"A skip‑level meeting is a chance to showcase your impact, understand strategy, and get real career guidance without undermining your manager. I have stitched together the guide below to create a practical, reusable playbook for myself as a reminder in the future. I hope this helps anyone else too. 1. Clarify purpose and mindset Go in knowing why this conversation matters and how you want to show up. Define 2-3 outcomes: e.g. understand org strategy, surface a few candid issues, and get advice on your next role. Adopt a partnership mindset: "us vs. the problems," not "me vs. my boss / team." Decide what you will not do: no venting, no surprises, and no speaking ill of your manager."
"2. Do your homework before the meeting Preparation makes you look serious, confident, and respectful of their time. Learn their context: read their LinkedIn, org updates, strategy decks, and any posts or talks they've given. Confirm logistics: time, format, who's attending, and whether slides or reports are expected."
A skip-level meeting provides an opportunity to showcase impact, understand organizational strategy, and obtain career guidance while maintaining respect for the direct manager. Begin by defining two to three concrete outcomes, adopting a partnership mindset focused on shared problems, and explicitly deciding what behaviors to avoid such as venting or surprising the manager. Conduct homework by researching the leader’s background, recent org updates, strategy materials, and public communications. Confirm logistics including time, format, attendees, and any expected slides or reports. Treat the meeting as collaborative, surface candid issues selectively, and ask for targeted advice about next roles.
Read at Medium
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]