Navigating Skip-Level Meetings: Guidance for Direct Reports

Understanding Skip-Level Meetings

• 🎯 A skip-level meeting is an invitation from your boss's boss (grand boss) to discuss organizational matters.
• 💡 These meetings serve as a way for senior managers to gather insights directly from individuals lower in the organizational hierarchy.
• 🗣️ They can also be used to ensure that important company messages are communicated accurately throughout the organization, bypassing potential message attenuation.

Key Strategies for Attending

• ✨ Maintain positivity at all times; focus on excitement, agreement, and optimism, avoiding any negative remarks.
• 🤫 Do not share anything with your boss's boss that you have not already discussed privately with your direct manager.
• 💬 Share your opinion, not feedback. Frame statements from your perspective (e.g., "From my perspective...") rather than implying you know how things should be.

What to Discuss and How

• 📈 Ask about plans, processes, and future announcements by reviewing company communications from senior leadership.
• ❓ Prepare open-ended questions that show interest in the company's future and how your team fits in, such as "What does this mean for our team?"
• 📝 Take notes during the meeting to demonstrate engagement and attentiveness.

Avoiding Pitfalls

• 🚫 Never "drop dimes" by revealing sensitive or negative information about your boss or peers to their superior without prior notification and opportunity for resolution.
• 🤝 Do not throw your manager under the bus; even if issues have been discussed with your boss, bringing them up to their boss in a public forum can be politically damaging.
• 🎭 Be your best self by presenting professionally, bringing a notebook, and actively participating to make a positive impression on those who can influence your career.