In a perfect world, one-on-one meetings would be a dedicated space for managers and direct reports to discuss performance, personal development and feedback. Let’s be real, though: a lot of the time, these meetings turn into routine status updates—nothing more. In fact, according to the 2019 State of one-on-ones report, 54% of managers admitted that one of the main purposes of these meetings was to get a status update from their direct reports.
Two ways to avoid status updates during one-on-ones are to:
Set a goal for your meeting. This will help influence the types of conversations had and the types of questions asked.
Ask questions that go beyond “work” and project updates.
“One-on-ones are such an important time to build trust and that’s tough to do if this time is treated as a status update.”
-Connor Bradley, Director of Growth at Jobber
Managers and employees alike struggle with what questions to ask in a one-on-one meeting, how to phrase them so you’re opening up the conversation and how to prompt the difficult conversations that we tend to avoid.
Below are 121 tried and true (by real managers and employees) questions to add to your next one-on-one meeting:
Managers and employees should share ownership of the agenda
We are strong believers that one-on-ones should be treated as an employee’s time with you, the manager. However, you’re still equally responsible for participating and contributing to the conversation, pre, during and post-meeting.
Sharing responsibility is a great way to build trust between both parties. However, it’s important to remember that one-on-ones are made to help the direct report. Although you may share ownership of this time, you need to let your direct report lead the conversation, always.
There are several ways to go about this, so find a structure that works best for you and each direct report. Here are a few you can try out:
The 10/10/10 model
“Our structure is typically the 10/10/10 model: 10 minutes for the direct to speak what is on their mind first, then 10 minutes for my items, then 10 minutes ‘for the future,’ discussing what specific action items there might be from the conversation to make sure we follow up on.”
“The agenda is set by the team member, so it tends to vary with what’s on their mind or where they need support or feedback. Once per quarter, however, the agenda is pre-set. During this quarterly check-in, we have a career session to discuss progression and give more ‘formal’ feedback on the current quarter’s performance. As our performance reviews take place every six months, this is an important check-in.”
The “set meeting guidelines and let them run with it” model
“I have a basic guideline that my reports use as a starting point. But again, this is their meeting – so they adapt the agenda based on what they need to talk about.”
The “If we have time for my items we’ll talk about them” model
“I maintain a list of topics to cover as well (some are time-sensitive, some are not), but if we don’t have time for my topics in our 1:1, then I’ll follow up on those things afterward.”
👉 If you’re not sure where to start, check out these one-on-one meeting templates to help inspire your next conversation.
What do you talk about in one-on-one meetings?
We strongly believe that conversations need to focus on four key areas: Growth, motivation, communication and work, with each topic taking up roughly 25% of your meeting conversations. We call this the balance framework:
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Growth What projects would you like to work on or be more involved in?
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Motivation What’s one thing that should change to make you happier at work?
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Communication Where has our communication faltered? Can you give me an example?
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Work What, if anything, feels harder than it should be in your day-to-day work?
Growth
These conversations revolve around your direct report’s personal and professional growth and development. According to Gallup, when employees have consistent performance feedback, they become emotionally and psychologically attached to their work and workplace.
Motivation
Motivation-focused conversations can be proactive, where you’re motivating your direct reports on an ongoing basis. This happens over time as you build a deeper understanding of what makes them happy, gets them excited and makes them frustrated. They could also be treated as a pulse-check, where you’re asking for more of a snapshot into how they’re feeling currently.
Communication
These types of conversations can open up possibilities for improving how you communicate, whether it’s one-on-one or as a team. Communication-focused topics revolve around how information is being passed from one individual to the other, think feedback, meetings, tech-stack, remote communication and so, so much more. How does your direct report like to receive feedback? Is it presented verbally or written out?
Work
Work-focused conversations can easily monopolize one-on-ones, turning them into status updates. To avoid this, focus on things like eliminating roadblocks, improving processes or discussing team strategies.
Pro tip: Hypercontext meeting insights recommends resources and questions you can ask to have more balanced conversations based on your historical one-on-one meeting data.
One-on-one questions managers can ask employees
Questions about growth and development
What has been the work highlight/lowlight from the past week?
Who’s someone in the company that you’d like to learn more from?
What projects would you like to work on or be more involved in?
What professional goals would you like to accomplish in the next 6 to 12 months, and what makes you say that?
What’s something you’re itching to try that you haven’t had the time or resources to do?
Is your job what you expected when you accepted it? If not, where has it differed?
What other roles at [your company] do you find interesting? What skills do those roles require that you would like to work on?
What else can I be doing to help progress your career?
What are your work and non-work highlights of the past month?
What’s one thing you’d like to do more of, outside of work this coming month?
“What is a big, audacious goal that you’d like to achieve this quarter?” Whether it’s personal or for work, I love this question because I like to think that I am helping make big ✨✨ dreams come true.
How employees can drive the one-on-one conversation
Set expectations with your manager
If you’re entering a one-on-one as the direct report, it’s important to remind not only yourself but your manager that this is your time with them. Let them know that you’re both equally responsible for adding items to the meeting agenda and coming prepared to discuss.
Adding a meeting description, whether it’s in your calendar invite or shared agenda, is a great way to hold one another accountable for taking ownership of the meeting. Don’t forget to include the purpose of the meeting in your description as well.
Here’s an example of one between one of my direct reports and I:
Treat this as a dedicated time to talk about anything you want to (with respect to your manager’s time, of course). If there are roadblocks that you’re facing, add them to the agenda leading up to the meeting. If you feel like you’re deserving of a raise, start that conversation. Utilize this time of undivided attention to allow you to really succeed and hit the ground running between this and the next one-on-one.
Remember that your manager is not a mind reader, so use this time to let them know how you feel about the work you’re doing, the work you want to do and how you’d like to progress within the organization.
If you’re unsure about how to even start these conversations, check out some of these questions below to get things going.
One-on-one questions employees can ask managers
Questions about career growth and personal development
What steps can I take right now to progress my career with the company?
If I could improve one skill between this meeting and next, which would you choose?
Where do you see my role evolving in the next 6 months and 1 year?
What mentorship opportunities are there available for me?
How can I improve my skills? What can I be reading? Where can I be taking classes?
What learning and development opportunities are there within and outside of the company?
What’s a skill you think I can learn that will help me do a better job?
What skills do you think our team is lacking?
How can I help train and support others in the team and company?
Who in the company do you think I can learn the most from?
Who are your mentors? Who inspires you?
Questions about priorities, productivity and strategy
What can I do to help improve the performance of the team?
Who on the team needs help? How can I support them better?
How are we progressing on our goals as a team?
What’s the next role you’re thinking of hiring for our team?
How can we improve the way our team works together?
Where do you think I should be focusing more of my attention?
What do you wish I took more ownership over?
What big changes are coming down the pipe in the next 6 months?
If there were unlimited budget and resources, what’s the first thing you’d change for our team?
What’s something you wish we did better as a team?
What’s something we do well as a team?
What are we doing to make ourselves stand out from our competitors?
What’s worrying senior leadership right now?
Questions about communication and feedback
What’s something you feel unclear about on my work?
Is my work quality above or below average?
How am I doing with [this specific thing]?
When’s the best time to get feedback on my work?
What do you wish I did less of? More of?
Do you feel like I’m a team player?
How do you define a successful one-on-one, a successful team meeting?
Do you think I contribute enough in team meetings?
What “soft skills” do you think I excel at most? What can I work on?
What’s an example of a situation I’ve handled well internally, a situation I’ve handled poorly?
Where do you think my communication can be improved?
What is everyone around me neglecting to share with me?
Am I giving enough feedback to my peers?
Questions around company culture and motivation
How can I get more involved in workplace culture?
What qualities are most important when you’re hiring for our team?
Are there any aspects of our culture you wish you could change?
What do you do to avoid burnout?
After a failure, what do you do to pick yourself up again?
Questions around supporting your manager and managing up
How can I better support you?
What’s worrying you most?
What are your biggest challenges leading the team?
What are you most excited about in your day-to-day?
What’s your biggest challenge as a people leader?
Is there anything I can do more or less of that would help you?
Bonus! Icebreakers and “getting to know you” questions
How are you?
What’s something you’re really jazzed about outside of work?
How was your weekend?
What’s something, outside of work, that you’re looking forward to this week?
What’s one cuisine you could live without?
What’s your favorite restaurant in our city?
What’s the most random job you’ve ever had?
One-on-ones create an open dialogue between managers and their direct reports. The questions above have been shared by real managers and employees who ask these questions as frequently as every week in their one-on-one meetings.
The ultimate 1:1 meeting template
Not sure where to start? Try the ultimate one-on-one meeting template for all the best 1:1 practices in one place. 👇
