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There’s been a lot of new subscribers to this newsletter lately, on top of which I’ve been AWOL visiting family in Australia and haven’t published this newsletter over the last 3 weeks. So before I dive into the topic today, I wanted to say hi and invite you all to connect with me on LinkedIn and Instagram if you haven’t already. Enjoy today’s post!

1:1s are the most consistently wasted meeting in a data leader's calendar.

I see them done poorly among many of my clients, both from the manager’s perspective and from the employee’s perspective.

Here’s how they typically go down:

The manager opens with "so, what's on your plate this week?" Direct report runs through their list of sh*t they’re working on. They’ll discuss deliverables and blockers, and invariably the manager will add a few actions for the employee to focus on next week.

Does that sound familiar to you? Is that how you and your manager run your 1:1s? Is that how you run 1:1s with your direct reports?

This dynamic is nothing more than a status update. And if that's how your 1:1s are running, then you and your people are missing out on a huge opportunity for growth and development. 

1:1s are not a project/task check-in. They are the primary mechanism through which you develop your people, give timely feedback, and have honest career conversations to help that person move forward. Used properly, they are one of the highest leverage activities in your calendar.

Most data leaders are also direct reports. So while the focus in today’s post is on helping data leaders like you run better 1:1s with your team, the same logic applies upward. If your manager treats your 1:1s as a status review, you have every right to try and change that. 

This works in both directions - Let’s take a look 👇🏻

The 1:1 is the only truly dedicated, recurring space to talk about the things that genuinely matter to someone's career and development. 

When that time and space is hijacked by task management and box ticking, then important conversations that we all need to have, never end up happening. 

Things like:

These conversations should not just take place once at the end of the year. They should be a small part of a much bigger conversation about employee growth and development.

1️⃣ Your people stop growing at the rate they should
Our job as managers is to develop talent. 1:1s are a crucial ingredient in that as they allow for consistent and purposeful check-ins to make sure your folks are on track

2️⃣ You risk losing talented people without seeing it coming
1:1s are a safe place for your team members to be upfront with us about how they’re felling. If you don’t make time for these candid conversations you’ll be in the dark as a manager.

3️⃣ Annual reviews become awkward and adversarial
1:1s are an important part of the annual review process. Done properly, your directs will know where they stand with you through out the year, and will not be surprised with the outcomes of end of year conversations.

4️⃣ You lose visibility as a leader:
Without knowing what your people need and where they are headed, you are navigating blindly. You’re potentially unaware of discontent that might be bubbling away beneath the surface.

👨🏻‍🔧 Always have an agenda

Share a short agenda before every call. Three or four topics is enough. This ensures the conversation hits the notes that both parties want to cover.

If your own manager does not do this, start doing it yourself. Send the agenda. Frame the topics. Most managers will follow your lead (after all, you need to be in control of your own development).

If you are the manager here, encourage your folks to do the same.

📆 Treat every 1:1 as a chapter in the annual review

If someone wants a promotion or pay increase at the next cycle, that goal should be named early and tracked throughout the year. Use your 1:1s to tell them honestly how they are tracking and what needs to change before the review arrives.

🎁 Give feedback while it is still useful

Feedback has a short shelf life. The closer it is received to the moment, the better it lands and gets acted on. If the feedback is stored up and delivered six months later, all context is lost and it comes across very poorly. 1:1s are your mechanism for keeping feedback timely.

♥️ Make space for what only you can help with

There will always be things your direct reports cannot resolve without you. A difficult dynamic with a senior stakeholder, or uncertainty about how they are perceived at the level above. These conversations need a safe space and someone with the authority to help navigate them.

If your people are not bringing you these challenges, ask yourself whether the environment feels safe enough for them to do so. Look into the concept of psychological safety if you need to.

Run well, the 1:1 is one of the most powerful tools you have as a data leader. It is where trust is built, careers get shaped, and the kind of feedback that makes people genuinely better gets exchanged week after week.

If yours are currently a task review process and little more, that is worth changing. Not next quarter. This week.

If you would like to think through how you lead and develop your team more effectively, that is exactly the work I do with data leaders in private coaching. Book a call here to explore whether it is the right fit for you.

Tristan Burns

Find me on LinkedIn or Book a 1:1 call

Last week, I asked you: What do you typically do in a leadership meeting when you don't have clean numbers?

Here’s how you responded: