Glossary
Skip-level manager and skip-level meetings
A skip-level manager is your manager’s manager: the person two levels above you in the org chart. A skip-level meeting is a conversation between an employee and that person without the direct manager present. It helps senior managers hear directly from the teams and gives employees a channel beyond their own manager.
Where is the skip level in an org chart?
Follow the solid line from any person up two boxes. The first box is the direct manager, the second is the skip-level manager. Staff positions beside a manager and dotted-line managers are not part of this path; the skip level always follows the formal chain of command.
In a flat organization with only two levels, employees have no skip-level manager; the founder or managing director is their direct manager.
What is a skip-level meeting for?
Skip-level meetings give senior managers an unfiltered view of how work is going, what blocks the teams and how the managers in between are leading. For employees they are a chance to be heard higher up, to understand the bigger picture and to raise topics they find hard to raise with their own manager.
- Ask open questions: what is going well, what slows you down, what would you change?
- Tell the manager in between that the meetings take place and what they are for.
- Follow up on what you hear, but do not use the meeting to make decisions behind the manager’s back.
What goes wrong with skip-level meetings?
The meeting turns into a complaint session or, worse, into a way of overruling the direct manager. Both damage trust. Keep the purpose clear: listening and context, not a second chain of command. Decisions about the employee’s work, pay and leave stay with the direct manager.
Example: finding the skip level
In this hierarchical chart, the account manager Ryan Moss reports to Claire Dunn, head of sales. His skip-level manager is the managing director Helen Carter. For the heads of department there is no skip level inside the chart, because Helen Carter is their direct manager.
The term in other languages
| English | German | French |
|---|---|---|
| Skip-level manager | Vorgesetzte(r) der nächsthöheren Ebene ≈ | Supérieur N+2 |
| Line manager | Disziplinarische(r) Vorgesetzte(r) | Supérieur hiérarchique (N+1) |
| Chain of command | Dienstweg (Instanzenweg) | Chaîne hiérarchique |
Frequently asked questions
How often should skip-level meetings happen?
Many organizations hold them once a quarter or twice a year per employee, or as small group sessions. Regularity matters more than frequency, so the meeting is not seen as a sign of trouble.
Is a skip-level meeting confidential?
Agree on that at the start. Usually the content is shared with the direct manager in summary, without naming who said what, unless the employee agrees.
What is a skip-level manager called in German and French?
German has no fixed term; companies say Vorgesetzte der nächsthöheren Ebene or use the English Skip-Level. French says supérieur N+2, from the employee’s point of view.