Episode description

Panel discussion interview with Sarah Milstein, Sr. Director of Engineering at Mailchimp, and Tanisha Barnett, Director of Engineering at Mailchimp. They get into the details of holding skip level meetings, let them be one-on-ones or group meetings.

Here's everything you'll ever need to know about why you want to have your own skip level meetings, what they look like, what questions to ask, how to break the ice, keep track of them all, and much more. Master skip level meetings to become a great engineering leader yourself!

In this interview we're covering:

• Skip level meeting definition
• The reason they started doing skip level meetings
• Skip level one-on-one meeting and regular one-on-one comparison
• Choosing the people to schedule skip level meetings with
• Notifying the in-between manager about skip level meetings
• Skip level meetings' role at Mailchimp's engineering culture
• Keeping track of the content of skip level meetings
• Skip level meeting questions
• Icebreakers for skip level meetings
• Sensitive topics at skip level meetings
• Advice for new leaders on skip level meetings
• Skip level meeting stories

Excerpt from the interview:

"Even though a key reason for the meeting is to talk about the manager, I don't want to support gossiping. It's a structured meeting that we use for giving feedback, not to talk trash behind people’s backs.

When I get feedback about what employees wish their manager would do, I listen, but I try not to reinforce it in any inappropriate way. I say things like, "That sounds difficult," or "I understand why you want that," while I avoid saying, "Your manager really screwed up." I have to be..."

Click here to read the full interview!