The chief data officer (CDO) role has evolved to reflect the need to be insights driven. Successful data insights leaders understand the needs of business partners and employ resources to deliver relevant insights and guide actions — translating insights into business impact. Successful data leaders start with a listening tour to understand the needs of their business partners. Together they identify and prioritize potential projects. Where quick results prove elusive, CDOs iterate to deliver both short-term and longer-term value. This report describes 12 steps to build, scale, and sustain an effective data insights function.