Despite the increasing number of data scientists who are asked to take on leadership roles as they grow in their careers, there are still few resources on how to lead data science teams successfully.
In this talk, I will argue that an effective data science leader has to wear three hats: Diplomat (understand the organization and their team and liaise between them), Diagnostician (figure out how what organizational needs can be met by their team and how), and Developer (grow their and their team's skills as well as the organization's understanding of data science to maximize the value their team can drive).
Throughout, I draw on my experience as a data science leader both at a political party (the Democratic Party of the United States of America) and at a fintech startup (Even.com).
Talk attendees will learn a framework for how to manage data scientists and lead a data science practice. In turn, attendees will be better prepared to tackle new or existing roles as data science leaders or be better able to identify promising candidates for these roles.