Tips for COOs – #1 The Skip Level Meeting

A skip-level meeting is when a COO skips over one of their direct reports, like a VP of marketing, to meet with their marketing team. The reason for the skip level meeting is to gain insights from that team and be able to talk to them without the leader present.

It is critical that when you do a skip level meeting to remember to not completely engage with the employees.

Example: The COO would skip over the VP of Marketing and meet with all  of the people on the Marketing Team, and would just ask for ideas, and ask questions.

Example – What do you think about ____?

And then the team would give answers, and as the COO you would simply say “that’s interesting” or “thank you.”

It’s really about engaging with employees, not getting into a direct discussion. During this meeting, some great insights can be shared, and great ideas can be learned – but it is essential to remember that the goal is not to directly interact with the team, because no decisions will be made in the meeting.

The Skip Level Meeting is about learning only. You are simply there to ask open-ended questions, listen, gain insights, and share ideas.

For more tips from Cameron be sure to check back next week.

You can also watch this video on our YouTube channel.

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