One of the biggest challenges I've faced in my career is collecting requirements from stakeholders. Not because they're vague. Most people are pretty confident telling you what they want. It usually starts with "I want a new dashboard" or "I want a new report." Some will even sketch it for you. A few bar charts,... Continue Reading →
Five Weeks Self-Employed: What They Don’t Tell You About Leaving Corporate Life
Five weeks ago I left a 20+ year career across the NHS and private sector and launched Peak Owl. Week one, I did a spa day with a friend. Not a strategy session, not a client call, a spa day. I'm writing this here rather than on the Peak Owl channel because this is exactly... Continue Reading →
Why Every Team Leader Needs a Weekly Huddle (And How to Run One That Actually Works)
Reading time: about 6 minutes One of the biggest lessons from my time as a leader, first in the NHS, then over the last five years in the corporate sector, is that real team engagement doesn't come from an annual review. It comes from what you do every single week. That belief has only sharpened... Continue Reading →
3500 data women walked into a room: Here’s what happenedÂ
On Thursday 26th March 2026 I was one of 3500 women packed into a room at the InterContinental London, all of us working in data, AI and technology. The event was inspiring, energising and even emotional at times. I was one of the lucky ones who got a ticket through the ballot to attend Women In Data Flagship... Continue Reading →
20 Years in Data And Analytics
After a hiatus of blog writing I realised at the beginning of the 2026 that it was my 20 year anniversary of working in data and analytics. With 20 years under my belt I thought I would take an opportunity to reflect on the evolution of analytical tools during my career so far. In February 2006 I walked into... Continue Reading →
Ice Breakers – why a meeting ‘warm up’ activity sets you up for success
Ice Breaker - ‘a thing that serves to relieve inhibitions or tension between people’ Oxford English Dictionary It’s time for a confession, I am a massive fan of a good ice breaker! And just in case you missed it lets be super clear I said a ‘good’ ice breaker. I know for some that seeing... Continue Reading →
Tableau Conference Watch Party 2022
It was great to experience my first virtual Tableau conference in JLL last November and see the buzz that is created to encourage staff to engage; promoting the opportunity to learn, network and share experiences. The fabulous Fi Gordon and Paul Chapman always encourage the JLL Work Dynamics Performance and BI staff to maximise their... Continue Reading →
Improving business performance through data literacy
At the beginning of December 2021 I had the pleasure of co-hosting a webinar about data literacy with a few of my data friends Steve Adams, Steve Prokopiou and Neil Richards. Steve A and Steve P approached me back in August 2021 about putting together a webinar and I jumped at the chance to work... Continue Reading →
Improving team engagement
One of the most important elements of leading a team is engagement. The theory goes that engaged staff perform more effectively both individually and as a team, absenteeism decreases and staff health and well-being improves. I have been leading teams for well over a decade now and constantly looking at ways of ensuring that the... Continue Reading →
Preparing for the Tableau Desktop Certified Associate Exam
https://www.tableau.com/en-gb/learn/certification Certification is a great way of proving your skills both to yourself and to others. I first took the Tableau Desktop Certified Associate exam in 2018. At that point I had been using Tableau for over 3 years, so when I booked to do the certification I was thinking that it would be fairly... Continue Reading →