The #DataFam: 129 Authors From 21 Countries Spanning Six Continents Share Their 2020 Tableau Inspirations
By: Adam Mico
Tags: Inspiration, Data Visualization, Community, Diversity In Tech, Data

Pawan Sachdeva (India)

Twitter | LinkedIn | Blog or Website

2020 has been an arduous year for almost every one of us but little did I know that this year would be the worst and best for me in so many ways. I joined the Tableau community in January’20 and it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made (Why? You will get to know if you can bear with me for a few more minutes — this is my first blog post)

I started working full time in Tableau just last year, mainly working with text tables and standard charts. At that time, I didn’t know how Tableau and Tableau community would change my life, both personally and professionally. Though I was not connected to the community in 2019, I used to watch VizConnect sessions every week, just for fun. I remember the first two sessions that I watched were of Kevin Flerlage and Adam Mico, the two most amazing people in the community. I got to know about MakeoverMonday (community weekly Viz Project) through VizConnect but never participated back then.

It was just in January 2020, that I hopped on to Tableau Public to seek inspiration for a DataViz competition in our organization. I explored a few profiles — Kevin Flerlage, Pradeep Kumar, and Adam Mico; and was so amazed to see the quality of their work that it inspired me to create a Twitter account at that very moment and take part in MakeoverMonday. I had no expectations or goals as to what I want to achieve (just grow my Tableau skills) and I certainly didn’t know that this is the start of an amazing journey for me.

Reflecting on my journey to date, I would like to express my gratitude to the Tableau Community and my mentor Adam Mico for making this journey so rewarding.

Tableau Community (#Datafam)

When I started with MakeoverMonday, I didn’t know where it would take me and I certainly did not know about the amazing Tableau Community. My first three Vizzes didn’t get much response but for the next one, I got a few good reviews (to my surprise) and feedback from people I didn’t even know. I was so amazed to see how members of the community support each other and explain how you can improve your Viz. That’s when I got my first #TableauFF (Tableau Follow Friday) from Brian Moore wherein he highlighted my profile and gave a warm shout-out. Two weeks later, I got another shout out from Adam Mico and Eric Balash. This was an amazing feeling and I started to feel a part of this amazing and giving community. It is this huge support and warmth of the Tableau community that makes you feel you are a part of this family.

Also, joining the community opened the gateway for a plethora of resources to improve my skills (new techniques from blogs, new chart types, new color schemes). A few blogs that I have used throughout my journey — Flerlage Twins (Kevin and Ken Flerlage), Tableau Magic (Toan Hoang), Sarah Loves Data (Sarah Bartlett), Viz Zen Data (Lindsay Betzendahl), and Adam Mico blogs (Adam Mico).

Being an omnivert, I had a limited group of friends before joining the community (I was confined to my own bubble) but I never thought that apart from improving my Tableau and design skills, I can make great friends all around the globe with whom I can talk about Tableau, personal stuff, cultures or just fun hangouts. I would like to thank all of them for showing their support and encouragement throughout my journey but to name a few — My best friend Adam Mico, Dzifa Amexo, Kevin Flerlage, Ravi Kumar, Ghafar Shah.

Mentorship

My first blog wouldn’t be complete without expressing my gratitude to my mentor and best friend Adam Mico. I recently became a Tableau Public Featured Author (could not have dreamt of becoming one when I joined the community) and I owe this recognition to Adam.

Adam became my mentor in April’20 and working with him made me realize the importance of mentorship in every aspect of our lives. Quoting a line from one of Adam’s blog — “Mentoring helps smooth out bumps, give them a trusted source of feedback, and/or a sounding board & paves the way for networking opportunities”. Well, every point is so true. Adam provided such valuable feedback on my Vizzes and small design tips that made a big impact. Adam stood with me like a great friend during the toughest phase of my life this year and helped me heal and get back on track. He is genuinely one of the most inspiring and motivating member of the community. It was because of his guidance and confidence in my abilities that I became a Featured Author recently. I was so happy that Adam recently won The Michael W. Cristiani Community Leadership Award during TC20 for everything that he does for the community and is undoubtedly one of the most inspiring community leaders. I learnt from Adam how important it is to give back to the community and what a great feeling it is to see others grow. I am so blessed to have a mentor and great friend like Adam.

Growing and learning with the community helped me discover my passion for data visualization and bring out my creative side. This amazing community has given me the opportunity and the platform to improve my skills, meet lifelong friends, and help me grow in my career. Thank you everyone for your support. You all are the best!