Manager Effectiveness Survey

The Manager Effectiveness Survey collects feedback from team members about how well their manager leads, communicates, and supports them. It focuses on the everyday behaviors that shape someone's experience of being managed: whether expectations for the role are communicated clearly, whether the manager keeps the team informed about decisions and changes, whether they are approachable and create space for open conversations, and whether people feel safe raising concerns without fear of consequences. It also asks about coaching, development, and the regularity and usefulness of feedback. Run it across a team or the whole organization so managers get a clear read on their strengths and blind spots, ideally as part of a regular management development cycle.

Managers have an outsized effect on engagement, performance, and retention, yet they rarely get structured feedback on how they are doing. This survey makes that feedback routine and comparable. Ratings on communication, approachability, and psychological safety show whether a manager is building trust or quietly eroding it. Answers on coaching, development support, and feedback quality reveal whether the manager is helping people grow or just assigning work. Because results can be aggregated by team and tracked over time, HR can spot which managers need support, which practices to spread, and where leadership development spend will have the most impact. The goal is better management, not a ranking.

The template runs to roughly 26 questions across communication, trust, coaching, and development. On communication and openness, team members respond to statements such as "My manager communicates expectations for my role and responsibilities clearly," "My manager keeps the team informed about decisions, changes, and organizational updates," "My manager is approachable and creates space for open, honest conversations," and "My manager listens to my input and considers my perspectives before making decisions." Psychological safety is captured with "I feel comfortable raising concerns or disagreements with my manager without fear of negative consequences." Development themes include "My manager provides coaching and guidance that helps me improve my performance," "My manager actively supports my professional development and career growth," and "My manager gives me regular and constructive feedback."

Copy or download the questions and load them into your survey tool, such as Google Forms, Typeform, or your HR platform. Send the same set to every member of a manager's team and keep individual responses anonymous, aggregating results only where team size is large enough to protect identities. No signup is required. Share each manager's summary privately and frame it as input for their own development, then revisit the same questions in a later cycle to measure change.