21 One-on-One Growth and Development Questions for (July 2026)
25% of managers don’t discuss growth and development in their one-on-ones, even though it’s proven to make employees more productive and engaged.
Hiba Amin
In our recent report, The 2019 State of One-on-ones, we surveyed over 200 managers across multiple industries, experience levels and departments to uncover how they approach one-on-ones.
The report found that 75% of managers surveyed discuss growth and development within their one-on-one meetings. But, what about the other 25%?
TLDR:
- 75% of managers discuss growth in one-on-ones; the other 25% can start with one question per meeting.
- Gallup research ties consistent progress conversations to higher employee productivity and engagement.
- LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report finds 88% of organizations struggle to keep pace with employee career growth.
- Career questions target role progression; personal growth questions target motivations and long-term goals.
- Spinach joins your one-on-ones and captures growth-related action items and commitments from each session.
Why growth conversations belong in every one-on-one
What consistent feedback does for employees
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace found that when employees have consistent performance feedback, they become emotionally and psychologically attached to their work and their workplace. As a result, employees are more productive and perform at a higher caliber. One of the factors determined by Gallup is that employees need to fill their personal growth needs. This includes:
- In the last 6 months, an employee has discussed their progress with someone at work
- In the last year, an employee has had opportunities at work to learn and grow
In practice, meeting that threshold is more straightforward than it might sound. A brief check-in inside a standing one-on-one (asking what your direct report has been working on, what they feel proud of, and where they feel stuck) satisfies both criteria when done consistently. What matters is regularity. A growth conversation tied only to an annual review carries far less weight than a two-minute progress check woven into every meeting. Direct reports need to feel that their development is an ongoing topic, not a box you tick once a year.
How to make growth a regular agenda item
If you feel like you could be discussing growth and development more often with your direct reports, your one-on-ones are the perfect place to do it. According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report, 88% of organizations are concerned about keeping pace with employees’ career growth, making it a conversation worth keeping on the agenda every quarter.
To start talking about growth and development more, try adding at least one of these questions to every one-on-one you have for the rest of the quarter. A quarterly career growth meeting template can help you structure that habit. And then do it again for the next quarter and the next.
A simple three-step approach works for most managers who are building this habit:
1. Pick one question per meeting. You don’t need a full growth-focused conversation every session. Start with one question from the lists below and build from there as the habit forms.
2. Write down what you hear. Growth conversations only compound if you can act on them. Keep a running note in your meeting doc covering what your direct report wants to learn, where they want to go, and what’s blocking them from getting there.
3. Follow up next time. If your direct report mentioned wanting to work on a specific project or skill, bring it up at the next one-on-one. This turns a conversation into a commitment, and a commitment into measurable progress.
Spinach is an AI notetaker that joins your one-on-ones and automatically captures growth-related action items and commitments, turning the conversation into structured follow-ups neither of you has to chase down. Get started free.
One-on-one questions for career growth and development
Dimension | Career growth questions | Personal growth questions |
|---|---|---|
Focus | Role progression, internal opportunities, skills needed to advance | The whole person: motivations, life goals, learning habits outside work |
Best timing | Quarterly check-ins, after a project wraps, or when a promotion cycle is approaching | When trust is in place and the direct report feels comfortable being open |
What to listen for | Which opportunities light them up; where they see blockers to moving forward | What motivates them outside day-to-day tasks; how their career fits their bigger picture |
Example question | “Where do you see yourself within the team in the next year?” | “What professional goals would you like to accomplish in the next 6 to 12 months?” |
What to do next | Note blockers and project interests; revisit at the next session | Use that context to shape project assignments and how you frame growth opportunities |
These questions are designed to open up a conversation about where your direct report wants to go inside the organization. You don’t need to ask all of them in one meeting. Pick one or two that feel relevant to what’s happening for that person right now. When you ask them, listen for what lights the person up and what feels like a stretch goal versus a distant dream. The answers tell you a lot about how to structure their projects and opportunities in the near term.
For example, if a direct report tells you they want to move into a leadership role within two years, that answer should change how you assign work starting at the next sprint. You look for chances to put them in front of cross-functional stakeholders, ask them to lead a project retrospective, or loop them into a decision they would not normally see. The question is a starting point. What you do with the answer is what turns the conversation into real career progress.
- What areas of the company would you like to learn more about?
- Do you feel you’re getting enough feedback on your work? If not, where would you like more feedback?
- What’s something you’d like to focus on more next quarter?
- What’s one thing you really wanted to do last quarter but didn’t get a chance to?
- Who in the company would you like to learn from? What do you want to learn?
- How can I better support you?
- Where do you see yourself within the team in the next year?
- What resources can I or the company provide that would help you excel further in your role?
- What projects would you like to work on or be more involved in?
- What are the biggest blockers affecting you from performing to your fullest potential?
- At the end of your career, what is your dream job title?
One-on-one questions for personal growth and development
Personal growth questions shift the focus from the role to the whole person. These work best when trust is already built and your direct report feels comfortable being open with you. Go in without an agenda and without judgment. You’re not trying to solve anything in the moment. You’re trying to understand what matters to them, what motivates them outside of day-to-day work, and how their career fits into the bigger picture of their life. That context helps you show up as a better manager over the long run.
One way to build toward that kind of openness: start with lighter questions before working up to the bigger ones. “What professional book have you been reading lately?” is easier to answer candidly than “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” Over time, those smaller exchanges create the conditions that make the deeper questions possible. When you do get a real answer, write it down. That context surfaces months later when you are framing a project assignment, making an introduction, or advocating for a stretch opportunity, and your direct report notices when you remember.
- What skills would you like to develop right now?
- If you could improve one skill between this meeting and the next, which would you choose?
- How would you like to use your education budget this year?
- What conferences and/or events are happening in your space that you’d like to attend?
- How do you feel your work/life balance is? What would you like to change, if anything?
- Outside of your role today, what areas would you like to grow more in? (I.e. coaching or leadership)
- What professional goals would you like to accomplish in the next 6 to 12 months, and what makes you say that? (See also: goal-setting resources for structuring these conversations.)
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 25 years?
- What is the last professional book or blog you read? Why did you pick that one?
- What is your favorite podcast? Why?
Career growth questions focus on role progression, internal opportunities, and skills needed to advance, best used during quarterly check-ins or after a project wraps. Personal growth questions shift to the whole person: motivations, long-term goals, and how their career fits their bigger life picture. These work best once trust is already established with your direct report.
Gallup research ties consistent performance feedback to higher employee engagement and productivity, so the goal is every quarter at minimum. A practical starting point: add one question from either the career or personal growth list to each one-on-one for the rest of the quarter, then repeat the habit next quarter.
Write down what you hear during the session, specifically what your direct report wants to learn, where they want to go, and what’s blocking them. Then bring it up at the next meeting. Spinach joins your one-on-ones and captures growth-related commitments and action items from each session automatically, so both you and your direct report have a clear record of what was discussed and what comes next.
Pick one question per session rather than running a full growth review each time. Start with something like “What’s one thing you really wanted to do last quarter but didn’t get a chance to?” It takes under two minutes to ask and often surfaces blockers or aspirations you wouldn’t hear otherwise. Build from there as the habit forms.
Use career growth questions during structured checkpoints: quarterly reviews, post-project wrap-ups, or when a promotion cycle is approaching. Save personal growth questions for sessions where trust is already in place, since questions like “Where do you see yourself in 10 years?” require your direct report to feel comfortable being open with you before they’ll give you an honest answer.
What to do now
Now that you've read this article, here are some things you should do:
- Our features are designed to help you run effective one-on-ones.
- You should try Spinach to see how it can help you run a high performing org.
- If you found this article helpful, please share it with others on Linkedin or X (Twitter)
