Template

Skip-level meeting template

A conversation between a manager and somebody two levels down, to hear what does not travel up on its own.

30 minutesFor Directors and heads of departmentAgenda room
Change the agenda first

The agenda, with a time for each part

  1. How things are going for you5 min
    • What is the best part of your week at the moment?
    • What is the worst?
  2. What the team is doing well6 min
    • What should nobody be allowed to change?
  3. What is getting in the way7 min
    • What takes longer here than it should?
    • What do people complain about when managers are not listening?
  4. What you would change if it were up to you7 min
    • If you ran this department for a month, what would you do first?
  5. What I can do5 min
    • What is one thing I could do that would help you?

How the notes read afterwards

A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.

Going well. The team trusts each other; code review is fast and kind.

In the way. Priorities change mid-week without anybody saying why.

What I can do. Explain the reason behind a change of priority in writing, the same day.

Running it well

Ways to change it

Group skip-levelFour or five people from one team, forty-five minutes. People say more together than alone when the subject is how the team works.
New in the jobHold one with everybody in your first two months, and ask the same five questions each time.

When to skip it. While a reorganisation is under way that they have not been told about. You will not be able to answer the only question they have.

Questions

What is a skip-level meeting?

A one-to-one between a manager and somebody who reports to one of their managers. It is for hearing how things look from there, not for checking on the manager in between.

How often should skip-level meetings happen?

Two to four times a year with each person is enough for most teams.

What happens in the room

Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.

More templates

First 1:1 with a new team memberBefore any work is discussed: how they like to work, what they want from you, and what a good first month looks like.Performance reviewA look back at the year and a plan for the next one, with no surprises in it.Mentoring sessionA mentor and the person they mentor: one real question, worked through, and something to try before next time.Career conversationNot this week's work: where the person wants to be in a few years, what is in the way, and one step to take next.1:1 meetingA weekly hour between a manager and one person — theirs first, yours second.All-hands meetingThe whole company in one call: where things stand, what is next, and any question people want to ask.Quarterly business review (QBR)Once a quarter with a customer: what they got for their money, what did not work, and what the next quarter is for.Incident postmortemWhat happened, why, and what changes so it does not happen again — without blaming anybody.

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