Skip-leaders are higher managers who manage workers two levels below. If Susan reports to John, who reports to Lisa, Lisa is Susan’s skip-level leader. Schilpzand et al. (2026) discuss three ways skip leaders and lower workers interact beyond the cascading via the leader in the middle. The skip leader directly interacts with the worker. Skip leader affects the lower-level leader-worker relationship. Employee goes to the skip leader with ideas or problems. Going through your manager doesn’t always get results, but going around them has its own risks. Lots depends on your cultural norms. Not easy!
Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1048984325000694
