5 Questions to ask in EVERY One-on-One Meeting

One-on-One meetings are one of your most powerful tools as a manager. The key to unlocking their power is asking the right questions. (Expand for timestamps!).

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I’ll share 5 questions you can always ask to get a better sense of how your reports are growing, feeling, and thinking. And most importantly, I’ll share tactics and real-world examples that you can use to get the most out of those questions.

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My One-on-One template (Google Docs): https://bit.ly/37MQXwK

1:17 - Basic structure and ground rules for 1-1s
3:34 - Question #1: What’s been on your mind this week?
4:25 - Question #2: When did you feel the most happy/productive in the last week?
5:22 - Question #3: Where did you feel friction in the last week? Specific meetings, conversations, and other interactions are all in-bounds.
7:12 - Question #4: What is amplifying the team’s productivity, and what’s dragging it?
9:52 - Question #5: What feedback do you have for me? Where can I lean in, and where can I lean out?

I'd love to hear your feedback. Agree? Disagree? What questions do you love to ask in your one-on-one meetings? Leave a comment below.