By Grant Sweeney, General Manager
The Seven Essentials: Why Engagement is the Glue That Holds Major Data Initiatives Together
When it comes to delivering successful data programmes, great strategy and strong governance aren’t enough on their own. You also need something more human, more practical, and often more difficult to get right: engagement.
At Stellar, the Engagement Model is the second pillar of our Seven Essentials Framework. It’s about defining clear roles and responsibilities, ensuring the right skill sets are in place, and establishing a model for how all the moving parts of a programme will work together. In short, it’s how we get people aligned, involved, and ready to deliver real change.
With our experience working on major data, BI, and system implementation programmes, General Manager, Grant Sweeney, shares three of the biggest success factors we’ve seen about what effective engagement really looks like:
- Executive Support Isn’t a Nice-to-Have – It’s Non-Negotiable
It might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many major programmes launch without proper buy-in from the top table. And we don’t just mean a nod of approval—we mean active, informed, and ongoing support from senior leaders.
Too often, expectations around executive involvement are vague or poorly communicated. But when big decisions need to be made (and they will), the leadership team needs to be ready. A lack of clarity is a common cause of programme delays and budget overruns.
- Everyone Needs to Know “What’s in It For Me” (WiiFM)
If you’re a CEO or head of a business unit being asked to fund and resource a major programme, it’s only fair to ask, “What do I get out of this?”
And yet, Stellar has seen entire business units signing off on multi-million-dollar investments without a clear understanding of the benefits for their area. That’s a recipe for low engagement and lost momentum.
When individuals and teams can clearly see the value to their roles and business units, they’re far more likely to support the programme and help make it a success.
- It’s Not “Just an IT Thing”
This might be one of the most damaging myths out there. While CIOs and IT leaders play a vital role, major system and data implementations are not purely technology projects. They’re business transformation programmes.
Stellar has seen projects fail because non-IT executives weren’t involved early enough – or didn’t realise they needed to be. These programmes often impact business processes, reporting, KPIs, and the day-to-day work of hundreds of employees. If your executive leadership sees it as an “IT thing,” you’re already on shaky ground.
An effective Engagement Model brings the right people to the table at the right time, creating the cross-functional alignment needed to realise genuine ROI.
From Insight to Action
Engagement isn’t just a stage in a project plan – it’s a continuous, intentional effort that requires clarity, communication, and commitment at every level of the organisation. When you get it right, you unlock momentum, ownership, and meaningful change.
Want to learn more about how Stellar helps clients design engagement models that work in the real world?
Let’s talk. Call us on 0800 228 872 or email bi@stellarconsulting.co.nz.
