November 2026 Book of the Month · 7 min · October 30, 2026
Manager’s Corner - Book of the Month
How Managers Can Ask Better Questions at Work
By Exact HR · Editorial update: October 30, 2026
Before offering a solution, ask a question that helps you understand the difficulty. Here are practical approaches to try in your one-on-one conversations and team meetings.
What Makes a Management Question Useful?
A useful management question helps clarify the facts, the obstacles or the support someone needs. Its value depends on the listening that follows and the decision made afterward. Exact HR’s examples can help you prepare a conversation; they do not replace a formal process when one is needed.
Book of the Month: L’art de la question by Isabelle Lord
L’art de la question - Maîtriser l’outil no 1 des leaders dans la nouvelle culture de collaboration, by Isabelle Lord. *French-language book.*
The book’s official presentation emphasizes questions as a tool for collaboration, accountability and autonomy. Our reading recommendation is based on that presentation. The situations and practical questions below were developed by Exact HR; they are not excerpts from the book.
Explore Isabelle Lord’s official book presentation - in French
In everyday conversations, taking time to clarify a difficulty can help you avoid offering a solution based on an assumption. A manager can explore an obstacle, check their understanding and agree on next steps while continuing to make decisions when their role requires it.
Why the Quality of Your Questions Matters
A useful question gives someone room to clarify the facts, explain the effect of a situation and identify a realistic next step. Ask it with a willingness to hear the answer, rather than trying to steer the person toward a conclusion you have already reached.
This skill can help bring uneven workloads, unclear procedures, support needs, privacy concerns or changes in someone’s participation into the conversation. The manager then has more information to decide how to respond.
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Common challenge | Usual reaction | Practice suggested by Exact HR |
|---|---|---|
| Someone brings you a problem | Quickly give an answer or an instruction. | Ask what is happening in concrete terms and what would be most helpful right now. |
| A meeting runs too long | Add more explanations and opinions. | Ask a question that helps the group choose a priority or a next step. |
| The same frustration keeps returning | Assume someone is not making enough effort. | Explore what in the process or organization of work keeps the problem going. |
| Someone seems to be withdrawing | Ask a vague question about whether everything is fine. | Respectfully describe the change you have observed and ask what would help them contribute. |
Four Exact HR Practices to Try
1. Clarify Your Purpose Before Asking
A useful question starts with a clear intention. Before opening the conversation, ask yourself what you need to accomplish: understand a situation, help someone think through a problem, clarify a decision or bring a group together around a priority. Your purpose shapes your tone, your words and the listening that follows.
2. Ask an Open, Specific Question
Wording matters. Specific, open-ended questions often provide more information than broad ones. “What makes this step difficult?” is more useful than “Is everything okay?” A concrete question also reduces the need for the person to guess what their manager wants to hear.
3. Listen Before Offering Your Answer
Listening is part of asking. A thoughtful question loses some of its value if you interrupt with your own answer. Attentive listening gives you an opportunity to paraphrase, check your understanding and identify what needs further discussion.
4. Build a Repertoire for Your Conversations
Practice helps managers develop a useful collection of questions. You do not need to start from scratch in every conversation. Keep the questions that work well in one-on-one meetings, team discussions, onboarding and project reviews. Adjust them as you gain experience and receive feedback.
Need Training to Strengthen Your Managers’ Communication Skills?
Would your managers benefit from practising how to ask better questions, listen to a difficult answer or guide a conversation toward a decision?
Exact HR can develop training around situations your organization faces, using practical scenarios and guidance for management conversations. We work with you to clarify the objectives, content and format.
Five Questions Suggested by Exact HR
These original questions are starting points to adapt to the purpose and context of your meeting:
- “What would help you move forward on this?”
- “What is still unclear about our priority?”
- “What are you noticing that I might be missing?”
- “What small adjustment would make the biggest difference over the next few weeks?”
- “What do we need to follow through on this commitment?”
Have an Important Conversation to Prepare?
Do you need to clarify an expectation, understand a recurring frustration or address a difficulty with an employee? We can help you clarify the facts, prepare your questions and organize follow-up, depending on the situation and the agreed scope of support.
Put Better Questions Into Practice
Scroll horizontally to view all columns.
| Management situation | Question or action to try | Intended benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Team meeting | Close with: “Which priority do we all need to understand in the same way before we leave?” | Reduce conflicting interpretations. |
| One-on-one meeting | Ask: “What gives you the most energy at work, and what drains it?” | Identify sources of engagement and recurring frustrations. |
| Procedure change | Ask: “What might make this new approach difficult to apply in day-to-day work?” | Anticipate obstacles before implementation. |
| Tense situation | Start with: “Which facts are we certain about?” | Bring the conversation back to a clearer, less reactive discussion. |
| Project review | Ask: “What should we keep, stop or adjust next time?” | Turn experience into continuous improvement. |
Choose One Conversation to Prepare This Week
Before you begin, prepare one question that will help you understand the situation more fully. After the meeting, note what the question helped you discover and the next step you agreed on.
You do not need to use every question. Choose one that fits your purpose, then leave enough room for the answer.
A Related Exact HR Video
This French-language video addresses preparation for a management conversation. The questions in this article can support that preparation; they do not replace the process needed for a formal matter.
Related French-language video
French-language video · 2 min 33 s
Comment se préparer à une discussion difficile avec un employé?
This Exact HR video addresses preparation for a management conversation. It is available in French.
Explore Exact HR’s HR support for managers
Frequently Asked Questions
Should Managers Only Ask Open-Ended Questions?
Open-ended questions help you explore a situation. Closed questions can then confirm a fact, a responsibility or a deadline. Choose the type of question according to what you need to clarify.
Can These Questions Be Used in a Workplace Investigation?
These examples are intended for everyday management conversations. A workplace investigation requires a suitable framework, method and precautions. A list of questions alone is not enough.
Are These Questions Taken From Isabelle Lord’s Book?
No. The scenarios and practical questions were developed by Exact HR. The separate book recommendation refers to the official presentation of Isabelle Lord’s work.
Does your management team want to improve conversations, prepare meetings more effectively or organize follow-up? Exact HR supports small and medium-sized organizations and nonprofits in Quebec as they develop management practices, through training or assistance adapted to their needs and the agreed scope of work. The first discussion helps clarify your situation and the appropriate type of support. Please leave sensitive personal information and details identifying employees out of the initial contact form.