One-on-One Meeting Template (With 30 Questions for Managers)

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A one-on-one (1:1) is a regular private meeting between a manager and each direct report, owned by the employee, to build trust, solve problems early and coach performance. It is the most powerful tool a manager has, and the one most often wasted on status updates.

The short version: meet weekly at first, let the employee own the agenda, spend most of the time on what's on their mind rather than project status, take notes, follow up on what you promised, and never cancel. Reschedule instead.

The one-on-one meeting template

Copy this into a shared doc for each person. The employee adds their topics before the meeting; you add yours underneath.

Section	Who adds it	Time	What goes here
1. Check-in	Both	5 min	How are you, really? Energy, workload, anything outside work they want to share.
2. Their topics	Employee	15–20 min	Whatever is on their mind: problems, ideas, decisions they need help with.
3. Your topics	Manager	5–10 min	Feedback, context they need, key deliverables you must highlight.
4. Growth	Both	5 min	Progress on development goals. Full career conversation every six months.
5. Actions	Both	2 min	Who does what by when. Review these first next time.

The rules that make 1:1s work

Their meeting, their agenda. The employee owns it. If you always set the agenda, it becomes your status meeting.
Not a status update. Status belongs in a shared tracker. Use the time for things that need a conversation.
Never cancel. Reschedule. Cancelling tells people they are the first thing to go when you are busy.
Take notes and follow up. Doing what you said you would do is how trust is built.
Weekly to start. Move to every two weeks once the relationship is strong and they need less coaching.
Give feedback continuously. Positive and constructive, little and often, so the annual review holds no surprises.

30 one-on-one meeting questions

You don't need a new question every week. Rotate through these when the conversation needs a nudge.

Five coaching questions for any 1:1

These come from Michael Bungay Stanier's The Coaching Habit and work in almost every one-on-one:

What's on your mind?
And what else?
What's the real challenge here for you?
What does a successful outcome look like?
What do you need from me?

Wellbeing and workload

How are you feeling about your workload this week?
On a scale of 1 to 10, how's your energy? What would move it up?
Is anything outside work affecting you that I should know about?
What's taking more time than it should?
What could you stop doing?

Priorities and blockers

What's the most important thing you're working on right now?
What's getting in your way?
Is there a decision you're waiting on from me or anyone else?
Where are you unclear on what's expected?
What would you do if this were your company?

Feedback both ways

What's one thing I could do differently to help you more?
Is there feedback you've been holding back?
What went well this week that we should do again?
How do you think the last project went? What would you change?
How do you prefer to get feedback from me?

Team and relationships

How are things with the rest of the team?
Who has been really helpful to you recently?
Is there any friction I should know about?
What's one thing that would make the team work better?
How are you finding our team meetings?

Career and growth (every few months)

What are your long-term career goals?
What skills do you want to build this year?
What part of your role do you enjoy most, and least?
Which projects would you like to be involved in?
What support do you need from me to get there?

Your first one-on-one with a new direct report

The first 1:1 sets the tone for the whole relationship. Use it to agree how you will work together rather than to talk about work:

How do you like to communicate: messages, calls, in person?
How do you like to receive feedback and recognition?
What did your best previous manager do that you valued?
What should I know about you that won't be obvious from your CV?

A My User Manual captures all of this in one place, for you and the rest of the team.

Common mistakes

Turning it into a status report. If you could get the information from a dashboard, don't spend the 1:1 on it.
Talking more than they do. Aim for them speaking at least 70% of the time.
Only meeting when there's a problem. Regular 1:1s are how you avoid problems in the first place.
No notes, no follow-up. If you forget what they told you last week, they'll stop telling you.

The Leader's Toolkit leadership card deck for managers

The 1-1 is 1 of 52 tools in The Leader's Toolkit

Every tool on this site comes from The Leader's Toolkit: 52 practical cards for 1:1s, feedback, delegation, retention and team problems, each linked to the tools that work with it. Keep the whole system on your desk instead of in browser tabs.

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FAQs

How often should you have one-on-one meetings?

Weekly is a good default, especially with new team members or anyone who needs more coaching. Once the relationship is strong, every two weeks can work. Less than monthly is too little to build trust.

How long should a one-on-one meeting be?

Thirty minutes is enough for most weekly 1:1s. Book 45 to 60 minutes for career conversations or a first 1:1 with a new direct report.

Who should set the agenda for a one-on-one?

The employee. They add their topics first, and the manager adds anything they need to cover afterwards. If the manager sets the agenda every time, it becomes a status meeting.

What should you not discuss in a one-on-one?

Routine project status that could live in a shared tracker, and anything you would be uncomfortable having recorded in writing. Keep personal topics to what the employee chooses to share.

Should you take notes in a one-on-one?

Yes. A short shared doc with topics and actions is enough. Reviewing last week's actions at the start of each 1:1 is the simplest way to show you follow through.