How to Prepare for a Skip-Level Meeting Without Throwing Your Manager Under the Bus

The Skip-Level Anxiety Your manager's manager wants to meet with you. The immediate thought: 'Am I in trouble?' The second thought: 'Should I bring up the thing that's been bothering me about my manager?' The third thought: 'How do I look impressive without looking like I'm trying too hard?' Skip-level meetings aren't investigations. They're how senior leaders stay connected to what's actually happening on the ground. Your skip-level manager wants to hear about your work, your perspective on the team, and whether anything's broken that they can't see from their altitude. The key tension: being honest and useful without creating political problems with your direct manager. These templates navigate that. The Pre-Meeting Prep Email to Your Manager Always give your direct manager a heads up before a skip-level. Not asking permission — informing them. Hi [Manager], [Skip-level manager] scheduled a 1:1 with me for [date]. Wanted to let you know. I'm planning to share updates on [projects] an