Form questions
Manager effectiveness survey questions
Ask sixteen to twenty four rows in three or four themed grids, plus two written questions. Three are never cut: one about whether a problem can be raised safely, one about whether credit goes to the person who did the work, and one open question naming the single change that would matter most. Every row uses a frequency scale with a not seen column.
Upward feedback is only worth collecting when the person answering believes it is anonymous, and belief comes from the form rather than from a promise in the invitation email. No name field, no email field, no login, and every statement about behaviour somebody could have watched.
The questions
Communication
Tells me what is going on before I hear it elsewhereRating gridRequired
Every grid runs rarely to almost always with a not seen column. A frequency scale asks about observed behaviour; an agreement scale invites an opinion about the person.
Explains the reason behind a decisionRating gridRequired
Gives me feedback close to the event rather than at review timeRating gridRequired
Listens to the whole point before respondingRating gridRequired
Says clearly when the answer is noRating gridRequired
Runs meetings that are worth the timeRating grid
Support
Clears obstacles I cannot clear myselfRating gridRequired
Protects my time from work that is not mineRating gridRequired
Backs my decisions in front of other teamsRating gridRequired
Notices when I am carrying too muchRating gridRequired
Is reachable when something is urgentRating gridRequired
Makes it safe to say a piece of work is going wrongRating grid
The psychological safety row. Keep it even when the grid is shortened.
Fairness
Shares the interesting work around the teamRating gridRequired
Applies the same standard to everybodyRating gridRequired
Gives credit to the person who did the workRating gridRequired
Handles a mistake without making an example of somebodyRating gridRequired
Deals with poor performance rather than working around itRating gridRequired
Is consistent from one week to the nextRating grid
Growth
Talks to me about where I am heading, not just this quarterRating gridRequired
Puts me forward for work that stretches meRating gridRequired
Makes time for a one to one that is not a status updateRating gridRequired
Tells me what would have to change for a promotionRating gridRequired
Helps me learn from something that went wrongRating gridRequired
In your own words
What should this manager keep doing exactly as they are?Long textRequired
Praise that names a behaviour is the half of an upward report that actually gets acted on.
What one change would make the biggest difference to you?Long textRequired
One change. A report listing six improvements changes nothing, and asking for one is what forces the choice.
How comfortable would you be raising any of this with them directly?Single choice
A quiet measure of whether the anonymous round is needed at all.
Which manager is this about?DropdownRequired
A dropdown of names rather than a text field, so the responses group cleanly and nobody types a spelling that lands in its own bucket.
How long have you reported to them?DropdownRequired
The only thing recorded about the rater, and in a small team even this can identify somebody, so consider dropping it below six reports.
Which questions to make required
The grid rows are required because a half answered grid cannot be scored and the not seen column means nobody is forced to guess. The two written questions are required here, unusually, because an upward round with ratings and no words gives a manager a number and no idea what to do with it. The manager and the tenure are required so the responses can be grouped at all.
- Tells me what is going on before I hear it elsewhere
- Explains the reason behind a decision
- Gives me feedback close to the event rather than at review time
- Listens to the whole point before responding
- Says clearly when the answer is no
- Clears obstacles I cannot clear myself
- Protects my time from work that is not mine
- Backs my decisions in front of other teams
- Notices when I am carrying too much
- Is reachable when something is urgent
- Shares the interesting work around the team
- Applies the same standard to everybody
- Gives credit to the person who did the work
- Handles a mistake without making an example of somebody
- Deals with poor performance rather than working around it
- Talks to me about where I am heading, not just this quarter
- Puts me forward for work that stretches me
- Makes time for a one to one that is not a status update
- Tells me what would have to change for a promotion
- Helps me learn from something that went wrong
- What should this manager keep doing exactly as they are?
- What one change would make the biggest difference to you?
- Which manager is this about?
- How long have you reported to them?
The form built from these questions
A static copy of a form built from part of the bank, exactly as it renders.
Three ways to change this bank
For a team of team leaders, add a fifth grid about how the manager handles their own managers: whether they push back on unreasonable requests, whether they pass on context rather than pressure, and whether they protect the team from churn above them. Those behaviours are invisible in the four standard grids. For a shorter version, take the first three rows of each grid and both written questions, which gives twelve rows and about four minutes. For a follow up wave, run it again six months later, unchanged, and have each manager share what they chose to work on before the second round opens. A second round with no visible response to the first is answered by fewer people and more cautiously, which looks like improvement and is not.
Questions people ask
How anonymous can an upward feedback form be?
Collect nothing identifying and it is as anonymous as a form gets: publish it as a public link with no login, drop every contact field, and record only the manager and rough tenure. What breaks it afterwards is reporting. Set a floor of five responses per manager and say so on the first screen.
Why a frequency scale rather than agreement?
Because rarely to almost always asks what somebody watched, while strongly agree to strongly disagree asks what they think of the person. The first produces feedback a manager can act on; the second produces a popularity score. The not seen column is part of the same idea and stops raters guessing.
How many statements is too many?
Twenty four rows across four grids is about the ceiling, and each grid needs its own heading so it reads as four short questions rather than one long one. Past that the final grid is answered down a single column. Five columns is also close to the limit before a phone scrolls sideways to reach the last one.
Should written answers go to the manager as typed?
Yes, and the form should say so, because that is what makes people choose their words. In a small team a single sentence can identify its author. Have the manager's own manager read the set first, and hold anything that names a third person.
How often should upward feedback run?
Twice a year at most, and once is enough in a small company. The interval matters less than the visible response: a manager who names one thing they will work on, then reports back before the next round, gets a far higher response rate the second time.
Can this be used in a performance review?
Use it for development and keep it out of pay decisions, or the answers change. Raters who believe a grid affects somebody's salary either inflate every row or settle a grudge, and both make the round useless. Say which it is in the invitation, plainly.
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On writing the questions themselves, read How to write survey questions. For everything the builder can do, see the form maker. Step by step: Create a form with AI, then View, export and manage your responses.
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