Why you, yes YOU, should apply to be the next Tableau Ambassador.
This past year, I’ve enjoyed serving as a Tableau Public Ambassador. Doing work in Tableau Public has not only helped my career, but it’s something I also enjoy as a hobby. It’s brought me great joy as an Ambassador to showcase what’s possible with Tableau to end users, and also to help ‘on the inside’ by giving product feedback and elevating other’s work through programs like Viz of the Day.
It’s that time of year for nominations for the next cohort of Tableau Ambassadors, and I remember feeling apprehensive last year as I hit ‘send’ on my application. If I felt that way, I can imagine I’m not the only one. If you’re wondering whether or not to throw your hat in the ring, I put together some thoughts that helped me, and hopefully will help you evaluate your decision.
Read what being a Tableau Ambassador means — from the Community Team
I could tell you what being a Tableau Ambassador means to me, or you could read about what it means to other folks as well. However, everyone’s experience is different — and that’s why I’d encourage you to start at the beginning, with the official language from the community team. There are several branches, each serving a slice of the community in different ways.
If the descriptions of one of the branches aligns with what you already enjoy doing in the community — great! On to the next step.
Take a look at your accomplishments: ignore everybody else (really!)
We live in an age of constant content. I don’t see this changing anytime soon. When we see a never ending streams of information, whether it’s vizzes, blogs, videos, tweets, etc, it can be easy to feel like whatever you’re doing isn’t enough. Why should I have a chance when others are out there doing so much more than me?
The answer is — you’re not judged on the number of vizzes, likes, followers, etc. For example, as a Tableau Public ambassador, the guidelines for applying are not “in the top 10% of viz creators”. If we go back to the article above, we see “Tableau Public Ambassadors showcase the creative power of Tableau. They drive a feedback loop and healthy space for connection, welcome newcomers, and model engagement.” Now, obviously, this does means there’s an expectation I stay active on Tableau Public. But there’s no obligation to crank out something every week or have each viz look better than the last.
On the application form, there are links for you to include your Tableau Public profile, social media profiles, blog posts etc. But you’ll also notice that none of these are required. You do not need to do all those things or do what it feels like everyone else is doing — it’s simply the best way the community team can make sure they have access to your portfolio, no matter what corner of the internet it lives in. Speaking of portfolio…
You are your own best advocate
I only follow ~300ish people on Twitter. On LinkedIn, if we haven’t spoken or worked directly together, there’s a good chance I’ll deny a connection request. It’s how I (attempt to) stay sane online, and I don’t anticipate changing my personal policies anytime soon.
Because my social circles are on the smaller side— there are many people who are great leaders in the community that I simply have not noticed their work. They could be on a different social platform than me. I may not have read their blog. Maybe I only saw their viz because someone from my network shared it. Maybe I haven’t attended their Tableau User Group yet.
This means — don’t count on me (or someone else) to nominate you! If you want to be an Ambassador, you are your own best advocate. You know your portfolio best, and most importantly, you know where you’d like to spend your energy the most. It may feel uncomfortable to nominate yourself. I know it did for me. But as someone who has dabbled in various corners of the community, I knew that Tableau Public was the area I wanted to focus on, and I could not count on others to read my mind for that. If you’re feeling unsure about which area you’d like to spend your time in, I’m happy to talk about my experience as a Tableau Public ambassador, and I’m sure Ambassadors in other branches would be happy to chat as well.
TL;DR — don’t count yourself out
It’s natural to look at what others have done, and think “well I haven’t done that.” But this does not mean you shouldn’t apply! The biggest asset of the data community is its diversity. I believe the community team does a great job selecting folks for Ambassador positions — but their job starts with the applications they have. Kimly Scott put this well —” you can’t be what you can’t see. Nominate the diverse people who have inspired you”.
Your contributions will look different than mine, which will look different than someone else’s — that’s what makes the community great. I’ve also heard concerns from folks hesitant to apply that they’d be ‘taking up a slot’. I’d argue…that’s not your call to make. It’s up to the community team to choose the next cohort, and as I mentioned above, they can only choose from the pool of applications and nominations they’ve received. I encourage you to apply — the worst that can happen is you don’t get chosen! If later you decide it’s not for you, you can always turn a nomination down. Either way, you’ll have given yourself the chance, and no one can take that away from you.
Closing thoughts
Some of this advice might feel rich coming from me — I’m already an Ambassador, so I’ve already “made it”, so a lot of this might sound easy for me to type since I’ve already got the title.
As I mentioned earlier, I was hesitant to apply last year. I’m really glad I did. But when I was selected, I felt a different kind of apprehension — now what? I felt a bit of pressure (self-induced) to do ‘more’, and felt my work needed to be at a different level than it was before.
The best advice I received at that time, was “if you got the recognition, that means you’re already doing enough. You don’t have to change what you’re doing.”
I’ve come back to that advice many times over the last year. It helps me decide on projects to take on — I can ask myself “would I do this without the title?” If the answer is yes, then I keep going. I don’t work on things that don’t spark joy just to grow a follower count, or get more likes or recognition. Sure it’s nice when people like my viz, but at the end of the day, the stuff I publish — I do it because I enjoy it. And if someone comments that something I shared helped them, then that’s icing on the cake.
I’m planning on applying again to be an Ambassador this year — but if I don’t make the cut it will not change what I’m doing. I’ve enjoyed my time as an Ambassador, and you’ll still find me hanging out in the corners of the internet, making vizzes I find fun, and maybe you’ll catch me in real life at Tableau Conference in San Diego next year. :)
