Skip-Level Meeting-Redux!

My last blog on meeting your skip-level boss brought some noteworthy feedback. One comment on the post itself and many directly to me from my clients and others in senior executive positions asked me to expound on some tips that they should follow in conducting such meetings. I think that this is a very good topic to discuss to complement the discussion of the original blog.

Although the same rules apply for skip-level meetings from either side, the executives holding such meetings have a greater responsibility to ensure that such meetings result in the outcomes they desire and their long-term effect is positive across the ranks in their organization.

So, here are the tips, again as the Dos and Donts list that executives may consider following if they want to have the right outcome from them.

Dont

1.Just catch someone two levels (or more) down in your own organization and shanghai them to your office for a conversation. Different people respond differently to authority and in many cultures the separation between levels alone can be a major barrier to a meaningful conversation (Please read here about Power-Distance Index and how it affects a relationship and conversation between two employees in different cultures). Instead, schedule a meeting providing ample notice to the person you are going to meet and make the agenda clear to them: Id like a 30 minute meeting with you to discuss your career progress and your aspirations.
2.Keep them waiting outside your intimidating executive office. Be on time and meet them in some neutral locationon time: Cafeteria, a small conference room away from your suite, or outside. Make this a face-to-face encounter; do not walk with them for 30 minutes since you cannot make an eye contact in such encounters. Do not say, I did not get any time to do my walk today, so let us go for a short walk.
3.Start with the dire state of the companys financials, its plunging stock price, or the merger rumor. Do not start with anything negative unless the employee had a death in the family, a spouse in the hospital, or had a recent accident that was serious.
4.Bring up anything negative that may have happened in their job in the recent period. Too bad you missed the release deadline last week. Now, we have to bring in consultants to make up for the lost time and spend a fortune recovering from this setback.
5.Keep looking at your watch as the employee is talking and struggling with how to best present their thoughts in a coherent way that make sense to you. Be patient with peoples ability to package their thoughts and present them in a meaningful way.
6.Answer your cell phone or respond to IMs as this conversation is taking place.
7.Let anyone interrupt you or the meeting unless it is an emergency.
8.Bring up your Direct Report (DR) in a probing way or insinuate anything negative about them. Dont say, Too bad Jim does not have enough time to mentor you as your manager to improve your leadership. He is just too busy with all these projects.
9.Promise anything that you cannot keep. Do not say, Let me work on getting your promotion in the next few months. You deserve it.
10.Ignore any useful suggestions the employee is making. At least pretend you are paying attention to their concerns. Also, dont argue in that meeting, just listen.

Do

1.Start the meeting with something positive and something that will help the employee marshal their courage for a positive conversation. For many the Power-Distance Index can be a major barrier in a meaningful conversation and starting with something that is reassuring to the employee can be a good springboard for that to happen.
2.Complement them for something that they have done recently and dwell on that for a few minutes with some specifics: Your completing the contract and getting it signed by everyone before the deadline was masterful. We were pleasantly surprised that all partners agreed to those terms without any changes. Great job!
3.Lay out the agenda in some detail at the outset: Thanks for meeting with me, John. Id like to discuss three items: Your career, the support you need from us to advance yourself, and how we can give you more time for creative work that you do that you are so good at.
4.Ask the employee what items they have to discuss in the meeting and triage them first. Then ask them if that is OK with them before you get going. Remember, you are in charge of this meeting.
5.Take notes as they speak and have something that needs action or that is worthy of note. Nothing is more flattering to an employee when someone in a senior position is taking notes as they speak.
6.Pay close attention to their body language and listen to what they are trying to say. Many are not as adept at fluent communication and struggle with how they present their ideas. Regardless, the physical cues as they speak are unmistakable. So, take the time to probe further when you see a disconnect between the words and the body language.
7.Help them with their thoughts by interjecting with your own thoughts as they navigate through their presentation. Do not complete their sentences and show your impatience.
8.Share something that is not generally known, but is about to be announced. This way they feel confided in; ask them to keep it to themselves until the announcement is made.
9.Promise only those things that you can do something about. Give a timeline when they will see the change and make sure that you honor your word.
10. Thank them for their inputs, for their time, and their ongoing great work.
Encounters with employees a few levels down in your company must be seen as your opportunity to make an impression and to establish a positive relationshipand trustwith the companys front-lines. Use these guidelines to get the most out of such meetings, both for yourself and for your organization.
Good luck!

About Author

Dilip has distinguished himself as LinkedIn’s #1 career coach from among a global pool of over 1,000 peers ever since LinkedIn started ranking them professionally (LinkedIn selected 23 categories of professionals for this ranking and published this ranking from 2006 until 2012). Having worked with over 6,000 clients from all walks of professions and having worked with nearly the entire spectrum of age groups—from high-school graduates about to enter college to those in their 70s, not knowing what to do with their retirement—Dilip has developed a unique approach to bringing meaning to their professional and personal lives. Dilip’s professional success lies in his ability to codify what he has learned in his own varied life (he has changed careers four times and is currently in his fifth) and from those of his clients, and to apply the essence of that learning to each coaching situation. After getting his B.Tech. (Honors) from IIT-Bombay and Master’s in electrical engineering(MSEE) from Stanford University, Dilip worked at various organizations, starting as an individual contributor and then progressing to head an engineering organization of a division of a high-tech company, with $2B in sales, in California’s Silicon Valley. His current interest in coaching resulted from his career experiences spanning nearly four decades, at four very diverse organizations–and industries, including a major conglomerate in India, and from what it takes to re-invent oneself time and again, especially after a lay-off and with constraints that are beyond your control. During the 45-plus years since his graduation, Dilip has reinvented himself time and again to explore new career horizons. When he left the corporate world, as head of engineering of a technology company, he started his own technology consulting business, helping high-tech and biotech companies streamline their product development processes. Dilip’s third career was working as a marketing consultant helping Fortune-500 companies dramatically improve their sales, based on a novel concept. It is during this work that Dilip realized that the greatest challenge most corporations face is available leadership resources and effectiveness; too many followers looking up to rudderless leadership. Dilip then decided to work with corporations helping them understand the leadership process and how to increase leadership effectiveness at every level. Soon afterwards, when the job-market tanked in Silicon Valley in 2001, Dilip changed his career track yet again and decided to work initially with many high-tech refugees, who wanted expert guidance in their reinvention and reemployment. Quickly, Dilip expanded his practice to help professionals from all walks of life. Now in his fifth career, Dilip works with professionals in the Silicon Valley and around the world helping with reinvention to get their dream jobs or vocations. As a career counselor and life coach, Dilip’s focus has been career transitions for professionals at all levels and engaging them in a purposeful pursuit. Working with them, he has developed many groundbreaking approaches to career transition that are now published in five books, his weekly blogs, and hundreds of articles. He has worked with those looking for a change in their careers–re-invention–and jobs at levels ranging from CEOs to hospital orderlies. He has developed numerous seminars and workshops to complement his individual coaching for helping others with making career and life transitions. Dilip’s central theme in his practice is to help clients discover their latent genius and then build a value proposition around it to articulate a strong verbal brand. Throughout this journey, Dilip has come up with many groundbreaking practices such as an Inductive Résumé and the Genius Extraction Tool. Dilip owns two patents, has two publications in the Harvard Business Review and has led a CEO roundtable for Chief Executive on Customer Loyalty. Both Amazon and B&N list numerous reviews on his five books. Dilip is also listed in Who’s Who, has appeared several times on CNN Headline News/Comcast Local Edition, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle in its career columns. Dilip is a contributing writer to several publications. Dilip is a sought-after speaker at public and private forums on jobs, careers, leadership challenges, and how to be an effective leader.

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