15 Questions To Ask Your Manager During Your 1:1 | Tips From An HR Professional

Summary

In this insightful video, Janelle, a compensation professional, emphasizes the importance of one-on-one meetings with managers for career growth and work efficiency. She outlines 15 strategic questions to ask during these sessions, covering daily tasks, career development, and miscellaneous topics. These questions help clarify priorities, seek guidance, and align with managerial expectations, fostering a proactive and collaborative work environment. Janelle also discusses the frequency and initiation of one-on-ones, highlighting their role in maintaining a positive work-life balance and ensuring continuous professional development.

Takeaways

• 🗓️ One-on-one meetings with managers are essential for work efficiency and career growth.
• ❓ Understand the purpose of one-on-ones: dedicated time for discussing work, projects, and career growth.
• 📅 Frequency of one-on-ones depends on individual needs, but a minimum of once a week for 30 minutes is recommended.
• 📝 Be proactive in scheduling one-on-ones if your manager hasn't initiated them.
• 📋 Prioritize tasks and projects by asking your manager for clarification on the most important ones.
• 🚀 Seek advice from your manager on how to handle obstacles and manage workload effectively.
• 🤝 Understand your manager's preferred communication style for seeking input and support.
• 🎯 Regularly discuss career development and growth with your manager to ensure alignment of goals.
• 📈 Ask for opportunities to work on projects that align with your career interests and development.
• 📚 Explore company resources for skill development and ask for support in attending courses or conferences.
• 🔄 Conduct mid-year goal check-ins to adjust and ensure goals remain relevant and achievable.
• 🔄 Regularly check in on whether you're meeting your manager's expectations and seek feedback.

Q & A

What is the purpose of a one-on-one meeting with a manager?

A one-on-one is a dedicated time set aside for discussions about pending items, upcoming projects, career growth, or any other topics that the employee and manager wish to address. It helps in building a relationship and ensuring a positive work experience.

How often should one-on-one meetings be held?

The frequency of one-on-ones depends on the preferences of the employee and manager. However, it is recommended to have at least one 30-minute meeting per week as a minimum.

How do you initiate a one-on-one meeting with your manager?

If your manager hasn't scheduled one-on-one time, you can proactively put time on their calendar or send them a message suggesting a designated weekly time for discussions about projects and duties.

What should you focus on during one-on-one meetings?

During one-on-ones, focus on understanding your manager's expectations for tasks and projects, prioritizing your workload, and seeking advice on managing your responsibilities effectively.

How can you ask for assistance from your manager?

Ask your manager about the best way to get their input or support when you need assistance. This could involve clarifying their preferred communication style, such as email, Slack, phone calls, or calendar invites.

What should you discuss during one-on-one meetings to aid career development?

Discuss your interest in specific projects, your goals, and the skills you need to master for career growth. Also, inquire about resources like courses and conferences that the company might sponsor to facilitate your development.

How can you ensure you're meeting your manager's expectations?

Ask your manager directly if you are meeting their expectations and seek clarification on areas where you might improve. Regularly checking in on your performance helps align your efforts with their expectations.

What is the importance of discussing communication levels with your manager?

Discussing communication levels ensures that both you and your manager are comfortable with the frequency and method of communication. This helps in maintaining a healthy professional relationship and ensures that expectations are met.

How can you offer to take on additional responsibilities during one-on-ones?

Ask your manager if there is anything else you can assist with or take off their plate. This shows your willingness to support your manager and take on more work if it aligns with your capacity and workload.

Why is it important to have open conversations with your manager?

Open conversations with your manager help in aligning your work with their expectations, understanding your performance, and discussing any necessary adjustments to your goals or workload. It also fosters a positive work-life balance and supports your career growth.

Outlines

00:00

📅 The Importance of One-on-Ones

This paragraph discusses the significance of one-on-one meetings between employees and managers. It highlights how these meetings are crucial not only for task completion but also for career growth. The speaker, Janelle, emphasizes that the value derived from these sessions depends on the employee's engagement. She introduces the video's focus on questions to ask during one-on-ones to improve work and understand the bigger picture of their role.

05:00

📝 Daily Duties and Project Priorities

Janelle provides guidance on questions to ask about daily tasks and upcoming projects. She suggests inquiries about current focus areas, prioritization when overwhelmed, and seeking advice on managing workload. She also recommends asking about the best way to get managerial input or support and encourages employees to be proactive in understanding their manager's expectations and priorities.

10:02

🚀 Career Development and Growth

This section focuses on questions related to career development and growth. Janelle advises on how to communicate career aspirations and goals with managers, how to express interest in specific projects, and how to seek out learning opportunities within the company. She also discusses the importance of asking about necessary skills for promotion and whether the company can support skill development through courses or conferences.

15:03

📊 Miscellaneous Questions for One-on-Ones

Janelle presents a miscellaneous category of questions that can be asked during one-on-ones. These include checking in on mid-year goals, discussing whether expectations are being met, ensuring comfortable communication levels, and offering additional assistance. She also touches on the importance of giving feedback to managers and checking in on their perception of the employee's performance.

🤝 Building a Relationship with Your Manager

In the concluding paragraph, Janelle reiterates the importance of consistent and open communication with managers. She suggests having one-on-one meetings at least once a week and emphasizes the manager's role as an advocate for the employee. She encourages viewers to engage in these conversations to ensure alignment with their manager's expectations and to foster a positive work-life balance, ultimately leading to career success.

Keywords

💡One-on-One

A one-on-one is a dedicated meeting between an employee and their manager, typically used for discussing work-related issues, career growth, and building a professional relationship. In the video, it is emphasized as an essential tool for both task management and career development, with recommendations for frequency and structure.

💡Career Growth

Career growth refers to the process of advancing one's professional skills, knowledge, and responsibilities within a career path. The video highlights the importance of actively seeking opportunities for growth, such as participating in projects and seeking feedback, to enhance one's career trajectory.

💡Manager Expectations

Manager expectations are the standards and outcomes that a manager anticipates from an employee's performance. Understanding and meeting these expectations are crucial for job success and career progression. The video encourages employees to seek clarity on their manager's expectations and to have regular check-ins to ensure alignment.

💡Communication

Communication in a professional context refers to the exchange of information, ideas, and feedback between colleagues, particularly between an employee and their manager. Effective communication is vital for clarity, collaboration, and problem-solving. The video suggests asking the manager about their satisfaction with the current level of communication.

💡Performance Conversations

Performance conversations are discussions between an employee and their manager that focus on the employee's work performance, achievements, and areas for improvement. These conversations are important for setting goals, providing feedback, and planning for future development. The video emphasizes the need for regular performance conversations to advance one's career.

💡Prioritization

Prioritization is the process of determining the order of importance or urgency of tasks or projects. It helps employees focus on the most critical activities and manage their workload effectively. The video discusses the importance of understanding the manager's priorities to ensure that the employee's efforts are aligned with the team's objectives.

💡Goal Setting

Goal setting involves defining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives for personal or professional development. It is a key component of career planning and performance management. The video encourages employees to have mid-year check-ins on their goals to ensure they remain relevant and achievable.

💡Feedback

Feedback is the process of providing information about an employee's performance, work habits, or areas for improvement. Constructive feedback can help employees grow and improve in their roles. The video suggests asking the manager if they are open to receiving feedback, which fosters a two-way communication and can lead to better working relationships.

💡Proactivity

Proactivity refers to the ability to take initiative and anticipate future needs or problems, acting in advance to influence events positively. In the context of the video, being proactive means seeking out opportunities for learning, development, and taking on additional responsibilities.

💡Workload Management

Workload management involves organizing and controlling the amount of work assigned to an individual to prevent overload and ensure efficient task completion. The video discusses the importance of discussing workload with the manager to maintain a healthy work-life balance and productivity.

💡Professional Development

Professional development refers to the ongoing process of enhancing one's skills, knowledge, and abilities to improve job performance and career prospects. The video emphasizes the importance of identifying and pursuing opportunities for professional growth, such as attending courses and conferences.

Highlights

Employee-manager one-on-ones are essential for work efficiency and career growth.

The outcome of one-on-ones depends on the effort you put into them.

A one-on-one is a dedicated time for discussing pending items, projects, and career growth with your manager.

The frequency of one-on-ones depends on individual preferences but at least once a week is recommended.

If your manager hasn't scheduled a one-on-one, take the initiative to propose it.

One-on-ones help resolve project issues early, increasing efficiency.

Regular one-on-ones ensure you and your manager are on the same page.

Ask your manager about their expectations for your tasks and projects.

Seek clarification on priorities when feeling overwhelmed.

Inquire about the best way to get your manager's input or support.

Discuss any additional tasks you can take on to help your manager.

Have regular performance conversations for career development.

Express interest in future projects and ask for opportunities to develop.

Ask who would be the best person to learn from for career growth.

Inquire about skills needed for promotion and how to master them.

Ask if the company can sponsor your learning and development.

Check if you've been improving in the skills discussed with your manager.

Consider a mid-year check-in on your goals to adjust if necessary.

Ask if your manager is meeting your expectations and how you can improve.

Ensure your manager is comfortable with the level of communication.

Offer to assist with additional tasks to support your manager.

Transcripts

when i started my first full-time job

and my manager put a 101 on my calendar

i remember thinking what is this for and

what are we even going to talk about if

we needed to have a conversation about

something specifically wouldn't we just

put a meeting on the calendar for that

item specifically i soon learned the

answer was no over the years i've

learned that employee manager

one-on-ones are essential not only to

getting your work done but also are

detrimental to career growth that said

how much you get out of your one-on-ones

is going to depend solely on what you

put into them in this video i want to

specifically talk about the questions

that you should consider asking your

manager during your one-on-one time with

them these questions will not only help

you get your work done like i mentioned

before but they'll also help you

understand the bigger picture and the

why behind your work which is essential

to your career growth and development

before we get into it for anyone new

here hi what's up i'm janelle this is

janellenews money i'm a compensation

professional that's obsessed with

helping you get the job get paid and

then helping to figure out what to do

with that money hit the subscribe button

if this sounds interesting to you i come

out with new videos every single week

and we have a kitten

here okay

cnoby before we check questions i want

to do a little bit of an employee slash

manager 101 faq to get just some of

these standard questions and answers out

of the way if you're only here for the

questions i promise this won't take long

hang in there or you can just skip ahead

if you want to so the first question

that i want to clear up is what even is

a one-on-one a one-on-one is a dedicated

time on your calendar that is set aside

specifically for you and your manager to

have discussions about pending items

upcoming projects career growth or

anything else that you might want to

have a conversation about really they

just give you the time and the space to

connect with and create a relationship

with your manager so that you can have a

positive experience at work question

number two how often should you be

having a one-on-one with your manager

how often you have a one-on-one with

your manager is going to depend on you

and your manager's preferences that said

in my experience and what i would

recommend is having a one-on-one with

your manager at least once a week for 30

minutes at a time and that would just be

a bare minimum in some circumstances you

might want to have two a week for 30

minutes each or even one a week for 60

minutes again it's gonna depend on the

circumstances sometimes when you're

starting a new job you might want to

have more time set aside when you're

learning and you're growing and you're

trying to understand the full breadth of

your job duties whereas other times you

are further along in your career you

understand what you need to do you

understand your duties you don't have a

lot of questions so you might not need

to have those meetings quite as

frequently question number three if

you've never had a one-on-one with your

manager but it is something that you

would like to start doing where do you

start what do you do how do you ask so

if your manager hasn't put one-on-one

time on your calendar i would encourage

you to be proactive in putting time on

their calendar to have that one-on-one

time where you guys can have discussion

around project and duties that you're

currently working on if you're a little

bit nervous to do this what i would

recommend is sending your manager either

an email you know a slack or a team's

message saying hey i'm thinking about

putting some designated time on our

calendars every week where you and i can

just have a conversation about where

we're at in projects what you need for

me and what your expectations are is

that okay with you if your manager is

kind of hesitant and is giving pause to

putting that time on their calendar i

would recommend letting them know the

benefits of being able to put that time

on their calendar for example you could

let them know that having a one-on-one

will allow us to resolve any issues or

obstacles that we're having in projects

early on which will then increase the

efficiency of the project so that things

can move along more quickly you can also

let them know that you want to do this

so that you and your manager can touch

base on your goals regularly so that you

can make sure that you're meeting their

expectations and that the goals that you

set at the beginning of the year are

still appropriate later on in the year

and you guys can see if there are any

shifts or changes you need to make to

your goals to make sure that you are

still developing and improving as an

employee so these are just the basics

that i wanted to cover about one-on-ones

if you have any other questions about

one-on-ones or specifically how to have

conversations with your managers about

one-on-ones leave a comment below and i

will get back to you all right now let's

move on to the good part we're going to

talk about the 15 questions that you can

ask your manager during your one-on-one

note that i've organized these questions

that we're going to talk about into

different categories there are three of

them the first group of questions that

we're going to talk about have to do

with your daily duties and upcoming

projects the second category we're going

to talk about questions that you can ask

about your career development and your

career growth and then that third

category is just some additional

questions that i think are important to

ask your manager but didn't fit into

either one of those first two categories

so it's just kind of a miscellaneous

category if you will so first up let's

talk about those questions that you will

ask about daily activities daily tasks

duties whatever you want to call them as

well as upcoming projects i typically

ask these questions to get a better idea

and understanding of my manager's

expectations for the tasks and the

projects that i'm working on they also

help me understand what i should be

prioritizing managers like to know that

you're on the same page as them and will

see you as a high performer and a team

player if you focus on the things that

move everybody forward together all

right so for question number one that i

would recommend asking i would say

something like this right now i'm

focusing on x y and z would you like me

to continue to focus my time here or can

i take on other tasks that would also

help you this next question is one that

i like to ask when i'm feeling a little

bit overwhelmed and like i'm being

pulled in a million different directions

and i'm having a hard time prioritizing

a it tells my manager that a lot is

going on right now i have a lot on my

plate and then it also asks for advice

in terms of how to prioritize those

things so it goes like this i feel like

we have a lot going on right now and i'm

being pulled in a million different

directions would you be able to further

clarify for me what our biggest

priorities are right now so that i can

focus my time there again this just

helps pull priorities back into place so

that your manager can then further

assist you and then support you in the

ways that you need as you're moving

through a time that's kind of

overwhelming question number three is

another question just asking for advice

from your manager and helping you manage

the things that are going on when it

comes to your workload so it goes like

this i'm finding that i'm consistently

getting stuck on x what would you

recommend that i do in these

circumstances again this lets your

manager give you some direction in terms

of where to go so that you have this

overarching umbrella of understanding

what you can do in some of these

circumstances so that you don't need to

check in with them every time and so you

have a sense of direction moving forward

when you're dealing with x type of

obstacle which is a great segue to

question number four something that i

like to ask my manager is if i need

assistance with something what is the

best way to get your input or support if

there's anything that i've learned from

working with different bosses at

different jobs is that each person has

their own personal style one manager

would prefer that you send everything

the email another person wants it via

teams or slack another person wants a

phone call another person wants a

calendar invite every time they want to

have a conversation about something so

it's always good to get that clarity up

front from your manager to better

understand how you can get their input

and their support and what is going to

work best for them as well as for you

question number five is something that i

ask towards the end of our one-on-ones

almost every single time it's is there

anything top of mind for you that you'd

like to talk about that we haven't

discussed yet again this allows your

manager to give input and any other

areas that they might need some

assistance in that you can then step up

and provide that assistance for them

moving into the second category of

questions for career development and

growth one of the biggest mistakes that

i see with folks in their careers is

that they're being more passive in the

way that they're dealing with their

career development and their career

growth it's essential that you're having

regular performance conversations with

your manager in order to move your

career forward your manager cannot read

your mind it's up to you to tell them

what kind of projects you want to work

on what your goals are what your dreams

are for your career and once you tell

them that information it is then up to

them to help you and assist you in being

your best advocate being in someone who

clears pathways for you so that you can

grow and develop in your career but if

you don't tell them and you don't let it

be known what you're interested in where

you want to go and what you want in your

career they can't help you so make sure

that you are asking questions and having

these performance conversations with

your manager regularly so that you can

move forward in your career so here's my

first question within the career and

development section during our last team

meeting you mentioned a project that our

team will be working on in the future

i'm incredibly interested in working on

that project would it be possible for me

to work on x as a part of my development

i'd be more than happy to assist in any

ways that you felt where appropriate

again this is you being proactive you

saw a project somebody mentioned a

project that you're interested in at the

company and you're specifically asking

to be on that project so that you can

further develop i have never met a

manager that would say no to something

like this they're going to be excited

that you're excited about learning and

that you're excited about developing

which segways us to the next question

which is i'd love to learn more about x

who would be the best person for me to

connect with to have a conversation

about and learn about x would you be

able to make an introduction for me to

that person so that i can have further

learning and development when it comes

to acts again this is you taking control

of your learning and your development

and asking specifically to have

conversations with people across the

organization so that you can better

understand and learn a specific topic

never ever overlook the people as

resources within your company to further

your learning and development next

question is i enjoy working here and

want to better understand how i can

continue to grow in my career what

skills do you think i need to continue

to master in order to get promoted some

folks might see this question a little

iffy because they'd be nervous

specifically to ask about getting

promoted but again your manager doesn't

know what you want they don't know if

you want to get promoted or if you want

to stay in the role unless you ask so

always ask it's never going to hurt to

ask this next one is about asking about

different resources that the company

might be able to provide you in order to

help you facilitate your growth it goes

like this in our last one-on-one we

talked about the skills that i could

further develop in order to get promoted

i did some research and found that there

are some different courses and

conferences that i could go to that

would help me further develop that skill

and learn more about how to implement it

at work would the business happen to

have a budget to help me with some of

the costs that might be associated with

that again don't be afraid to ask for

your company to sponsor you in some of

these endeavors especially for skills

that you're building in order to make

the company better in order to better do

your role so that the company can become

more efficient they can gain more

revenue et cetera it's only going to

benefit them if you're engaged in your

work and you're engaged and excited

about learning additional skills so that

you can be better at your job and

perhaps they might not have the budget

within the year that you're asking but

if you let your manager know this they

can then plan for money in the budget

for some education for you for the next

year again if you never ask you don't

know okay last question within the

career development and growth section

and our 10th question overall so far

it's since we last chatted about the

skills that i could develop do you see

that i've been improving and if not

could you give me a little bit of extra

clarification around what your

expectations are for me delivering on

this skill again it's just a way for you

to check in on how your manager thinks

that you're performing so that when you

come to the end of the year when you

come to performance review season you're

prepared to have conversations about

your performance and you've been taking

it seriously throughout the year so

you've been consistently doing better

month over month in improving the skills

and experiences that you have okay so

we're down to our last five questions

within the miscellaneous section these

are questions that i typically ask my

manager during one-on-ones but didn't

necessarily fit into the other two

sections but wanted to provide them to

you as a resource because i thought that

they might be helpful okay so this first

question does go a little bit with

career development but it's would it be

possible to do a mid-year check-in on my

goals i want to make sure that i'm on

track and confirm whether or not we need

to make any adjustment to the goals

because of unforeseen circumstances we

might set goals at the beginning of the

year and they might not necessarily be

the goals that we still want to have for

the end of the year you know we go into

a year thinking we will get all of these

things done and then because sometimes

have unforeseen circumstances that you

couldn't have predicted or your manager

could have predicted we need to shift

those goals so it's important to have

those mid-year conversations with your

manager so that you can understand

whether or not some goals need to fall

off your list and you need to add some

for the last six months of the year or

if you need to shift in some other way

that makes sense so that you can achieve

your goals because the whole point of

having goals is that they are achievable

so that you can be successful and if

things are shifting constantly

throughout the year we want to make sure

you're going back to those and resetting

them for the future okay this second

question that i like to ask my manager

regularly is am i meeting your

expectations and if not can you relay to

me what expectations i'm not meeting and

give me some more information about how

i could be better meeting those in the

future again still within a performance

realm but i find that is always really

helpful in a work environment in a

professional environment is too right be

professional but at the same time still

be straightforward if you want an answer

to a question about whether or not

you're meeting expectations you're doing

a good job i would just recommend you

ask your manager they will tell you

they'll give you an honest answer and if

they don't then that's a whole other set

of problems that we can talk about later

but definitely just be straightforward

and ask them how they think you're doing

this third question that i like to ask

is are you happy with our level of

communication this is an important

question to ask especially if you have a

boss that is potentially a micromanager

you want to make sure that they're

feeling comfortable with the level of

communication that you're providing them

that they're providing you and this

gives you a chance to further clarify

what that looks like some bosses might

want you to do an end of the week

summary that says these are all the

things that like have accomplished over

the week maybe they want you to have a

check in on a daily basis really is

going to depend on the person but you're

not going to know what they feel

comfortable and what they need unless

you ask them so make sure that you ask

whether or not they're comfortable with

the level of communication you guys

currently have or if there are any

adjustments that you can make for the

future so number four is something

that's important when you're coaching up

and i think sometimes we need to give

feedback to the people that are managing

us so that they can also meet your

expectations and this is something

that's hard to do because it doesn't

always come well received so i find that

it typically is a little bit more well

received if you ask first if you can

give some feedback so how i would do

this is saying something like this would

you be open to receiving some feedback

on x so this way that they also know

it's not just broad feedback it's

feedback on a specific project or a

specific task or duty or maybe some

additional support that you need

typically people will say yes and by

saying yes they're almost consenting and

allowing you to give them feedback which

sometimes will make people feel more

comfortable with receiving it okay

question number five this is something i

ask at the end of a one-on-one every

single time no matter what without fail

similar to kind of what we talked about

before what i say is is there anything

else that i can assist with another way

that you can say this is is there

anything else i can take off of your

plate right now

i think it's important for managers to

know that we're there and we're open and

we're willing to take some additional

things on if it's going to make their

lives easier and again only of course if

you have that capacity within your

workload and what on your plate in order

to take some additional things on i'm

not encouraging you to take on so many

things that you're working so many hours

but always consider asking your manager

this a lot of times my manager says no

but i do think it is just a thoughtful

question to ask at the end to let them

know that you're here and you're a team

player and you're open and willing to

take on some more things if they need

some assistance so now that we made it

to the end of this video what i really

hope you got out of this is that it is

incredibly important to have consistent

open conversations with your managers

regularly every manager is going to have

a different preference for one-on-ones

but again what i would recommend is

doing it at least once a week for 30

minutes at a time just so that you can

make sure that you and your manager are

on the same page it's never gonna hurt

to have those additional conversations

so that you can continue to build your

relationship with your manager because

at the end of the day they are your best

advocate they are the person that is

going to go to bat for you and so it's

going to be important to try to build

and create a sustainable relationship

with them when it comes to your work you

want them to have the perception that

you are here and you are open and you

are willing to do whatever it takes to

get your job done in a timely and

efficient manner and this also gives you

the opportunity to have that two-way

conversation about other things that

might be going on so maybe it's perhaps

not that you can take on these

additional things but maybe perhaps you

need to have a conversation with your

manager about the fact that your

workload is too heavy so these

conversations are so essential to you

also having a positive work-life balance

and you having a positive experience at

work while also being able to you know

then grow in your career and better

understand what your manager's

expectations are i think so much of

being successful at work is being able

to have those open communications with

managers and other people around you

that clearly communicate expectations so

that everybody is on the same page thank

you for making it this far in the video

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make sure to get back to you thank you

so much bye