is happening. One-slide templates can become overcrowded and ineffective, causing audiences to tune out. 

Jumping Ahead

Leaders often interrupt or redirect the conversation when they don’t know what they’re looking for. Presenters scramble to adjust, second-guess themselves, or retreat into the data. The discussion becomes fragmented and ineffective.

Not Trusting the Employee or the Data

Asking for “everything” instead of “what matters” creates information overload. Your team’s job is to analyze and bring insights, not dump raw data for you to interpret in real time.  

Ignoring the Emotions of Data

Data doesn’t change our behavior—emotions do. How we connect with data shapes our interpretation and actions. Effective data storytelling helps people feel something, so they don’t just understand the data, but they act on it.

What to Do Differently

Define What Matters Upfront

Be clear about what’s important to you. What are the key questions you want to answer? Create a safe space for your team to bring up relevant information, even if it falls outside the initial scope.

Solve the Problem People Actually Need Solved

In The Inclusion Equation by Dr. Serena H. Huang, she describes excitedly presenting a model to an HR executive that predicted attrition with 98% accuracy. The leader responded, “The attrition rate in my business has stayed flat at 2% for the past five years. What keeps me up at night is the fact that 80% of the senior leaders are retirement eligible next year, and I don’t have a succession plan.”

Start with a shared understanding of what question you’re solving. Co-create a clear problem statement before the analysis begins.

Guide by Outcomes, Not Slides

Instead of providing a template, share the question(s) you want answered and how much time they have. Five focused slides—each with one key point—are better than one slide with five competing messages.

Encourage your team to present insights and recommendations, not just raw data. Your goal is to connect to the information, not redo the analysis in real time. Shift the conversation from, “What does the data say?” to “What should we do about it?”

If helpful, provide pre-reads so attendees can absorb the data ahead of time, making the discussion more action-oriented.

Ask Questions that Build Trust and Clarity

You need to question data, but how and when matters.

Foster Curiosity, Not Suspicion

“Are you sure this is right?” can come across as “I don’t trust you.” Try: “Can you walk me through how you got to this?” That builds understanding and keeps confidence intact.  

Challenge Surprises, Not People

Saying, “This number doesn’t look right” suggests you only trust data that confirms your assumptions. Instead, say: “This number is surprising. What might explain it?” That invites exploration and leads to better insights.

Are you a leader who brings clarity and guidance, or someone your team struggles to interpret? Sometimes, the answer is closer than it appears.

Ready to learn how to tell stories with data that drive action? Let’s get started.

In The News

Some friends text each other photos of food or outfits. My friends and I text photos of libraries and bookshops. For years, I used to visit bookshops and look at where my book would sit.

One bookstore in particular had a hold on me: The Drama Book Shop in NYC. This special space is owned by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tommy Kail, Jeffrey Seller, and James Nederlander. It's an ode to Broadway, musicals, storytelling, and writing. The space was even designed by the same person who designed the sets for Hamilton.

When The Perfect Story was published, I was delighted when they carried the book. I was even more excited when they offered to hold a book event. That was recorded and recently published on their podcast, The Drama Book Show. 

This is a special conversation with my dear friend, Colby Webb, a global advertising executive and founder of Sav-a-Bull Rescue. Listen here.

You May Have Missed: 

How to frame decision making.

Why we love taking sides even when it doesn't matter.

Five key steps to telling stories with data.

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