Data

Leadership is a quest for truth sparked by imagination — but unlike philosophers leaders must answer to reality. Thus for leadership, accurate data is a moral imperative. Good leaders help the group understand the reality of the world around it (usefully thought of, even for non-profits, as its competitive environment) and monitor key trends and indicators of the group’s health and effectiveness.

W. Edwards Deming, a statistician and an influential scholar of modern organizations, devoted his career to helping leaders see clearly. “Without data,” he said, “you’re just another person with an opinion.” He taught that improvement begins with inquiry: look, measure, test, reflect. At Toyota, a company shaped by his philosophy of inquiry and measurement, employees are trained to ask “why?” five times in a row to get to the root of any problem. The surface answer is never enough.

Florence Nightingale shared this spirit. In 1855, in a British military hospital during the Crimean War, she was appalled by the death toll. Early on, the practical tasks of provisioning the hospital were overwhelming: “I am a kind of general dealer,” she wrote, “in socks, shirts, knives and forks, . . . cabbage and carrots, towels and soap.” All of these humble things helped keep soldiers alive. Nightingale kept digging into the hospital’s dreadfully high mortality rate. A talented mathematician (she was the first woman elected to the Royal Statistical Society), she came to understand that mortality wasn’t a given, but shaped by factors like hygiene, sunshine, fresh air, and systematic use of data. Devoting her life to the use of data to support human well-being, Nightingale transformed hospital care and public health, and helped invent the field of public health. “The need for accurate, relevant statistics,” her biographer Lynn McDonald observed, “went to the heart of Nightingale’s mission.”

Data, used wisely, is much more than numbers. It enables purposeful work and allows organizations to compare intention with outcome. As Florence Nightingale discovered in the hospital, the systematic study and use of data can change everything. For leaders, committing to data means asking hard questions, seeking real answers, and having the courage to act. Against fear, against ignorance, against resistance to change, there is data about the reality of the world and the group. Data, properly understood, is a moral force for leaders, and the sharpest tool for seeking truth.