Translating Leadership to Insights Influence
To lead with confidence and gain influence in market research, stop presenting raw data and start telling strategic, action-oriented stories. Anchor your insights to clear business outcomes, lead by anticipating executive concerns, and combine data-driven facts with empathy for the consumer.
In the blog, “From insights to influence,” KAE presents several tips worth refreshing when it comes to developing and honing the skills needed for insights leadership. KAE first brings up a key point, that “research only drives impact when it’s designed to survive the internal reality it has to live in i.e. senior stakeholders, competing priorities, regulatory constraints, and long product roadmaps. The difference between research that simply exists vs. research that shapes decisions typically comes down to how deliberately it’s designed, integrated, and positioned.”
1. Start with the decision, not the research. If you want research to matter at the leadership level, it needs to make a specific decision easier for someone who carries real accountability. Before you brief a project, pressure-test it with three simple questions: What decision will this help someone make? Who needs to feel confident enough to act on it? What would change if the findings were clear?
2. Combine customer and competitor insight. One of the fastest ways for research to lose clarity is when customer insight and competitor insight are treated as separate exercises—they should be integrated, according to KAE.
3. Flex the format to fit the audience. Often, the same research needs to do very different jobs at once. Treating insight as a single deck for everyone usually dilutes its impact, so adapting the format to how each audience likes to absorb, socialize, and act on insight can make a huge difference in how it lands.
4. Design research to challenge, not just confirm. Research that simply confirms what the organization already believes rarely changes behavior. The strongest projects are deliberately designed to understand: What customers are trading off, not just what they like; where internal assumptions don’t match external reality; what really drives choice when everything can’t be prioritized. This can be uncomfortable but it’s also where trust is built.
5. Use partners who understand your market, not just the method. Good research process matters, but context matters just as much. Choosing partners with deep industry expertise is one of the most effective ways to raise the quality and credibility of research. This can be the difference between an insight being debated endlessly, or being accepted as a solid foundation for action.
6. Always land on a clear point of view. Insight creates influence when it leads somewhere. Don’t stop at findings. Be explicit about what this means for your product or proposition; what we should do differently as a result; and what risk we run if we don’t act.
This doesn’t mean over-reaching, notes KAE. It means having the confidence to translate evidence into a recommendation.
Learning Leadership Skills to Drive Impact
During TMRE 2026, which will be held October 5-7, the keynote, “How to Lead with Confidence and Be More Influential,” will be presented by Dr. Amy Cuddy, Social Psychologist & Bestselling Author, on Tuesday, October 6.
From the classroom to the boardroom, nonverbal behavior directly impacts the levels of trustworthiness and strength we present to others—and to ourselves—in our daily interactions. Social psychologist, award-winning teacher and best-selling author Amy Cuddy shares the groundbreaking and compelling research for which she has garnered national acclaim to teach audiences how to become more influential in their personal and professional lives. Explaining how nonverbal behavior and snap judgments influence people, Cuddy examines how leaders can use this cutting-edge science to prepare the brain for high-stakes situations, perform at their best and empower others to do the same.
Click here for more TMRE 2026 registration information and the show agenda.
Becoming a More Influential Insights Leader
KAE makes a further point that when research is designed with intent, it delivers a double return, because the business gets clearer priorities, better decisions, and propositions grounded in real customer value. Not to mention that insights then can continue to build credibility as a strategic partner that shapes overall direction.
“If you can achieve those things, research stops being a ‘good deck’ that ends up in a folder hidden away in your internal system, and starts becoming one of the most powerful tools product marketing has,” says KAE.
Video: “How to immediately become a more influential leader,” courtesy of Lia Garvin.
