3 ways to be a better Experimentation leader with Rommil Santiago

While being a good CRO or Experimenter takes a lot of unique skills ranging from technical savvy, business sense, and statistical prowess – being an Experimentation leader requires a bit more. Experimentation is one of the few domains where you are not only trying to drive results, but you are fundamentally trying to change how people perform their jobs. Even if you are the best Experimenter at your company, unless you are able to nurture a culture of Experimentation – you’ll end up constantly fighting uphill battles. Here are a few quick pointers on how to be a better Experimentation leader.

Make others’ success your priority
As an Experimentation leader, you will have your own goals. They’re probably program-related ones, or maybe ROI-related ones, but regardless of what they are, unless you are making others’ goals your priority – you’ll never get buy-in. By highlighting that you have skin in the game, or in other words that your success depends on their success, it will be easier to get on the same page because you’ll both be in it together.

Be kind but set a bar
Folks will make mistakes – that’s expected. And of course, getting the reps in (i.e., running more tests) is important to build that mental muscle around Experimentation, one should resist the temptation of lowering one’s standards. By consistently demonstrating that you are keeping standards high, you teach others that the details matter – and hopefully they’ll spread that message to others as well. Of course, refrain from public shaming, but don’t shy away from having teachable moments that others can benefit from – especially those where experimenters can feel safe to try, stumble, and improve.

Demonstrate that it’s OK not to know all the answers
As I mentioned before, Experimentation requires a LOT of skills. In fact, one can go incredibly deep into each one of them. It is very unlikely that anyone is a master at all of them – and that’s OK. Sometimes we’ll get questions we won’t have answers for. But instead of giving vague answers to talk around the topic, acknowledge that you don’t have the answer, opt for sharing what you actually know in precise terms, and then commit to finding the answer for them and yourself. This approach reiterates that their goals are your goals, that you are knowledgeable – just not in every minute detail, and it gives you an opportunity to build trust by delivering on a promise.

See you in 2 weeks!

Rommil Santiago
Founder, Experiment Nation