Unraveling Leadership Challenges in the LLM Era

Talk presented at PyCon IT in 2025: https://2025.pycon.it/en/event/behind-the-data-unraveling-leadership-challenges-in-the-llm-era

The rapid evolution of LLMs has created an unprecedented demand for data professionals to adapt quickly to emerging technologies. However, this pace is often at odds with the reality on the ground, leaving professionals feeling overwhelmed and frustrated.

This talk explores the human side of these challenges, drawing from dozens of interviews with data professionals across various industries. Many have found themselves in roles that no longer align with their initial aspirations, navigating transitions without the necessary support or transferable skills. For some, this has meant career stagnation; for others, it has prompted challenging exits or difficult job searches.

Through personal anecdotes and expert insights, we’ll unpack how rapid technological evolution impacts individuals, particularly those in leadership roles. Gendered differences show women in leadership often overexert to tackle systemic issues, while men attribute outcomes to effort, highlighting disparities in perceiving and addressing challenges.

By sharing stories of professionals grappling with these realities, this talk sheds light on the emotional toll of navigating constant change and unrelenting expectations. We’ll explore how these challenges affect well-being, job satisfaction, and career growth. More importantly, I will share how to break the cycle and strategically tackle these issues head on.

Whether you’re a data professional, leader, or industry observer, this talk provides a candid exploration of the challenges shaping today’s data industry, offering practical strategies and insights to help professionals thrive in a rapidly changing, data world.

Transcript

1. TEREZA IOFCIU - PYCON IT 2025 BEHIND THE DATA: UNRAVELING LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES IN THE LLM ERA
2. - Your CEO said “we need to add AI to our products” - Junior tech jobs started disappearing - Mass layo ff s in big tech companies - Keyword of the year: Gen AI 2023.. THE YEAR WHEN WORK AS WE KNEW IT CHANGED
3. - It a ff ects the way we work and the expectations on how we work - But the more we use it the more we rely on it - The more we rely on it the less we exercise our critical thought process GEN AI IS HERE TO STAY
5. - Data Leadership Coach - Interim Data Lead - PyLadies Hamburg - PyPodcats Host - PSF Fellow TEREZA IOFCIU SHE/HER
6. - To better understand what people are struggling with, I ran an experiment (together with a coach) - I interviewed 19 diverse data professionals TRANSITIONING TO COACHING AS A DATA PERSON
7. - Goals - Obstacles - Challenges - Approaches - Desired progress - The what if you had a magic wand to change anything.. 🪄 - Outcome -> identify main struggles THE EXPLORATORY CALLS “Feeling unful fi lled in your tech career? Sound familiar? 🤔 • You're running on autopilot, feeling drained but not challenged at work • You crave feedback and validation from your manager, but it's just not happening • Despite doing everything right, you're plateauing in your career …
8. - Scenarios: Situation, Desire, Approach, Challenges - Problem awareness - Impact - Outcome -> identify main situations people are struggling with THE TARGETED INTERVIEWS “You work in data in a senior position and you want to feel valued and have more in fl uence, but: •You’re missing clarity and guidance on how to achieve what you want in your role •You’re swamped with the day to day work, not really having time for the big picture things •You have a hard time seeing how you could get what you want in your current work environment - but can’t really see the alternatives “ ….
9. Pain Pleasure Internal External Current fears Want to feel Current struggles Want to have
10. Pain Pleasure Internal External LACK OF PROGRESS NOT FEELING VALUED THERE ARE NO BETTER WORK ENV OUT THERE LACK OF TECHNICAL SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE NOT ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WELL Current fears Want to feel Current struggles Want to have DOUBTING THEIR SKILLS BE CHALLENGED AT WORK WORK AND EXPERTISE VALUED BE VALUED AS IS ENJOYING WORK SUCCESSFUL IN LEADING A TEAM HAVE IMPACT A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OFFICIAL PROMOTION PART OF DECISION MAKING COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVE CAREER SUPPORT & GUIDANCE MORE RESPONSIBILITY AND RECOGNITION UNSURE ABOUT HOW TO STEP INTO LEADERSHIP POOR DATA CULTURE, TOO MUCH HYPE DOING LEADERSHIP WORK BUT UNOFFICIALLY CURRENT SKILLS NOT WANTED ON THE MARKET LACK OF GROWTH
11. AND THEN ✨ Build up a persona: the data leader and came up with the top 5 most common situations And run a survey to check if on the right track
12. AND YOU✨ You can also participate in the survey: For each statement we will have 2 questions that will appear as we move along https://etc.ch/bd4c
13. #1 Management has made a decision that doesn't make sense from a data or team perspective, and you are trying to explain why it's not a good idea – either during meetings or through slack/teams. But no one is listening to you, so you end up feeling frustrated, having to do work that doesn't really make any sense. Do you resonate with this? https://etc.ch/bd4c
14. Impact.. next question How painful is this for you?
15. ALL OF RESPONDENTS WERE FACING THIS ISSUE YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 63 @PyConIT
16. 4.25 / 5 PAIN LEVEL 3 4 5 2 1 Not painful at all Very painful YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 62 @PyConIT
17. STRATEGIES Do have a plan!
18. STRATEGIES Do have a plan! Communicate at the intersection between business & tech
19. STRATEGIES Do have a plan! Communication at the intersection between business & tech Practice reverse engineering on decisions .. can you imagine what the missing context is?
20. #2 YOU ARE TRYING TO GET A BETTER ROLE - EITHER WITHIN THE SAME COMPANY OR IN A NEW ONE, BY ADVOCATING FOR YOURSELF AND DESCRIBING HOW AND WHY YOU ARE QUALIFIED. BUT YOU STRUGGLE TO CLEARLY COMMUNICATE THE ACTUAL VALUE YOU CAN CREATE. SO THE DECISION MAKER/HIRING MANAGER DOESN'T SEE YOU FITTING THE ROLE, AND YOU DON'T GET IT Do you resonate with this? https://etc.ch/bd4c
21. Impact.. next question How painful is this for you?
22. AGAIN.. ALL OF RESPONDENTS WERE FACING THIS ISSUE YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 46 @PyConIT
23. IMPACT: 4.25 / 5 PAIN LEVEL 3 4 5 2 1 Not painful at all Very painful YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 50 @PyConIT
24. STRATEGIES Understand and translate your achievements to business impact
25. STRATEGIES Use story telling to answer questions Understand and translate your achievements to business impact
26. STRATEGIES Use story telling to answer questions Understand and translate your achievements to business impact Do mock interviews, get feedback!
27. #3 YOU ARE LEVELING UP YOUR SKILLS TO GET READY FOR YOUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY, BY TAKING COURSES, READING AND RESEARCHING IN YOUR SPARE TIME. BUT YOU LACK CLARITY ON EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AND HOW YOU WANT TO GROW, SO YOU END UP LEARNING A LITTLE OF EVERYTHING, NOT PROGRESSING FAST ENOUGH IN A SPECIFIC DIRECTION Do you resonate with this? https://etc.ch/bd4c
28. Impact.. next question How painful is this for you?
29. AGAIN.. ALL OF RESPONDENTS WERE FACING THIS ISSUE YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 42 @PyConIT
30. IMPACT: 3.9 / 5 PAIN LEVEL 3 4 5 2 1 Not painful at all Very painful YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 43 @PyConIT
31. STRATEGIES Know yourself! Your values, the things you enjoy at work!
32. STRATEGIES Pick a direction, what are you missing to getting there? Know yourself! Your values, the things you enjoy at work!
33. STRATEGIES Pick a direction, what are you missing to getting there? Know yourself! Your values, the things you enjoy at work! Instead of focusing on skills and languages to learn, focus on abilities!
34. #4 YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS AND GET RECOGNITION FOR YOUR IDEAS, BEING THE GO TO PERSON IN YOUR FIELD, SO YOU ARE BEING PROACTIVE IN MEETINGS AND SHARING IDEAS IN WEEKLY UPDATES. BUT YOU STILL DON'T GET INVITED TO THE MEETINGS WHERE DECISIONS ARE BEING MADE, SO YOU END UP DOING WORK OTHERS HAVE COME UP WITH AND GET RECOGNITION FOR. Do you resonate with this? https://etc.ch/bd4c
35. Impact.. next question How painful is this for you?
36. 81% OF RESPONDENTS WERE FACING THIS ISSUE YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 28 @PyConIT
37. IMPACT: 3.4 / 5 PAIN LEVEL FOR 81% OF RESPONDENTS 3 4 5 2 1 Not painful at all Very painful YES, ABSOLUTELY SOMEWHAT NOT AT ALL 33 @PyConIT
38. STRATEGIES Collaborate across teams
39. STRATEGIES Find out what skills are needed in your business to get invited to the table Collaborate across teams
40. STRATEGIES Find out what skills are needed in your business to get invited to the table Collaborate across teams Build relationships with leaders who can advocate and sponsor your inclusion
41. #5 YOU ARE WORKING ON A PROBLEM THAT YOU FIND INTERESTING FROM A DATA PERSPECTIVE. BUT YOU HAVEN'T SPENT THE TIME IDENTIFYING IF IT'S REALLY WHAT THE BUSINESS NEEDS, SO YOU END UP SPENDING YOUR TIME DOING SOMETHING THAT ISN'T HAVING ANY REAL IMPACT Do you resonate with this? https://etc.ch/bd4c
42. ONLY 44% OF RESPONDENTS WERE FACING THIS ISSUE WITH A PAIN LEVEL OF 2.9 37 @PyConIT
43. This might not have resonated with them as is.. Because, if you feel like your career is stagnating, then you are probably doing this without realizing the e ff ect now, nor the future pain Poll results
44. #BONUS YOU’VE TRIED EVERYTHING AT WORK TO GET A PROMOTION. BUT EVERY TIME YOU TALK TO YOUR MANAGER THEY FIND SOMETHING ELSE FOR YOU TO IMPROVE AT, YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WILL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH Do you resonate with this? https://etc.ch/bd4c 33@PyConIT
45. STRATEGIES Manage up!
46. STRATEGIES Identify what is the high impact work that you could be involved in Manage up!
47. STRATEGIES Identify what is the high impact work that you could be involved in Manage up! Make space for work that contributes to your goals
48. AND FINALLY ✨ You can break any of these cycles! You will need people to act as mirrors - re fl ect you patterns, cycles, behaviors back to you LISTEN NO PRESSURE TO DECIDE NO STAKE IN OUR DECISION COMPASSION
49. THANK YOU! LET’S CONNECT! ESPECIALLY IF YOU OR A FRIEND NEEDS A COACH! LINKEDIN.COM/IN/TEREZA-IOFCIU/ SPECIAL THANKS TO JESSICA GREENE, MARY BAJOREK AND KINA LIUNGMAN FOR HELPING WITH THIS TALK 🫶
50. If you want to see the results from PyConIT, they are up until June 29 2025 Survey results https://directpoll.com/r?XDbzPBd3ixYqg89YIVMja8AZhDcLH913q5UpzlDsBcPpY If you are interested participating in the original survey, here is the link https://forms.gle/EGtCpHqX2oQJPkzk7