How mastering data storytelling can transform your career
As an industrial-organizational psychologist, I started my career with a clear plan. Study workplace behavior. Research. Consult. Maybe teach.
Data visualization changed everything. It defined my approach to driving change in organizations. Data visualization transformed my career path.
When numbers become stories
Early on, I wanted to share everything I found in our HR data. But leaders ignored my work. Thoughtful reports sat on desks, unread. Sound familiar? Okay, I’m dating myself; today it’s the inbox. Slack. Teams.
The turning point came during a turnover presentation. Our standard practice was to display bar charts showing annual turnover rates over the last five years. The yearly turnover rate hid the crisis. I needed to show the issue. I switched to a line chart with new hire retention rates.
The Head of Product frowned: “Three years to master our product; gone before they lead projects.”
The room went quiet. The VP of HR leaned forward: “What do we do about this?” That’s another story.
That moment taught me everything. Data visualization makes problems visible and urgent.
This realization shaped my doctoral research. I explored cognitive processes that interact with visual design to create meaning. I wanted to understand the “seeing and thinking” of data. The findings confirmed my hypothesis: thoughtful design influences how people comprehend information.
The skills that open doors
As my visualization skills grew, something shifted. I wasn’t just better at my job—I became an advisor who told stories with data.
Data visualization is a career multiplier. Complex analysis becomes clear stories. Bridge the gap between data teams and the C-suite.
Here’s how this transformation happens in practice: Analyst becomes advisor. Take the data scientist who predicts turnover with 80% accuracy. Her reports gather dust. She builds a dashboard showing teams with high turnover risk and when people will leave. Predictions become strategy. Managers act before losing talent. She becomes the team lead.
Data storytelling amplifies influence. Walk into a room of skeptics. Show them what they’ve missed. Charts inform; stories transform.
Picture this: One professional trapped in endless reporting. He maps employee onboarding journeys—where friction happens, when frustration peaks. Leadership finally sees the problem with follow-up. Budget approved. Problem solved. He now leads employee experience.
It transforms how you build teams. Leadership requires both skills: analyzing complex data and communicating it clearly. Not an analyst or storyteller. Both in one person.
Here’s what happened: A hiring manager struggled to fill a senior analyst role. Candidates excelled at SQL or Tableau, but not both. She shifted her approach. Hire for curiosity and communication, she thought. Train to close the technical gaps. The new hire connected with stakeholders immediately. Within six months, she presented to the board and led cross-functional projects.
The career playbook
For early career professionals: Don’t wait for perfect job descriptions. Lead with your visualization strengths. Show how they solve business problems. Build a portfolio for your industry. In interviews, explain: “Here’s the story I found, how I made it accessible, what decision it enabled,” and so on. Show before-and-after examples.
For experienced professionals: Your visualization skills differentiate you. The best analysts communicate the meaning of data to non-technical audiences. Explain impact: “This dashboard cut time from 10 hours to 30 minutes and boosted engagement by 40%.”
For hiring managers: Hire storytellers, not just data analysts. Find people who craft compelling narratives that inspire behavior change. How the message is communicated matters more than complex models that gather dust.
The path forward
Data visualization careers don’t follow straight lines. We come from diverse backgrounds, including psychology, journalism, engineering, art, and many more. Many different disciplines. But we have the same goal: to make information meaningful and actionable.
Here’s what I’ve learned about navigating career paths:
- Embrace differences. Your unique background is an asset. Different perspectives make visualizations more intuitive.
- Learn by doing. Solve real business problems. Volunteer to create dashboards for different departments. Find what works.
- Build bridges. Work across disciplines. You don’t need expertise everywhere. You need curiosity and collaboration.
- Think beyond job titles. The most fulfilling work happens outside traditional descriptions. When you turn data into stories that drive change, opportunities find you.
- Find your community. DVS connects you with others who understand both technical and strategic sides. Get involved.
What’s next?
Want to experience this transformation yourself? Try this: Pick a visualization you struggle to explain. Think about its story. Share it with a colleague. Get feedback. Iterate.
Data storytelling is strategic, not just an afterthought. It’s a mindset that prompts change.
It might change your career path. Career paths twist and turn. What’s your story?
Paul Tsagaroulis
Paul Tsagaroulis is an industrial-organizational psychologist. He is the director of people analytics at the University of Virginia. Paul uses data storytelling to make work better. He has a PhD in business psychology from The Chicago School. He serves on committees with SIOP, SPA, and DVS.
