What are Skip Level Meetings

Skip-level meetings are when a manager’s superior meets directly with team members without the manager present.

These meetings help the team communicate and help the CEO learn and understand everyone’s role better.
It’s an opportunity to get to know each other and build rapport
It provides an opportunity to get recognition from a senior leader
It’s an opportunity to clarify everyone’s understanding of company or functional objectives

What Skip Levels Are Not

To assess a manager's performance by "going around them."
Handle tasks usually done by a team member's direct manager, like managing priorities and careers.

If your team members have multiple reports, a skip-level meeting is required.
The skip level meeting isn't recorded to help build trust with the team members.
You should have skip level meetings at least every three months. You can decide if you want them more often, depending on how many skips you have.
Skip-level meetings can be held either one-on-one or in groups of not more than 10-15.
The first skip-level meeting should be like a casual chat over coffee - an informal talk aimed at getting to know each other.
Future meetings need a clear agenda. The first part should cover updates or reminders for your team - this could be strategy reviews or focus areas. After this, there should be plenty of time for questions from the team.
To acknowledge team members and their work, think about looking at their achievements before a meeting. Write these down at the start of the agenda.
Don't be concerned about repeating information in skip level meetings. Managers often think everyone knows certain information, but remember, you usually have to share messages multiple times in different ways for effective communication.
Meetings with your indirect reports can be a good opportunity to ask for their input. Using the SKS process to guide these discussions can be very beneficial.