Building strong relationships with your team is one of the most critical components of effective leadership. When you take the time to understand the individuals that make up your team, including their motivations, challenges, and aspirations, you create a foundation for trust, collaboration, and higher performance.

As a leader, especially when joining a new organization or team, it's valuable to collect insights early on. I use a simple survey, like Google Forms, that provides team members an opportunity to share their perspectives. This approach allows everyone to contribute, including those who might be less vocal in group settings.

You can use the questions below as a starting point, but I encourage you to customize them to your team and situation. The questions below are intentionally open-ended to encourage authentic responses rather than leading team members toward specific answers. By inviting both positive feedback and constructive criticism, you signal that you value honesty and are committed to addressing challenges, not just celebrating successes.

Getting to Know You and Your Team

Since I am new to [COMPANY/ORGANIZATION] and your teams, I wanted to give you a chance to share your thoughts on what we are doing, where we are going, and how we can get better.

Mission and Purpose

• From your perspective, what is the purpose for our team? What is your "why" for what we do?

• How would you describe the purpose of the team?

• How does our mission and purpose connect and inspire you and your team?

Why these questions matter: Understanding how team members perceive the team's purpose reveals alignment (or misalignment) with organizational goals. These questions uncover whether team members feel connected to a meaningful purpose beyond daily tasks. Differences in how individuals describe the team's purpose can highlight communication gaps or opportunities to reinforce a shared vision. The connection between mission and personal inspiration helps to identify what motivates your team and where engagement might be strengthened.

Your Future and Ours

• What are 2 or 3 technical achievements you would like to see with your products?

• What are 2 or 3 things that are holding you back from achieving those?

Why these questions matter: The first identifies what technical directions excite your team members, uncovering potential innovation paths and growth opportunities. The second question brings practical challenges to the surface, including resource constraints, technical debt, or process issues that might otherwise remain hidden or unaddressed.

• What is your biggest wish for you? For your team?

Why this question matters: This question distinguishes between personal career aspirations and collective team goals, helping you understand how to support individual growth while fostering team cohesion. The answers provide insight into whether team members feel their personal development aligns with the team's direction.

• What is one thing that, if I could fix it, would make your daily job better?

Why this question matters: This focuses on immediate, practical improvements rather than just long-term vision. It identifies quick wins that could significantly impact morale and productivity, showing team members you're committed to addressing their day-to-day challenges, not just strategic objectives.

Looking Forward To Growing Together

Thanks for taking the time to give me the feedback. I am excited to see where we have room for improvement and how we continue to improve. I want our team to be a place where other people want to be.

• One final question: what is one UNinteresting fact about yourself that I should know.

Why this question matters: This intentionally fun question serves multiple purposes. It ends the survey on a positive note, reduces the formality of the survey, and often reveals surprising connections. By asking for an "uninteresting" fact, it removes pressure to impress and can lead to more authentic answers. These small personal details can become meaningful connections in future conversations and help build genuine trust.