Questions · First team meeting
Questions for a first team meeting that set the tone for the year
For a new manager meeting the team, or a new team meeting itself: introductions that go past job titles, how each person works best, the team you want to be, and how to close.
- 17 questions
- EN + TL on every card
- Free in the app
Kumustahan is a bilingual conversation card app: 1,200 questions in English and Filipino across 7 decks, with a short reflection on the back of every card.
When plans change, how do you decide what to keep, drop, or adjust?
Kapag nagbago ang plans, paano mo dini-decide kung ano ang itutuloy, bibitawan, o ia-adjust?
Changed plans show priorities quickly. Sometimes the real answer is comfort, people, responsibility, peace, or simply energy.
Kapag nagbago ang plans, mabilis lumabas ang priorities. Minsan comfort, tao, responsibility, peace, o energy lang talaga.
The questions
17 questions for a first team meeting
Every question in English and Filipino/Tagalog, word for word from the Kumustahan decks. Open “Back of the card” for the reflection printed on the other side.
Introductions beyond the job title
5 questions
Name, role, and one of these.
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Share one personal rule that only you seem to understand.
Mag-share ng isang personal rule na ikaw lang yata ang nakakaintindi.
Back of the card
Personal rules can sound strange from the outside. From the inside, they usually have a very clear origin story.
Minsan weird pakinggan ang personal rules sa iba. Pero sa'yo, usually may malinaw yang origin story.
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Confess one harmless habit you know is very you.
I-confess yung harmless habit na very you talaga.
Back of the card
Harmless habits become part of your signature. They may be small, but people who know you probably notice.
Yung harmless habits, nagiging signature mo rin. Maliit lang, pero napapansin yan ng mga nakakakilala sa'yo.
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If you could spend a day as any animal, which would you choose?
Kung puwede kang maging hayop nang isang araw, anong hayop ang pipiliin mo?
Back of the card
Imagine your first meal as that animal. Where would you look for it?
Isipin ang unang pagkain mo bilang hayop na iyon. Saan mo ito hahanapin?
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If you could understand one kind of animal, which would you choose?
Kung maiintindihan mo ang isang klase ng hayop, ano ang pipiliin mo?
Back of the card
Imagine the animal gets to ask you something too. What might it ask?
Isipin na may tanong din sa'yo ang hayop. Ano kaya iyon?
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What is one thing you like that you no longer feel the need to explain?
Ano yung isang bagay na gusto mo na hindi mo na kailangang i-explain?
Back of the card
Some preferences do not need a courtroom defense. They can simply be yours, confidently and without a long speech.
May preferences na hindi kailangan ng courtroom defense. Sa'yo lang siya, confident, walang mahabang explanation.
How each person works best
5 questions
Write the answers down. You’ll use them all year.
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In a group, which role feels most natural to you: listener, storyteller, organizer, or side-comment person?
Sa group, anong role yung natural sa'yo: listener, taga-kuwento, organizer, o taga-side comment?
Back of the card
Group roles can shift, but most of us have a default. It is one way people learn how to read us.
Nagbabago minsan ang role sa group, pero madalas may default tayo. Doon din tayo minsan nababasa ng mga tao.
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When you enter a classroom, meeting room, or café, where do you usually choose to sit?
Pagpasok mo sa classroom, meeting room, o café, saan ka usually pumipili umupo?
Back of the card
Seat choices can reveal comfort, strategy, or pure habit. Somehow we all have a spot our body chooses first.
May sinasabi rin yung seat choice: comfort, strategy, o habit lang talaga. Minsan katawan na ang pumipili.
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When the conversation goes quiet, how do you usually react?
Kapag tumahimik yung usapan, paano ka usually nagre-react?
Back of the card
Quiet moments reveal different instincts. Some people fill the space, some enjoy it, and some suddenly inspect their drink.
May kanya-kanyang instinct kapag tumahimik. May nagfi-fill ng space, may okay lang, may biglang titingin sa drink.
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If someone worked or studied with you for one week, what would they notice about your style?
Kung may makakasama ka sa work o school for one week, ano kaya ang mapapansin nila sa style mo?
Back of the card
Your style may show in pace, focus, questions, breaks, or how you handle pressure. People notice more than we think.
Pwedeng lumabas ang style mo sa pace, focus, tanong, breaks, o paano ka humarap sa pressure. Marami palang napapansin ang tao.
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When plans change, how do you decide what to keep, drop, or adjust?
Kapag nagbago ang plans, paano mo dini-decide kung ano ang itutuloy, bibitawan, o ia-adjust?
Back of the card
Changed plans show priorities quickly. Sometimes the real answer is comfort, people, responsibility, peace, or simply energy.
Kapag nagbago ang plans, mabilis lumabas ang priorities. Minsan comfort, tao, responsibility, peace, o energy lang talaga.
The team you want to be
4 questions
Turn the answers into two or three plain-language norms.
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What small things make a room feel welcoming to you?
Anong maliliit na bagay ang nagpaparamdam sa'yo na welcome ka sa isang room?
Back of the card
Welcome can come from tone, space, food, faces, or small signals that say you do not have to prove yourself.
Puwedeng galing sa tono, space, pagkain, mukha ng tao, o maliliit na sign na hindi mo kailangang patunayan ang sarili mo.
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When joining a conversation, what helps you feel comfortable enough to take part?
Ano ang tumutulong para maging komportable kang sumali sa kuwentuhan?
Back of the card
You can invent a first line you would enjoy hearing when you join.
Puwede kang gumawa ng unang linyang gusto mong marinig kapag nakisali ka.
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For a good hangout, what matters most: tasty food, a comfy place, or good conversation?
Sa bonding, ano ang pinakamahalaga: masarap na pagkain, komportableng lugar, o masayang kuwentuhan?
Back of the card
Imagine a hangout with your top choice and nothing fancy. Where would it happen?
Isipin ang simpleng bonding na mayroon ng pinili mo. Saan ito mangyayari?
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Who is someone you respect for the way they live, even in small things?
Sino yung taong nirerespeto mo sa paraan ng buhay niya, kahit sa maliliit na bagay?
Back of the card
Respect often begins with small, steady things. A simple habit can show a lot about how someone moves through life.
Madalas nagsisimula ang respeto sa maliliit pero consistent na bagay. May simpleng habit na maraming sinasabi tungkol sa isang tao.
Before you close
3 questions
End looking forward.
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What are you looking forward to over the next few weeks?
Ano ang inaabangan mo sa susunod na mga linggo?
Back of the card
Finish if you like: "The part I cannot wait for is..."
Kung gusto mo, ituloy: "Ang pinaka-inaabangan ko ay..."
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Which small plan are you looking forward to?
Anong small plan ang nilu-look forward mo?
Back of the card
Looking forward to something simple can help a week feel kinder. Small plans are allowed to matter.
Nakakagaan ng week kapag may simpleng nilu-look forward. Puwedeng maging mahalaga kahit maliit na plan lang.
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Pick one value you want to show up in your week.
Pumili ng isang value na gusto mong makita sa week mo.
Back of the card
A value becomes real in small choices. One week is enough space to practice it gently.
Nagiging real ang value sa maliliit na choices. Sapat na ang isang week para i-practice siya nang gentle.
How to use them
Before you ask
The first team meeting sets expectations for every meeting after it. If it’s all slides and org charts, people learn that meetings here are for listening. If everyone talks in the first ten minutes, they learn something else.
For a new manager, the risk is a team bracing for change and saying as little as possible. For a new team, it’s polite strangers who don’t know how anyone works. Either way, go beyond the job title with a harmless personal rule or a habit that’s very them. Then ask how each person works: which role they fall into in a group, what they do when a conversation goes quiet. Those answers lead to better assignments and better meetings.
Give the third group ten real minutes and leave with a few agreements in plain words, like cameras optional or no meetings before ten. Close with what people are looking forward to. It’s a better last note than a list of action items.
Good for
Tips
- As a new manager, answer every question yourself first, including how you work best.
- Replace the dreaded fun fact with one specific question.
- Have someone take notes on working styles and share them afterward.
- Book the one-on-ones before the meeting ends so the conversation continues.
Decks for this
A 45-minute first meeting
Short enough to keep the energy up, long enough for everyone to talk more than once.
- 5 minutes: why we’re here, in two sentences.
- 10 minutes: introductions, each with one question from the first group.
- 15 minutes: how each person works best, in pairs first, then one thing shared back.
- 10 minutes: the team you want to be; write three norms where everyone can see them.
- 5 minutes: one thing each person is looking forward to.
First team meeting
Frequently asked questions
What questions should I ask at my first team meeting as a new manager?
Have each person introduce themselves with something beyond their title, then ask how they work best and what helps them speak up. End with what they hope the team will be like and what they’re looking forward to.
How do you run a team kickoff meeting?
About 45 minutes: a short purpose, introductions with a specific question, working styles in pairs, a few team norms, and a hopeful close. Save the project plan for the next meeting.
What should you avoid in a first team meeting?
Long presentations, big announcements of change and forced fun facts. The goal is for everyone to talk, and for you to listen more than you present.
Bring a better question to the table.
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