QUESTION: My manager will be unhappy if I discuss issues with his boss.
REALITY: There is nothing wrong in this provided you keep your manager in the loop.
‘Skip-level’ meetings are encouraged in many organizations. The purpose of these meetings is to listen to the issues directly from the employee without his manager being present. This is normally done by calling people in small groups or summoning them individually. The platform is also used to suggest good practice as well as to clarify any policy matter. At such meetings, employees get a chance to hear directly from their manager’s manager on multiple topics. They can get to know about the future direction of the company, to talk about any personal ambition or a particular opportunity. Any conflict or misunderstanding with the manager too can be raised or clarified. Skip-level- meetings help keep the manager’s boss updated and, in some cases, he can alert the subordinate manager about any potential issues.
Some managers are wary of such meetings, as they suspect that their employee might ‘spill the beans’. In some cases, they even go to the extreme of asking the employee to narrate all that had happened at the meeting. This may put pressure on the employee about attending such meetings; and if he does attend, what to say, and what not to.
The manager should understand that this is a normal exercise and it is his manager who will update him on the dialogue. Managers should encourage skip-level meetings. If a manager has a good relationship with his boss, then he will get useful feedback from him, much more so than from the employee. If an employee thinks that he has said something which could show the manager in a bad light, it would be better if he went and updated the manager so that the latter could be ready with an answer when his manager called him. Such interactions are a learning process for all concerned. Healthy companies provide an environment where people receive feedback from all directions, and this is used as a part of the improvement process.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE EMPLOYEE? You should build a good relationship with your manager’s manager. You should not miss out on any opportunity to discuss matters with your senior colleagues. A word of caution: if you have spoken ‘about something controversial or something that differs from the stand of your team or of your ,manager, do inform your manager. The last thing your manager wants to hear from his boss is a surprise in the project. If you feel strongly about any issue or if any feedback is sought by your manager’s manager, then do provide it. If you speak honestly and
keep your manager informed about what you have said, the manager won’t be vindictive.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE MANAGER? If your subordinate talks to your manager, why should you suspect that he’s complaining about you? You should encourage these meetings as they will help in building .the employee’s image as well as in gaining the support of the senior manager during appraisals. These meetings will also give you feedback or an early warning on a project which may help you in taking corrective steps. It’s a strenuous burden to hide information, and so an environment of smooth information flow- such as the one which skip-level meetings ensure- is what you should seek to set up.
