I have been a data team manager for six months, and my team has grown from three to five.
I wrote about my initial manager experiences back in November. In this article, I want to talk about something that is more essential to the relationship between a DS or DA individual contributor (IC) and their manager — the 1:1 meetings. I remember when I first started my career, I felt nervous and awkward in my 1:1s, as I didn’t know what to expect or what was useful. Now, having been on both sides during 1:1s, I understand better how to have an effective 1:1 meeting.
If you have ever struggled with how to make the best out of your 1:1s, here are my essential tips.
I. Set up a regular 1:1 cadence
First and foremost, 1:1 meetings with your manager should happen regularly. It could be weekly or biweekly, depending on the pace of your projects. For example, if you are more analytics-focused and have lots of fast-moving reporting and analysis tasks, a weekly 1:1 might be better to provide timely updates and align on project prioritization. However, if you are focusing on a long-term machine learning project that will span multiple weeks, you might feel more comfortable with a biweekly cadence — this allows you to do your research, try different approaches, and have meaningful conversations during 1:1s.
I have weekly recurring 30-minute 1:1 slots with everyone on my team, just to make sure I always have this dedicated time for them every week. These meetings sometimes end up being short 15-minute chats or even casual conversations about life after work, but I still find them super helpful for staying updated on what’s on top of everyone’s mind and building personal connections.
II. Make preparations and update your 1:1 agenda
Preparing for your 1:1 is critical. I maintain a shared 1:1 document with my manager and update it every week before our meetings. I also appreciate my direct reports preparing their 1:1 agenda beforehand. Here is why:
- Throughout the week, I like to jot down discussion topics quickly on my 1:1 doc whenever they come to my mind. This ensures I cover all important points during the meeting and improves communication effectiveness.
- Having an agenda helps both you and your manager keep track of what has been discussed and keeps everyone accountable. We talk to many people every day, so it is totally normal if you lose track of what you have mentioned to someone. Therefore, having such a doc reminds you of your previous conversations. Now, as a manager with a team of five, I also turn to the 1:1 docs to ensure I address all open questions and action items from the last meeting and find links to past projects.
- It can also assist your performance review process. When writing my self-review, I read through my 1:1 doc to list my achievements. Similarly, I also use the 1:1 docs with my team to make sure I do not miss any highlights from their projects.
So, what are good topics for 1:1? See the section below.
III. Topics on your 1:1 agenda
While each manager has their preferences, there’s a wide range of topics that are generally appropriate for 1:1s. You don’t have to cover every one of them, but I hope they give you some inspiration and you no longer feel clueless about your 1:1.
- Achievements since the last 1:1: I recommend listing the latest achievements in your 1:1 doc. You don’t have to talk about each one in detail during the meeting, but it’s good to give your manager visibility and remind them how good you are 🙂. It is also a good idea to highlight both your effort and impact. Business is usually impact-driven, and the data team is no exception. If your A/B test leads to a go/no-go decision, mention that in the meeting. If your analysis leads to a product idea, bring it up and discuss how you plan to support the development and measure the impact.
- Ongoing and upcoming projects: One common pattern I’ve observed in my 7-year career is that Data Teams usually have long backlogs with numerous “urgent” requests. 1:1 is a good time to align with your manager on shifting priorities and timelines.
- If your project is blocked, let your manager know. While independence is always appreciated, unexpected blockers can arise at anytime. It’s perfectly acceptable to work through the blockers with your manager, as they typically have more experience and are supposed to empower you to complete your projects. It is better to let your manager know ahead of time instead of letting them find out themselves later and ask you why you missed the timeline. Meanwhile, ideally, you don’t just bring up the blockers but also suggest possible solutions or ask for specific help. For example, “I am blocked on accessing X data. Should I prioritize building the data pipeline with the data engineer or push for an ad-hoc pull?” This shows you are a true problem-solver with a growth mindset.
- Career growth: You can also use the 1:1 time to talk about career growth topics. Career growth for data scientists isn’t just about promotions. You might be more interested in growing technical expertise in a specific domain, such as experimentation, or moving from DS to different functions like MLE, or gaining Leadership experience and transitioning to a people management role, just like me. To make sure you are moving towards your career goal, you should have this conversation with your manager regularly so they can provide corresponding advice and match you with projects that align with your long-term goal.
- I also have monthly career growth check-in sessions with my team to specifically talk about career progress. If you always find your 1:1 time being occupied by project updates, consider setting up a separate meeting like this with your manager.
- Feedback: Feedback should go both directions.
- Your manager likely does not have as much time to work on data projects as you do. Therefore, you might notice inefficiencies in project workflows, analysis processes, or cross-functional collaboration that they aren’t aware of. Don’t hesitate to bring these up. And similar to handling blockers, it’s recommended to think about potential solutions before going to the meeting to show your manager you are a team player who contributes to the team’s culture and success. For example, instead of saying, “We’re getting too many ad-hoc requests,” frame it as “Ad-hoc requests coming through Slack DMs reduce our focus time on planned projects. Could we invite stakeholders to our sprint planning meetings to align on priorities and have a more formal request intake process during the sprint?”
- Meanwhile, you can also use this opportunity to ask your manager for any feedback on your performance. This helps you identify gaps, improve continuously, and ensures there are no surprises during your official performance review 🙂
- Team and company goals: Change is the only constant in business. Data teams work closely with stakeholders, so data scientists need to understand the company’s priorities and what matters most at the moment. For example, if your company is focusing on retention, you might want to analyze drivers of higher retention and propose corresponding marketing campaign ideas to your stakeholder.
To give you a more concrete idea of the 1:1 agenda, let’s assume you work at a consumer bank and focus on the credit card rewards domain. Here is a sample agenda:
Date: 03/03/2025
✅ Last week’s accomplishments
- Rewards A/B test analysis [link]: Shared with stakeholders, and we will launch the winning treatment A to broader users in Q1.
- Rewards redemption analysis [link]: Most users redeem rewards for statement balance. Talking to the marketing team to run an email campaign advertising other redemption options.
🗒 Ongoing projects
- [P0] Rewards <> churn analysis: Understand if rewards activities are correlated with churn. ETA 3/7.
- [P1] Rewards costs dashboard: Build a dashboard tracking the costs of all rewards activities. ETA 3/12.
- [Blocked] Travel credit usage dashboard: Waiting for DE to set up the travel booking table. Followed up on 2/27. Need escalation?
- [Deprioritized] Retail merchant bonus rewards campaign support: This was deprioritized by the marketing team as we delayed the campaign.
🔍 Other topics
- I would like to gain more experience in machine learning. Are there any project opportunities?
- Any feedback on my collaboration with the stakeholder?
Please also keep in mind that you should update your 1:1 doc actively during the meeting. It should reflect what is discussed and include important notes for each bullet point. You can even add an ‘Action Items’ section at the bottom of each meeting agenda to make the next steps clear.
Final thoughts
Above are my essential tips to run effective 1:1s as a data scientist. By establishing regular meetings, preparing thoughtful agendas, and covering meaningful topics, you can transform these meetings from awkward status updates into valuable growth opportunities. Remember, your 1:1 isn’t just about updating your manager — it’s about getting the support, guidance, and visibility you need to grow in your role.