4 ms·

I would love to have a skip level meeting going 2 levels up. My one on ones with my manager have become repetitive because he asks me what my problems/concerns

by dwater 6y ago

I would love to have a skip level meeting going 2 levels up. My one on ones with my manager have become repetitive because he asks me what my problems/concerns are, I tell him variations the same 3 or 4 things every time, and has asks me for ideas about what he/we can do to try to solve them from below since he doesn't have the direct power or influence to address them from above. Unfortunately I know who his manager is and I know that my/our concerns are not going to be addressed by that person.

wilde 6y ago
Have you requested a meeting? You might be surprised.
- dwater 6y ago
  No, the upper level person in question is overbooked with being in charge of 1/3 or 1/2 of the company's employees. My personal opinion is that person was given too much responsibility too quickly and is in over their head. When my team came into their purview they told us they wanted to spend as little time as possible on my team, and I've deferred to that statement.
  - mateo411 6y ago
    > When my team came into their purview they told us they wanted to spend as little time as possible on my team, and I've deferred to that statement. That sounds like a pretty effective way of hurting morale.
  - monknomo 6y ago
    to my outsider ears, this sounds exactly like the sort of situation where you should request a meeting and highlight the issue. Not in a finger point-y way, but as an observation that your team needs more time from someone at their level
  - arminiusreturns 6y ago
    I've seen this before, and generally think it tends to be because technical people who have risen to the top as the org grows don't like giving up power, so they end up holding control over way too many teams/depts and the org suffers for it. (or it's a naive cost saving measure) I would like to see a comparison of org-charts in highly functioning corps of varying size.
1123581321 6y ago
Talk to your manager about that meta problem. It may be awkward but you should push them to become a more effective manager, which they can do by pushing on their manager and skips.
- dwater 6y ago
  I didn't intend for this to become an outlet for me to complain about the organizational problems at my employer. They were having leadership difficulties before the pandemic, which halted all growth and even shrinking of existing business. I think my manager is doing his best but that the organization is going to let the team atrophy and be absorbed by another, or at some point down the line when there's more money available reconstitute it. I'm leaving because that's what I see as the most likely future, people who disagree with me are staying and I am wishing them the best and washing my hands.
war1025 6y ago
> My one on ones with my manager have become repetitive My 1:1s with my boss are basically useless and I think we're both aware of that. What do people generally talk about in 1:1s? I've never really been clear what the purpose is other than to check a box and say it happened.
- PaulRobinson 6y ago
  1. Opportunities for timely feedback (in both directions) 2. Concerns/issues 3. General chat Most people forget the third option. It’s OK if it’s just time to hang out with each other. That said, it’s your meeting more than it is your manager’s. If you want to cancel, you should. However, frequent cancellation is a signal of a problem to my mind. As a manager, the only thing more frustrating than a 1:1 which is like pulling teeth, is a 1:1 with somebody who doesn’t want to communicate at all.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - houseofzeus 6y ago
    I think what gets lost is that it's your 1:1, not the manager's. Same when you go to a skip level. If they are the one driving the agenda it is indeed probably going to be a waste of time. This cartoon is a useful prompter for different things to think about going into them: https://twitter.com/b0rk/status/1037186572234498048?lang=en https://twitter.com/b0rk/status/1037186572234498048?lang=en
    - war1025 6y ago
      So looking at that list, We have group meetings to cover the majority of: - What's going well - What's not going well - Team priorities - Brainstorm My boss in general doesn't really give feedback. And the answers "Ask for opportunities", "Career Planning", and "Ask for extra resources" is basically, "This is the job, if you want something else, go find a new job" I did manage to get a raise and a few extra responsibilities by going out and getting a job offer at a different company. I think probably the real answer is that my job is a dead end and probably an unhealthy environment to have spent so much time in. But also I have outstanding work-life balance, which is my highest priority at the moment with three young kids at home. In a couple years maybe that changes.

by dwater 6y ago

wilde 6y ago

Have you requested a meeting? You might be surprised.

dwater 6y ago
No, the upper level person in question is overbooked with being in charge of 1/3 or 1/2 of the company's employees. My personal opinion is that person was given too much responsibility too quickly and is in over their head. When my team came into their purview they told us they wanted to spend as little time as possible on my team, and I've deferred to that statement.
- mateo411 6y ago
  > When my team came into their purview they told us they wanted to spend as little time as possible on my team, and I've deferred to that statement. That sounds like a pretty effective way of hurting morale.
- monknomo 6y ago
  to my outsider ears, this sounds exactly like the sort of situation where you should request a meeting and highlight the issue. Not in a finger point-y way, but as an observation that your team needs more time from someone at their level
- arminiusreturns 6y ago
  I've seen this before, and generally think it tends to be because technical people who have risen to the top as the org grows don't like giving up power, so they end up holding control over way too many teams/depts and the org suffers for it. (or it's a naive cost saving measure) I would like to see a comparison of org-charts in highly functioning corps of varying size.

1123581321 6y ago

Talk to your manager about that meta problem. It may be awkward but you should push them to become a more effective manager, which they can do by pushing on their manager and skips.

dwater 6y ago
I didn't intend for this to become an outlet for me to complain about the organizational problems at my employer. They were having leadership difficulties before the pandemic, which halted all growth and even shrinking of existing business. I think my manager is doing his best but that the organization is going to let the team atrophy and be absorbed by another, or at some point down the line when there's more money available reconstitute it. I'm leaving because that's what I see as the most likely future, people who disagree with me are staying and I am wishing them the best and washing my hands.

war1025 6y ago

> My one on ones with my manager have become repetitive My 1:1s with my boss are basically useless and I think we're both aware of that. What do people generally talk about in 1:1s? I've never really been clear what the purpose is other than to check a box and say it happened.

PaulRobinson 6y ago
1. Opportunities for timely feedback (in both directions) 2. Concerns/issues 3. General chat Most people forget the third option. It’s OK if it’s just time to hang out with each other. That said, it’s your meeting more than it is your manager’s. If you want to cancel, you should. However, frequent cancellation is a signal of a problem to my mind. As a manager, the only thing more frustrating than a 1:1 which is like pulling teeth, is a 1:1 with somebody who doesn’t want to communicate at all.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- houseofzeus 6y ago
  I think what gets lost is that it's your 1:1, not the manager's. Same when you go to a skip level. If they are the one driving the agenda it is indeed probably going to be a waste of time. This cartoon is a useful prompter for different things to think about going into them: https://twitter.com/b0rk/status/1037186572234498048?lang=en https://twitter.com/b0rk/status/1037186572234498048?lang=en
  - war1025 6y ago
    So looking at that list, We have group meetings to cover the majority of: - What's going well - What's not going well - Team priorities - Brainstorm My boss in general doesn't really give feedback. And the answers "Ask for opportunities", "Career Planning", and "Ask for extra resources" is basically, "This is the job, if you want something else, go find a new job" I did manage to get a raise and a few extra responsibilities by going out and getting a job offer at a different company. I think probably the real answer is that my job is a dead end and probably an unhealthy environment to have spent so much time in. But also I have outstanding work-life balance, which is my highest priority at the moment with three young kids at home. In a couple years maybe that changes.