How Soft Skills Help You Make Sense of Numbers

Numbers are often seen as the ultimate truth—especially in numismatic fields such as like accounting and financial forecasting. Many fields have now turned to data analysis for insights and data-driven decision-making.

Spreadsheets like Excel or Google Sheets and their derivatives are the primary tools for storing and crunching numbers, but soft skills are still the glue that holds these fields together. How so? Below, we’ll examine why non-technical skills like teamwork, communication, and critical thinking are vital to interpreting and delivering numerical data. We’ll also see how collaboration can help even the least tech-savvy members of your team succeed.

Communication’s Vital Role in Data Interpretation

It has been said that ‘numbers don’t lie,’ but the interpretation of them can be subjective. If not properly analyzed, understood, and communicated, raw data can indeed be misleading—or it can be purposely used in such a way.

For this reason, those who work with numbers must have more than the mathematical and computer skills to collect data and crunch numbers. They should be able to explain what the numbers represent, any emerging trends that can be observed, and the proposed actions in response to their findings.

Such explanation should be in easy-to-understand “layman’s terms,” not in technical jargon. Not only do the experts need to understand the interpretation, but so do non-technical team members and other stakeholders.

For example, when an accountant prepares a financial report, both his managers and investors need to understand the financial well-being of the company. The complex numbers should be broken down into digestible insights.

The most skilled communicators take things a bit farther. They transform eye-crossing spreadsheets of figures into compelling narratives. This is especially vital when action or inaction could create positive or negative financial outcomes for the company.

So far, we’ve focused on communicating with those outside the team. Next, we’ll look at why collaboration and teamwork matter.

Making It Easy for Less Tech-Savvy Team Members

Often, multiple team members use the same spreadsheets to get their work done. Such sharing makes teamwork and collaboration vital skills. It also prevents inaccuracies from creeping into the records.

Collaboration in the form of hands-on training is a good place to start. Show team members how to download Excel templates to meet their needs. Demonstrate the most common functions of the spreadsheets in use. Be available to answer questions or to rescue a struggling coworker who thinks they’ve lost important data—I speak from experience on that one. Doing so will build trust, confidence, and a stronger team overall.

Next, establish standards for documentation and version control, and communicate these to all involved.

Documentation

Excel’s commenting features can be used to maintain detailed notes about changes to shared spreadsheets. This allows everyone to know what modifications and assumptions have been made and what formulas have been applied.

If a team member changed a formula without leaving a note, for example, someone could come behind them and unknowingly overwrite it, resulting in an incorrect report or duplicated efforts.

Version Control

Version control of shared spreadsheets is vital to preventing data loss due to conflicting edits or accidental overwrites.

Excel has a “Track Changes” feature that monitors edits and allows the user to revert to a previous version of the document if necessary. Another option is having well-outlined protocols for saving versions, perhaps using cloud-based collaboration platforms.

Thinking Critically

Numbers are important, but they alone do not always tell the full story. Critical thinking is an essential skill for questioning assumptions based on numbers, identifying inconsistencies, and making sound data-driven decisions.

Consider a few examples. A sales team notices a change in conversions, or an HR department observes an increase in employee turnover. Instead of jumping to conclusions, they should think critically about all relevant information, even that which is not numerical. This will prevent rash decisions that could be based on incorrect assumptions.

Related to this is the role of emotional intelligence (EQ) in data-driven decision-making. Professionals should be able to present numerical data in a way that resonates with their audiences—for example, taking into consideration how certain data-driven decisions might affect employees or stakeholders.

They should also be able to coolly evaluate unfavorable data rather than making decisions based on emotion. For example, they should not let the stress of a high-pressure financial reporting period adversely affect their decisions.

Conclusion

The need for technical and mathematical proficiency when working with numbers cannot be denied. However, it should not solely be relied on in the absence of soft skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and teamwork.

These skills help team members to work together effectively, training less technically proficient coworkers and bringing them up to speed. They also help convey the meaning of the data clearly to stakeholders and assist decision-makers in using the data to drive toward company goals.