[Verse 1] Sarah leads a DevOps team, works hard every day Then her boss starts meeting with her people while she's away No heads up, no follow-through, just whispers in the hall Now her decisions get questioned and she doesn't know why at all [Chorus] Skip-levels can build or break the trust Tell, explain, and share - that's a must Don't go around, go through instead Keep your middle managers in the lead Transparency beats surveillance every time Make feedback flow up and down the line [Verse 2] When managers feel bypassed they respond in different ways Some get defensive and controlling, micromanage all their days Others just disengage completely, let the senior take control Neither path helps the team succeed or meets the business goal [Chorus] Skip-levels can build or break the trust Tell, explain, and share - that's a must Don't go around, go through instead Keep your middle managers in the lead Transparency beats surveillance every time Make feedback flow up and down the line [Bridge] Don't say "Alex told me on-call's broke" That's attribution, not the right approach Say "I'm hearing themes about the load" Share the patterns, keep the trust bestowed [Verse 3] The right way starts with conversation clear "I'm doing skip-levels, here's why they're here" Then synthesize the themes you found Don't name names, just share the sound This makes your manager more effective too Instead of threatened by what you do [Chorus] Skip-levels can build or break the trust Tell, explain, and share - that's a must Don't go around, go through instead Keep your middle managers in the lead Transparency beats surveillance every time Make feedback flow up and down the line [Outro] When trust flows freely through each level Your DevOps culture starts to revel The middle manager's your greatest ally Don't let surveillance make them shy
← What Skip-Levels Are Not | Skip-Level Cadence in a DevOps Context →