Skip-level management requires more frequent, more directive interventions than does direct management.
The Leadership Pipeline by Charan, Drotter, et al lays out critical career transitions:
=>enterprise manager
=>group manager
=>business manager
=>functional manager
=>manage managers
=>manage others
manage self
Different levels of management require different levels of frequency and intervention.
- Those managing themselves are much more task oriented and interact with their work on a continuous basis
- Those managing others probably need to interact with those others on a fairly regular basis (e.g. daily)
- Those managing managers will be more effective if they give them more freedom and check up on them less frequently (e.g. weekly)
- This increase in degrees of freedom and stretching out of the "checking-in" period continues up the line.
Skip-level management problems occur when senior managers fail to recallibrate
When a temporary gap in the chain of command necessitates people used to managing at one level stepping-down to manage people that others have been managing, they need to step-down their management approach. Often they expect the junior people to manage up to their level. Not going to happen. The junior people have never done that before. The senior people have done it, even if they have forgotten how to do it.
The two main adjustments are frequency of interaction and level of direction. Basically, more junior people need more frequent check-ins and more specific direction. It is the responsibility of the more senior people to provide that.
