1:1 Meeting Questions to Ask Your Team

Short answer: Ask open, specific questions that get past "all good" - about friction ("what's felt frustrating this week?"), support ("where could I be more helpful?"), and growth ("what do you want to be learning right now?"). Rotate a few each time; you don't need all of them at once.

A 1:1 lives or dies on the questions you ask. "Any updates?" gets a one-word answer; a good question opens a real conversation. Here's a bank to pull from, by theme.

To open (get past "all good")

• "What's most on your mind this week?"
• "What's felt frustrating lately?"
• "What's something you're unsure about right now?"

Open and specific beats generic - they invite more than a "yep".

To surface blockers

• "What's slowing you down that I could help with?"
• "What's the one thing that would make this week easier?"
• "Is anything unclear about priorities right now?"

To offer support

• "Where could I be more helpful?"
• "What do you need from me that you're not getting?"
• "Am I in your way anywhere?"

Asking how you could improve models the openness you want back.

To talk growth (not just tasks)

• "What do you want to be learning right now?"
• "Where do you want to be in a year - is this role moving you there?"
• "What kind of work do you want more of?"

Bring these every few weeks, not just at review time - people leave managers who never zoom out.

To check in as a human

• "How are you doing, really?"
• "How's your energy - sustainable, or heading for a wall?"

How to use them

Don't fire off a list - pick two or three, ask, then listen and follow up. The follow-up ("say more about that") matters more than the next question. (See how to run a 1:1.)

Want to practise asking them so they sound natural, not scripted? Our Speech Analyzer helps, and the full playbook is our Run a Great 1:1 course.

The one-line version

Ask open, specific 1:1 questions about friction, support, and growth - rotate a few each time, then listen and follow up. The question that gets past "all good" is the whole game.

FAQ

What are good questions to ask in a 1:1?

Open, specific ones: "what's felt frustrating this week?", "where could I be more helpful?", "what do you want to be learning right now?" They get past "all good" into the real conversation. Rotate a few each time.

What questions get past "everything's fine"?

Ask about friction and uncertainty rather than status: "what's felt frustrating lately?" or "what are you unsure about?" Specific, open questions are much harder to answer with a one-word "fine."

Should I ask the same questions every 1:1?

Keep a small set of go-tos for consistency, but rotate the rest by theme (blockers, support, growth) so it doesn't feel like a form. Bring growth questions every few weeks, not every single time.

How many questions should I ask?

Two or three, then listen. The follow-up - "say more about that" - matters more than getting through a list. A 1:1 should be mostly them talking, not you interviewing.

What growth questions work well?

"What do you want to be learning?", "where do you want to be in a year, and is this role taking you there?", and "what work do you want more of?" Asking these regularly signals you're invested in the person, not just the output.