Guide
1:1 meeting questions for developers
Your 1:1 with your manager or team lead is the most valuable meeting on your calendar, and the one most often filled with status updates. Those already have a home in stand-ups and tickets, which leaves your 1:1 free for growth, feedback and everything that doesn't fit anywhere else. Below are 45 questions you can bring, grouped by topic.
Short answer
Bring your own agenda to every 1:1. Pick two or three questions about what's on your mind: feedback ("What's one thing I could do better?"), growth ("What does the next level look like for me?"), priorities ("What matters most this quarter?") or the team ("What would make our team work better?"). Write down the answers and follow up next time.
How to get the most out of a 1:1
- Own the agenda. It's your meeting. Keep a shared doc and add topics during the week.
- Pick two or three questions. Depth beats a long list.
- Start with what's on your mind. If something bothers you, put it first.
- Write down answers and actions. Review them at the start of the next 1:1.
- Make it regular. Weekly or every two weeks works for most teams. Rescheduling is fine, skipping repeatedly sends a signal.
Questions about feedback
- What's one thing I could do better in the next month?
- What's something I did recently that you'd like me to keep doing?
- How do my code reviews come across to the team?
- Is there feedback about me you've heard from others that I should know?
- In which situations do you trust me least so far, and why?
- How could I communicate better with product or design?
- What should I stop doing?
- How did my last presentation or demo land?
Questions about growth and career
- What does the next level look like for me, in concrete examples?
- What's the biggest gap between where I am and that next level?
- Which project could stretch me in the coming quarter?
- Who in the company could I learn from?
- How are promotions decided here, and who is involved?
- What would make you confident to recommend me for a promotion?
- Do you see me more on a technical track or a leadership track? Why?
- Which skill would make the biggest difference for my career right now?
- Can we set one growth goal for this quarter and check in on it every month?
- What did you work on at my stage that helped you most?
Questions about priorities and impact
- What matters most for our team this quarter?
- What would you like me to focus on, and what can I drop?
- How does my current work connect to company goals?
- Which of my tasks has the most impact, in your view?
- Is there work I'm doing that nobody actually needs?
- How do you measure whether our team is doing well?
- What's a problem nobody owns that I could pick up?
Questions about the team
- What would make our team work better together?
- What slows our team down the most right now?
- How can I help the juniors on the team?
- Are our code reviews helping or slowing us down?
- How do you think our last retrospective went?
- Is there tension in the team I should be aware of or can help with?
- What should our team stop doing?
Questions about the company and product
- What's the biggest challenge for the company this year?
- What are leadership worried about that we don't hear in team meetings?
- How are users reacting to what we shipped recently?
- Which decisions are coming that will affect our team?
- How can I get more exposure to customers or users?
Questions for when things are hard
- I'm feeling stretched. Can we look at my workload together?
- I'm stuck on something and would like your perspective. Do you have time?
- Something happened that bothered me. Can we talk about it?
- I don't feel I'm growing. What could we change?
- How do you deal with stress in busy periods?
Questions for your first 1:1 with a new manager
- How do you prefer to communicate, and how fast do you expect replies?
- What does success look like for me in my first three months with you?
- How do you like to give and receive feedback?
Frequently asked questions
What should I talk about in a 1:1 with my manager?
Feedback, growth, priorities, the team and anything that's bothering you. Avoid spending the meeting on status updates.
How often should developers have 1:1s?
Weekly or every two weeks is common. A monthly 1:1 often feels too infrequent to build trust and follow up on goals.
What if my manager doesn't schedule 1:1s?
Ask for them. Explain that you'd like regular time to talk about growth and feedback, and propose a short recurring slot.
Should I prepare for a 1:1?
Yes. Add topics to a shared agenda during the week and pick two or three questions before the meeting.
What do I do with the answers?
Write them down, agree on one or two actions and check them at the next 1:1. That turns conversations into progress.