10 Questions to ask your manager in 1:1s

Remember a good 1:1 is a two way street

Many people are used to their manager asking all of the questions in a 1:1. But a good 1:1 should be valuable for both people and questions should be asked of the manager as well.

We’re often not sure what questions we can or should be asking though.

No one is ever trained in what makes an effective 1:1, you tend to just go along with the flow.

So here are ten questions that you could ask of your own manager. Of course, please don’t ask all ten in one go!

1. In your opinion what would you like me to achieve before our next one to one?
2. How would you like to receive updates on my work?
3. What do you want me to keep you updated on and how often?
4. If do find I have some capacity, is there an person, team or area that would benefit from me as an extra resource?
5. How do you see my role evolving in the next year?
6. Is there a skill I could develop that could benefit both me and the team?
7. What are your expectations of me in this role?
8. Are there any external resources such as books, videos or podcasts that you recommend that I look at?
9. Do you have any advice that you could give me for my role?
10. Is there anything else I can be doing to positively impact the team?

So there you go 10 questions you could ask of your manager.

I’ll be honest, I think some managers will struggle to answer many of these. But that may encourage them to be more mindful of supporting you.

Hope this helps!

Vince