Editor's note: Daniel Siddle is a finalist of the 2022 Researcher of the Year (End-Client) Award which is a category in the Marketing Research and Insight Excellence Awards. To find out more about the awards click here.

Don’t just become a technical expert. The best insight professionals blend in-depth knowledge of methods with a strong understanding of their audience and how to prompt them into action. A solid foundation in applying different methods is very important but is also arguably the easiest bit to learn. 

To become a great researcher it’s important to practice asking the right questions and interrogating data. I think we under appreciate the skill it takes to turn briefs or stakeholder requests into research plans that answer the questions that truly matter. And we can’t just stop there. Answering the question will only get you so far.  To have impact you need to influence, which means truly understanding clients or stakeholders and spending time tailoring how you work with them to drive the right outcomes. This is where stakeholder management and storytelling can make a real difference. Skilled researchers learn to triangulate findings and think in terms of brand and business strategy, rather than just deliverables for individual projects. This bridges the gap between research that is used to inform, and research that truly influences and shapes the fortunes of a company. More generally I’d encourage individuals to think about how they learn. Use a mixture of formal learning, experience and learning from others. I’ve had some mentors who have really helped me on my journey and have found people are generally happy to help if you are clear with your request and appreciative of their time. To find the right mentor you need to pinpoint what you want to learn and then it becomes easy to work out who might help you with that. The best mentors may well be outside of your direct network or even outsi...