Recipe: Skip-level meeting prep doc
A structured template for preparing your skip-level 1:1 so you walk in with clarity, context, and the right questions.
Ingredients
- Your last three 1:1 notes with your direct manager
- Team org chart (current + any known changes)
- One-page self-assessment of your top 3 wins and 1 growth area
- 3–5 questions you cannot get answered by your manager
Prep steps
- Context dump. Write a half-page summary of what your team owns, recent milestones, and any cross-team friction. Assume the skip knows the headlines but not the texture.
- Signal scan. Review manager 1:1 notes for patterns — blocked decisions, recurring escalations, resource gaps. Flag the top two themes.
- Question design. Draft questions that only a skip can answer: strategy shifts, reorgs, budget philosophy, career pathing outside your manager's scope.
- Pre-read. Package everything into a single-page doc. Share 48 hours ahead with a “no need to read, but here if useful” note.
The doc template
# Skip-level prep: [Your Name] → [Skip Name]
## Context (4 bullets max)
## Wins since last cycle
## One thing I'd do differently
## Questions for you
## Optional: feedback on my manager
Guardrails
- Never surprise your manager — tell them you booked it.
- Don't litigate. Frame feedback as observation, not complaint.
- If the skip reschedules, don't read into it. Send the pre-read anyway.