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How often do you have skip-level meetings (meet with your manager's manager)?

Blackjack200

Blackjack200

Lifer
Just trying to gauge how common this is, I haven't had a skip-level meeting since I started my new role (1 year). I was in my previous role for almost eight years and I might have had two or three of them (usually a perfunctory one after an org change).

I think it's shit. My manager's manager only has seven people under her. How can you not meet with your people, see how they are doing, and get their feedback?

Her manager has a much bigger team, probably close to 50 people. But even then, if you just meet with one person a week you can at least meet with everyone in a year.

Wanted to know what everyone else's experience with this is. Any managers of managers here that do or don't see the value in meeting with the people that report to their directs?
 
For specific project briefings, it is somewhat common where I work but I try to keep all appropriate levels of management in the loop. No one likes surprises.
 
been in my current company for 9 months, and I've had 1.

was at my old job for 10 years and never had any, though (of course, that company was also light on layering... it went me -> my boss -> CTO)

of course, my current boss is also quitting because of feeling like he's being constantly micromanaged by his boss.
 
purbeast0 said:
what the fuck is a skip-level meeting?
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Sounds like an MBA or HR buzzphrase for sure.

To the OP, never had one. At my last company, our CFO would take small groups of us out to lunch to "get to know us," but she literally cancelled my lunch with her at least 5 times so when the 6th invite came, I declined. The only individual meeting I had with her was my exit interview. 😀
 
In my 15 years at this place. Probably around 7 or 8. All of the complaints and nothing ever changes so why bother complaining and making appropriate suggestions anymore.
 
Never. Work in a huge company, my Manager's Manager ( Vice President of Engineering) technically over see's around 3,000 employees.
 
IndyColtsFan said:
The only individual meeting I had with her was my exit interview. 😀
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You had an exit interview? What is that like?
First job. Saw my bosses boss the day I was hired and the day I left to offer more money as I was going out the door. Wait. Was that an exit interview?
The next job, our group did see the bosses boss as he walked through yelling at our boss about once every two months. Then when the boss quit, the bosses boss became the boss for about two weeks, totally messing with the work schedule. New boss came in and the bosses boss returned to the previous routine. On my last day, the bosses boss came in and asked if I wanted to become a boss. Well ...
My next job I worked for one guy. Awesome job and boss but not a career / pay I was looking for. So not a good data point for this thread.
My current job, I'm a boss working for the owner. He does talk to everyone at least once a day. He doesn't believe in meetings in general.
 
I'm having my first skip level meeting today actually. First time in four years. It's mostly due to a big organizational change and our new VP wants to meet with us grunts to see if there is anything we don't like or would want to change.
 
IndyColtsFan said:
Sounds like an MBA or HR buzzphrase for sure.
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Huh? It's a meeting with your manager's manager as I clarified right in the title. You're meeting with a manager that's a level above your manager. You're skipping a level. I don't have an MBA and never worked in HR, how in the world is that a buzzword?

oldsmoboat said:
He has a meeting once a month with everyone but I seldom go to them.
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I should have been a bit more clear. I meant one on one meeting, not a town-hall style event. For the exceptionally dense, a "Town Hall" meeting is when the manager of a large organization has a meeting that includes everyone (or most employees) within their organization.

GasX said:
You have a boss so that his boss doesn't have to deal with you.
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Yes, I suspect that's the attitude. It would be shame in a well run organization, it's inexcusable in an organization with lots of issues.
 
I've never met with my boss' boss except when my boss was there as well, in this role. In my last role they were more regular but as I have moved up there aren't many positions between me and the president anymore, in a straight line that is.
 
Boss's boss has a little trouble delegating (everybody knows it, including him.)

So he does drive-bys of our cubicles to ask how it's going about every other day, and subscribes to all of our internal chat and email channels, and shows up to probably every third team meeting.

He has four teams of maybe 100 people total reporting to him, so we're not past his Dunbar's number.
 
Ah the skip level meeting and 1 of the 2 strikes against me with HR. A meeting where you are free to say anything - even negative stuff and where one can even joke around and have fun. Not.

I chose not to say anything - because I didn't have anything nice to say. The SVP kept calling on me. Finally after the 4th time of being called and not saying anything, I said "How about that local sports team?" LOL Everyone but the SVP thought that was great and I got called down to HR for personally attacking the SVP in front of everyone. Then every meeting after that no one said shit because they didn't want to get in trouble.

At least that dirtbag eventually got fired for his incompetence.
 
ctbaars said:
You had an exit interview? What is that like?
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They're a waste of time in all honesty. It's all about them protecting themselves. Normally I just tell people to smile and nod and tell the interviewer how awesome the company is, but in the one with the CFO, I asked her for additional time and ripped on the CIO and one of his Directors. I really didn't give a crap.

Blackjack200 said:
Huh? It's a meeting with your manager's manager as I clarified right in the title. You're meeting with a manager that's a level above your manager. You're skipping a level. I don't have an MBA and never worked in HR, how in the world is that a buzzword?
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I know exactly what you meant. Still, "skip-level meeting" sounds like a buzzword I've heard HR throw around.
 
Almost never at my last job, though publicly it was encouraged("my door is always open"). It was passively(or sometimes not) discouraged by my direct manager and all parties, including the manager's manager, knew it. Of course, talking to the boss' boss often meant landing on a project with no clear deliverable or the support of my manager, so I basically avoided any interaction with the big boss for the sake of self-preservation.
 
never once in my 11 years in the development industry. other than my first job out of school, my "manager" doesn't have a "manager".
 
poopaskoopa said:
Almost never at my last job, though publicly it was encouraged("my door is always open"). It was passively(or sometimes not) discouraged by my direct manager and all parties, including the manager's manager, knew it. Of course, talking to the boss' boss often meant landing on a project with no clear deliverable or the support of my manager, so I basically avoided any interaction with the big boss for the sake of self-preservation.
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Saying "my door is always open" and then never soliciting feedback or offering praise/support sends a pretty powerful message.

I find it really infuriating when they say that at the end of a town hall meeting and clearly don't mean it.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
So... you get paid in stock and I get paid in bagels and coffee?
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all that is above me is tech leads (and i consider them peers more than anything), and there aren't any managers above them. next in line are the owners of the company, but they aren't managing anything day to day and definitely aren't managing my tech leads.

then in my spare time, i get paid in stock as i'm the VP of engineering and only own equity in the company. hopefully this eventually becomes full time gig and i become a 1%'er like the rest of ATOT
 
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