Questions to Ask Your Manager in a One-On-One | Fellow.app

One-on-one meetings with a manager are most useful when they’re treated like a planned working session—built around a shared agenda, targeted questions, and follow-up. The core idea is simple: show up prepared, align on priorities, and use the meeting to turn uncertainty into concrete next steps for growth, execution, and communication.

Preparation starts with timing and structure. These check-ins typically run 30 to 60 minutes weekly or bi-weekly, so the goal is to use the time efficiently. Employees should come with questions and concerns that have surfaced since the last meeting, then draft a collaborative agenda and share it with the manager at least a day in advance. Keeping a running list of questions throughout the week helps the agenda evolve naturally rather than being assembled at the last minute. For organization, the transcript recommends using a one-on-one meeting template or AI meeting assistant tools like Fellow to automate agenda creation and reduce administrative overhead.

The meeting agenda then becomes the backbone for four categories of questions. For growth and development, employees can ask what strengths to focus on, how to improve based on a recent project, and how current performance matches expectations. The transcript also encourages forward-looking questions—where performance and skills should be in the next three months—and role-specific prioritization, such as which single area of the job should receive more attention next.

To ensure alignment, the questions shift toward execution. Employees can ask what should be prioritized or delayed on their to-do list, who can help with specific questions about a product campaign or process, and what they can do differently to help the team right now. A particularly practical scenario question is how to proceed when someone other than the manager assigns a task. Finally, employees can request the tools or resources needed to carry out responsibilities effectively.

Company culture and motivation questions focus on the “why” behind expectations: the company’s mission and values, whether performance is measured through alignment with culture, how fast the company is growing and what managers are doing to support that growth, and how leadership communicates results and upcoming plans.

Managing up rounds out the set with communication logistics and clarity. Employees can ask when to expect feedback on a specific project, the manager’s availability for extra time, where to find information on particular topics, and the manager’s current goals. They can also ask the preferred form of communication so updates and decisions flow through the channel the manager actually wants.

To make these questions land well, the transcript adds five bonus tips: prepare in advance, be specific (request concrete examples or suggestions), prioritize the most critical questions first, ask open-ended questions to invite detailed feedback, and stay open to feedback by following up until the guidance becomes actionable. The overall message is that thoughtful preparation plus targeted questions turns one-on-ones into a reliable engine for career progress rather than a vague status check.