After reading a piece a while back on why people “don’t trust data, they only trust other people,” I found myself agreeing — but also seeing another side to the story.
In my experience, leaders don’t trust data directly — they trust the story data helps them tell. Sometimes that story reinforces what they already believe; sometimes it’s used to shift accountability. Either way, data itself rarely drives decisions — people do.
The language of being data-informed often sounds more deliberate — even enlightened — but in practice, it can still fall into the same traps. Leaders may claim to be data-informed yet continue to rely on data that aligns with their instincts, while ignoring evidence that challenges their assumptions. The term may sound more intentional, but behavior often remains the same.
Data as a Narrative Tool — And a Shield
Data rarely speaks for itself. Instead, leaders interpret data through personal experience, organizational culture, and social context. In practice, data often plays one of three roles:
- To reinforce existing beliefs. Leaders may unconsciously seek patterns that validate what they already suspect or hope to be true. This isn’t always manipulative; it’s human nature to feel more confident when evidence aligns with our instincts.
- To clarify uncertainty. Leaders frequently turn to data not because they doubt their instincts, but because they need evidence to convince others — stakeholders, boards, or teams — that their direction is sound.
- To deflect accountability. Some leaders lean on data not to inform their thinking, but to protect themselves from blame. By saying “The data told us to do this,” they portray decisions as inevitable — shifting responsibility away from their own judgment.
In all three cases, data becomes part of a larger narrative — shaped less by the data itself and more by what leaders choose to emphasize.
Where Cultural Humility Fits In
This is where cultural humility becomes essential. Leaders who embrace cultural humility recognize that:
- No dataset tells the whole story. Data reveals patterns, but it often misses the nuance of lived experience.
- Expertise doesn’t entitle you to trust. Even sophisticated models reflect the assumptions, values, and limitations of those who build them.
Practicing cultural humility, as I discuss it in “Driving Your Self-Discovery,” is about acknowledging the limits of your perspective, remaining open to the lived experience of others, and engaging difference with curiosity rather than certainty. It means approaching data with curiosity rather than certainty. It involves behaviors like:
- Ongoing self-reflection and self-critique,
- Recognizing and challenging power imbalances,
- Valuing relationship over expertise,
- And creating space for others’ stories, even (especially) when they contradict your assumptions.
Effective leaders ask questions such as:
- “What experiences might this data overlook?”
- “Whose perspective isn’t reflected here?”
- “Am I using data to justify a decision rather than inform it?”
These questions invite alternative viewpoints, revealing insights that data alone can’t provide. Leaders who resist the urge to control the narrative — and instead invite others to shape it — foster deeper trust and accountability.
When Data Changes Minds
Despite these risks, data can still challenge assumptions — but only when leaders create conditions for that to happen. The most effective leaders I’ve seen build cultures where:
- Data is treated as a conversation partner, not a final answer.
- Trusted advisors are chosen not to confirm assumptions, but to challenge them.
- Leaders develop enough data fluency to ask better questions — not just “Does this confirm what I hoped?” but “What else could this mean?”
When leaders engage data in this way, it becomes less about defending decisions and more about refining them.
Balancing Data, Judgment, and Accountability
The strongest leaders distinguish between where data informs decisions and where judgment — shaped by experience, intuition, and values — must take over. They understand:
- Data can inform, but it cannot decide. Numbers alone don’t define what “success” should look like — those choices reflect values, priorities, and context.
- Accountability cannot be outsourced to data. Effective leaders own their decisions — especially when outcomes don’t match the data’s predictions.
By maintaining this distinction, leaders prevent data from becoming a crutch for difficult decisions — or an excuse for failing to engage with complexity.
Toward a Balanced Perspective
The claim that “People don’t trust data, they only trust other people” highlights an important idea — but by itself, it’s incomplete. A more holistic reflection of leadership behavior might be:
People trust data when it connects to a story they believe — and they trust leaders who engage those stories with humility.
Whether leaders describe themselves as “data-driven” or “data-informed,” the difference lies not in the language but in their mindset. The best leaders understand that data isn’t a verdict — it’s an invitation to ask better questions, challenge assumptions, and own the complexities that data alone cannot resolve.
