Let’s face it. The idea of meeting with your boss’s boss sounds terrifying. But once you get over that feeling, you start to think of problems you want to bring up and questions you want to address. You start to see how that kind of meeting can be helpful.
That’s what a skip-level meeting, or skip-level 1-on-1, is for. It allows you, as an employee, to go a step up the chain of command and get some face-to-face time with senior leaders.
There was a time when most employees never really spoke directly with upper management. They’d share their concerns with their direct manager and wait for them to be carried up the org chart. But as organizations make their hierarchy more agile—or even completely flat—individual contributors meet with these leaders more often. Employees get a chance to be heard, while leaders get essential feedback and insights into the company’s day-to-day. It’s a win-win.
In this guide, you’ll get clarity on what these meetings are, how they’re run, and some common mistakes to avoid.
Key takeaways:
Unlike a typical 1-on-1 meeting, in which an employee meets with their direct manager, a skip-level meeting “skips” a level in the org chart, allowing employees to meet with leaders above their own manager. Usually, this will be with their manager’s manager, but they may also meet with department heads or executives, depending on the company.
Skip-level meetings are usually only needed in mid-to-large organizations, since they have multiple levels of leadership that make these meetings necessary. In smaller organizations, leaders are close enough to day-to-day operations. That said, a season of significant growth might make these meetings essential, no matter the size of the organization.
The participants of a skip-level meeting aren’t the only difference between these meetings and regular 1-on-1’s. For one, they’re far less frequent. While a regular 1-on-1 meeting can happen as often as every two weeks, one or two skip-level meetings a year are usually enough. The scope of these meetings is also different. Where a typical 1-on-1 focuses on an employee’s performance, the obstacles they face, and the changes they might want to see at a team level, skip-levels are more strategic, situating an employee’s perspective and feedback within the organization as a whole.
Some companies make skip-level meetings a default part of their operations, especially if they hold transparency as an important value. Others may only book these meetings ahead of important initiatives, after significant changes, or when employees request them.
Skip-level meetings connect senior leadership with employees, bridging gaps between groups that otherwise wouldn’t get a chance to communicate. So why build this important communication channel?
For leaders, it’s mainly about getting unfiltered feedback from employees. A leader may get infrequent reports on an employee’s perspectives, opinions, and issues from that person’s direct manager, but this isn’t the same as getting that information from the source. On top of that, these meetings allow leaders to:
Employees get one major benefit from skip-level meetings: direct access to leadership. Not every issue, problem, or question they have can be resolved by their direct manager, and asking their manager to pass them on to a leader doesn’t always work. Sometimes there’s nothing better than a little face-to-face time with a leader who’ll listen. Employees can also expect:
You don’t have to panic just because you see a meeting on your calendar with the head of a department or an executive. Preparing for a skip-level meeting is just like preparing for regular 1-on-1’s, with just a few differences.
Not all skip-level meetings are held for the same reason. Some are there just to give leaders a better look into your day-to-day, some are planned ahead of a big change, and others are there to assess the impacts of recent growth.
Before you show up for your meeting, ask what the intent is so you can better prepare.
You’re likely to be asked about your recent contributions to your team’s work, as well as any important projects you’ve been on, by someone who’s not overly familiar with your work. Review your recent work so you can share a summary of what you’ve worked on and a list of some of your wins.
Brainstorm some aspects of your team’s work you might want to bring up. Surface what your team does well, but don’t shy away from sharing any constructive criticism you have. Leaders need skip-level meetings to see into your team’s dynamics.
You’re likely already expecting leaders to ask you questions, but you should prepare your own as well. Are there company-wide initiatives you want to know more about? Curious about the reasoning behind a recent change? It’s the time to ask!
Leaders may prompt you to offer feedback or ideas about specific topics during your skip-level meetings. They might also ask for more general feedback. Either way, make sure you’ve got some ready to go!
Remember that a skip-level meeting isn’t a performance review. It’s a conversation. You’re not trying to “pass” anything.
Likewise, these meetings aren’t the place for gossip or oversharing. If you have an issue with the team or your manager, you certainly should bring it up in this meeting, but make sure to do it in a constructive way.
There might be small variations in skip-level meetings from organization to organization, but they generally follow this agenda.
It’s important to break the ice, especially if you’re meeting with a leader you’ve never really talked to before. You don’t need to be cracking jokes, but be ready for a few informal questions about you, your role, and what you do outside of work.
Usually, leaders will leave most of a skip-level meeting open for you to speak. Sometimes you’ll speak first, relatively unprompted. In other meetings, you may be given specific prompts to consider. Either way, expect to do most of the talking, especially early in the meeting. You might be asked about your perspective on company-wide phenomena or specific initiatives.
While leaders use skip-level meetings to get your perspective on your work or other issues, they’ll usually also have feedback to offer you. That may be on your performance, your role on specific projects, or even just how others describe working with you in their own day-to-day.
Leaders may use skip-level meetings as an opportunity to discuss where you see your career going in the near future. This can help them gauge your priorities, align your career growth with the company’s, and even offer development opportunities.
Skip-level meetings are rarely a one-and-done affair. Leaders will typically want to draft an action plan to address any feedback or criticism you shared during the meeting. You’ll likely be asked to help work on this plan, but the bulk of the follow-up won’t come from you.
Remember that a skip-level meeting isn’t a performance review or an exit interview. It’s a chance for you to meet with leaders, express your opinions, and share the realities of your day-to-day work. You won’t be evaluated on what you share.
Meeting with a team lead or department head can feel stressful, but you don’t have to worry about being overly professional or stiff. Just consider this meeting a conversation, and be just as professional as you would be with any other coworker.
While you shouldn’t be overly anxious about your first skip-level meeting, there are some common mistakes you should watch out for.
Before your skip-level meeting, you should prepare a summary of your day-to-day work, recent accomplishments, and perspective. If you have questions or opinions about recent company changes or initiatives, make sure you’ve prepared them as well. Being unprepared can lead to a lot of dead air, “uhms” and “ahs,” and a waste of a meeting for everyone involved.
Even if you have criticism about your direct manager, you shouldn’t make it the bulk of your meeting. An excessive focus on your manager’s faults can come across the wrong way. If you need to criticize your manager, keep it constructive and bring up some of their good points, too.
Leaders will usually give you most of a skip-level meeting to share your opinions, perspective, and feedback. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make an active effort to listen to them, as well.
A skip-level meeting isn’t an opportunity to move up in your career or get in a leader’s good graces. These transparent attempts at advancing your own career are easy to spot and are likely to make a meeting much more awkward.
Even though you shouldn’t be overly formal when meeting with leaders, you also don’t want to be too casual. An overly casual tone can make for a difficult meeting and a poor first impression.
If your skip-level meeting involves action items or commitments that you need to act on, make them a priority as soon as the meeting is over. The last thing you want is to show up at the next meeting having made no progress on these commitments.
Leaders should be going out of their way to share the details of a skip-level meeting with your manager but just in case they don’t, make sure to inform your manager about it.
Once your skip-level meeting is over, there are a few follow-up actions you’ll want to take:
Properly following up on your skip-level meeting is an important part of your professional development. Performance management tools like 15Five can help you automate some of this process, as well as giving you guidelines for doing this the right way.
A skip-level meeting is a strategic opportunity for employees to be seen, heard, and supported. For leaders, it’s a chance to get clear insights into day-to-day operations, important initiatives, and company-wide changes.
For both parties involved, a skip-level meeting can be a massive positive, as long as everyone comes prepared. Bringing the right questions, the right mindset, and following through on any issues discussed is essential to making each meeting more productive. Professionalism, honesty, and transparency are key, as well.
Want to find other ways to make your 1-on-1s more valuable. Explore 15Five’s tools here.