Manager Feedback Survey Questions: 38 to Copy and Use

A good manager feedback survey asks direct reports 8 to 38 short statements across nine dimensions (communication, support, recognition, fairness, development, psychological safety, workload, decision-making and overall effectiveness), rated on a 5-point agreement scale, with one or two open-text prompts per group. Below you'll find all 38 questions ready to paste into a survey, a shorter 8-question pulse, the anonymity rules for small teams, and a conversation guide for the results review.

Camila Duarte, people operations manager at a 60-person architecture firm, learned why the wording matters the hard way. Her first attempt asked one question, "Is your manager good?", and every team scored it between 4.1 and 4.3. Nobody could act on that. When she split it into specific behaviors, the same managers showed very different profiles: strong on communication, weak on recognition, uneven on workload.

This page gives you that split. Each section covers one dimension, so you can run a supervisor feedback survey, an upward feedback survey, or a manager effectiveness survey from the same bank.

Key Takeaways

• Ask about behavior you can observe ("My manager explains the reasons behind decisions"), not traits ("My manager is a good leader").
• Use a 5-point agreement scale for rated questions and cap open-text at one or two prompts per dimension.
• The 8-question pulse covers eight of the nine dimensions and works as a quarterly check. The full 38-question version fits once or twice a year.
• Anonymity is a rule, not a promise. In FeedbackPulse, results lock until 3 completed responses exist and every slice masks below 3, so roll managers with fewer than 3 reports up to the next level.
• The survey only pays off if the manager shares results and commits to one or two visible actions within a few weeks.

A manager feedback survey is a structured, usually anonymous questionnaire in which direct reports rate and comment on how their manager leads, so the organization can see team-level patterns and managers can improve.

#How to design manager feedback survey questions

Four design rules make the difference between a survey that produces action and one that produces arguments.

1. One idea per question. "My manager communicates clearly and gives me regular feedback" is two questions. Split it, or you can't tell which half people disagreed with.
2. Observable behavior over traits. Employees can say whether their manager explains decisions. They can't reliably judge "leadership potential".
3. Statements, not opinions about the person. Frame items as "My manager..." statements with an agreement scale. It keeps answers comparable across teams.
4. Open text last in each group, and sparingly. Comments carry the most identifying detail in a small team, so keep them to one or two per dimension.

For the scale, use the same five points on every rated question: Strongly disagree, Disagree, Neither agree nor disagree, Agree, Strongly agree. The single exception is the 'would you recommend' item in the overall group, which uses a 0 to 10 scale so you can calculate an eNPS-style score. If you want the wider question bank around engagement, culture and wellbeing, see the employee engagement survey questions page.

#Manager feedback survey questions by dimension

The full version has 38 rated questions and 12 open-text prompts, 50 items in all. Every group below states its scale. Numbering continues across groups so you can refer to items by number.

#Communication

Scale: 5-point agreement (Strongly disagree to Strongly agree).

1. My manager explains the reasons behind decisions that affect my work.
2. My manager shares information I need in time for me to use it.
3. My manager listens to me without interrupting or dismissing my view.
4. My manager makes it clear what good work looks like.
5. My manager responds to my questions or messages in a reasonable time.

Open text:

• What is one thing your manager could communicate more clearly or more often?
• What does your manager do that makes communication easy?

#Support and resources

Scale: 5-point agreement.

6. My manager helps me remove obstacles that slow my work.
7. I have the tools, time and information I need to do my job well.
8. My manager is available when I need help.
9. My manager backs me up when a problem needs support from other teams or leadership.

Open text:

• What is one obstacle you wish your manager would help remove?

#Recognition

Scale: 5-point agreement.

10. My manager notices when I do good work.
11. The recognition I get from my manager is specific, not generic.
12. My manager credits the people who did the work, including in front of others.
13. I get recognition from my manager often enough to know what is working.

Open text:

• When did you last feel properly recognized by your manager, and what made it land?
• What would you like to be recognized for that you are not today?

#Fairness

Scale: 5-point agreement.

14. My manager holds everyone on the team to the same standards.
15. My manager distributes workload, schedules and opportunities fairly.
16. My manager's assessment of my work is based on what I actually did.
17. My manager does not play favorites.

Open text:

• Is there anything about how decisions are made on the team that feels unfair? Describe the situation, not the people involved.

#Development

Scale: 5-point agreement.

18. My manager takes an interest in my career growth.
19. My manager gives me feedback that helps me improve.
20. I have talked with my manager about my development goals in the past six months.
21. My manager gives me stretch opportunities that match my goals.

Open text:

• What is one skill you would like your manager to help you build next?

#Psychological safety

Scale: 5-point agreement.

22. I can disagree with my manager without worrying about negative consequences.
23. I can admit a mistake to my manager and expect a fair response.
24. My manager responds constructively when someone raises a problem.
25. I can raise a concern about workload or process without it being held against me.
26. My manager welcomes questions, including ones that challenge the plan.

Open text:

• What would make it easier to raise a concern with your manager?

#Workload

Scale: 5-point agreement.

27. My workload is manageable within my normal working hours.
28. My manager adjusts priorities when I have too much to do.
29. My manager respects my time off and boundaries outside working hours.
30. The deadlines I'm given are realistic.

Open text:

• What is one thing your manager could stop, start or change to make your workload more sustainable?

#Decision-making

Scale: 5-point agreement.

31. My manager makes decisions in a timely way.
32. My manager involves the team in decisions that affect our work.
33. I understand how my manager sets priorities.
34. My manager changes course when new information shows a decision was wrong.

Open text:

• Which recent decision would you like to understand better?

#Overall effectiveness

Scale: 5-point agreement for items 35 to 37. Item 38 uses a 0 to 10 scale (0 is not at all likely, 10 is extremely likely).

35. My manager is effective in their role.
36. If I could choose my manager, I would choose this one.
37. My manager helps our team do its best work.
38. How likely are you to recommend working for your manager to a friend or colleague?

Open text:

• What is the single most useful thing your manager could start doing?
• What is the single most useful thing your manager should keep doing?

Scoring item 38. Count 9 and 10 as promoters, 7 and 8 as passives, and 0 to 6 as detractors. The score is the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors, using the same method as employee eNPS. On a team of five, one answer moves the score a lot, so read it as direction, not precision.

#The 8-question pulse version

Use the short version quarterly, or in the months between full rounds, to check whether the actions from the last survey changed anything. It takes one rated question from eight of the nine dimensions (decision-making rotates out) and keeps the 0 to 10 recommend item at the end.

Add one optional open-text box ("What is one thing your manager should start, stop or keep doing?") if you have the capacity to read the comments. Leave it out if you don't. A pulse that collects comments nobody reads teaches people to stop writing them. For more on keeping a recurring survey short, see the engagement surveys feature page.

Download the editable manager pulse question bank (CSV). It contains these eight questions and the optional comment prompt, with a dimension and scale for each. Use it as a planning sheet in Excel or Google Sheets, then copy the questions into your survey tool and configure its response options and reporting protections. Allow people to skip questions or choose not applicable, and apply the small-team safeguards below before inviting responses.

#How to run a manager feedback survey

The mechanics decide whether people answer honestly. Get these four settings right before you send anything.

#Anonymity threshold and minimum team size

State the rule to employees in the invitation, because "anonymous" on its own convinces nobody. In FeedbackPulse, anonymous survey results stay locked until 3 completed responses exist. The same threshold applies to every slice: department, location and employee-level breakdowns each mask until that group reaches 3. There is no admin override, and an anonymous survey can't be converted to named after responses arrive. The anonymous surveys feature page covers the setup, and the survey anonymity threshold guide explains how to choose a threshold for your smallest teams.

Three is a floor, not a guarantee. On a team of three or four, a single distinctive comment can still point to one person. Two practical habits help. Ask HR or the manager's own manager to read open-text comments first and share themes rather than raw quotes. And encourage managers to focus on the rated results, where no single answer is visible.

#What to do when a manager has fewer than 3 reports

Don't report the result for that manager. Roll it up to the next level so those responses count toward a larger group.

Andile Dlamini, an engineering lead at a 45-person software company, had two direct reports. A team-level result would have shown exactly how each of them rated him, so the people team reported his two responses inside the wider engineering group of nine. Andile still read the group-level themes and then ran a 1:1 conversation with each report about the same dimensions. Where you have a regular skip-level meeting, the skip-level leader can also gather qualitative input that a survey can't safely produce at that size.

#Setting it up in FeedbackPulse

Build the questions in the custom survey builder, select anonymous mode, and group respondents by the team or department structure in your employee directory so results slice cleanly. Set the cadence for recurring pulses and let automated reminders handle follow-up. The Free plan covers up to 10 people and up to 5 active plus scheduled surveys. Unlimited surveys require Pro. The Free plan fits a small company testing the format, but note that with at most 10 people, many managers will fall below the 3-response floor on their own slice, so expect to report at company or department level.

#How managers should read the results

Most managers read a manager feedback survey the wrong way: they scan for the lowest score, look for who wrote it, and either get defensive or get discouraged. A better routine takes about 30 minutes.

1. Read the rated results first. Look at the share of favorable answers (Agree and Strongly agree) per dimension, not just the average. A 3.5 average can hide a team split between 5s and 2s.
2. Compare to your own previous round. Direction of travel matters more than any single number. Compare against your organization's other teams only if your people team shares that view. Don't borrow an external benchmark, because question wording and scales differ across surveys.
3. Pick the two dimensions with the biggest gap. One is the lowest score. The other is the item where your answers differ most from how you'd have rated yourself.
4. Read comments for themes, not authors. Group them by dimension and count how often a theme appears. Never try to work out who wrote what.
5. Draft one sentence per theme. "I heard that I share context late, and I want to fix that" is a better start than a defense.

Yuki Morimoto, a customer support team lead at a 120-person company, found her team rated recognition far below every other dimension, while workload scored fine. She had assumed the reverse. Her fix was small: a weekly 10-minute slot in the team meeting for naming specific good work, with the group deciding who got called out. Her next pulse was the proof.

#Results-review conversation guide

Share results with the team within a couple of weeks of the survey closing. A long gap tells people nothing happened. The acting-on-results routine in how to act on pulse survey results goes deeper. This is the version for a manager feedback survey.

1. Open with thanks and the participation story. "Most of you answered, and I read everything. Here's what I heard."
2. Show two strengths and two gaps. Lead with strengths so the meeting starts with what is working, then name the two gaps without softening them.
3. Say it back, in your own words, once. Avoid "but" and "to be fair". The point is to show you understood, not to explain.
4. Ask two questions. "What did I miss?" and "What would a good fix look like to you?" Then stay quiet long enough for people to answer.
5. Commit to one or two actions with a date. Write them down, in the open. More than two and none of them happen.
6. Book the check-in. Put the next pulse on the calendar and tell the team which two items you'll watch.

If the conversation feels stuck, the sibling guide on feedback for manager examples gives employees and managers phrasing for specific situations, which helps when a survey theme needs a face-to-face follow-up.

Do not ask the team to defend their ratings, and don't speculate about who gave a low score. Either one ends the honesty you worked to earn.

#Common mistakes in manager feedback surveys

• Surveying and then going quiet. The second round gets fewer and shallower responses if nobody saw action from the first.
• Reporting tiny teams. A result for two or three people is a roster, whatever the label says.
• Using it as a performance rating. If managers believe survey scores feed straight into pay or firing decisions, they will coach their teams on how to answer. Treat it as a development input.
• Asking about personality. "Is my manager friendly?" produces opinion. "Does my manager explain decisions?" produces something to change.
• Making the survey too long. The 38-question version is a once-or-twice-a-year exercise. For quarterly use, run the pulse.

#Next step

Pick the version that fits your next four weeks. If you have never asked, start with the 8-question pulse, anonymous, with a date already booked for the results conversation. If you've run engagement surveys before and want depth, run the 38-question version and the follow-up pulse six months later.

Either way, put the anonymity rule in the invitation, report only groups of 3 or more, and decide before launch what each manager will do with the result. FeedbackPulse's Free plan lets you try the format with a team of up to 10, and the same survey builder scales to the rest of the company on Pro.