Is your Institutional Research (IR) or Institutional Effectiveness (IE) office feeling the strain of endless, urgent data requests? In this special roundtable episode of the Data Stakes podcast, host Debbie Phelps sits down with three higher education data experts to tackle one of the most difficult—yet critical—skills for data professionals to master: saying "no."

Following their packed-house session at the AIR Forum, Katherine Gipalo (Florida State University), Samantha Nix (Florida State University), and Samantha James (Georgia Tech) share their experiences and strategies for managing stakeholder expectations, overcoming the fear of failure, and protecting data teams from burnout.

In this episode, we cover:

• Reframing the "No": How to use project management strategies and clear scoping to negotiate realistic timelines (the "Yes, but..." approach).
• Overcoming the People-Pleasing Trap: Practical advice for shifting out of a resource-scarcity mindset and protecting your own mental health and capacity.
• Empowering Stakeholders: Tactics to turn a flat "no" into a collaborative "yes" by encouraging data literacy and shared responsibility on campus.
• Tactical Boundary Setting: Actionable everyday tips, including strict calendar blocking, transparent shared task lists, and leveraging data request forms to justify and triage your workload.

Whether you're running a one-person shop or leading a growing team, this conversation is packed with actionable advice to help you regain control of your data portfolio and build a healthier, more sustainable data culture on your campus.

Listen to Episode 15 now!

(Data Stakes is sponsored by the Data Analytics Alliance for Higher Education. To learn more about our upcoming quarterly meeting or today's topic, reach out to dephelps@datatelligent.ai)