The Skip Level

Your boss’s boss wants to meet with you. “Just a check-in. Informal. Want to hear how things are going.”

Nothing about a skip level is informal. It is a data-gathering exercise. Your boss’s boss is either: (a) evaluating your manager and using you as a source, (b) evaluating you for a future role, or (c) building a case for a restructuring and wants to know what you’d say if asked.

You’ll never know which one it is. But the smart money is on (c).

The skip level is an interview disguised as a conversation. Everything you say is remembered. Nothing you’re told is binding.