{"id":"mgr-x-skip-level-questions","audience":"managers","category":"meetings","track":"productivity","technique":"constraints","title":"Prep skip-level questions that don't put anyone on the spot","free":false,"task":"You're a director meeting the team under one of your managers for a skip-level conversation. You need exactly 5 numbered open questions, each one sentence, under 90 words in total, plain text. None can be answered yes or no, none can name or single out a specific person, and none can mention the rumor in your notes.","materialLabel":"Your prep notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"Skip-level prep - Customer Ops team (manager: Dev), Thu 2pm, 6 people\n\nWhy I'm doing this: quarterly skip-levels with every team. Not because anything is wrong.\n\nWhat I want to learn:\n- What's slowing them down day to day.\n- Whether our new ticketing tool (rolled out in Sept) is helping or hurting.\n- What they'd change about how work gets assigned.\n- Whether they see growth paths for themselves.\n- What leadership isn't hearing.\n\nThings I've heard (don't bring up):\n- HR mentioned a complaint that Dev \"plays favorites\" with shift assignments. HR is handling it.\n- Priya and Tom don't get along.\n\nLast time I ran one, someone told me afterward my question \"Is Dev a good manager?\" made the room go silent.\n\nFormat: 45 minutes, I'll take notes but won't attribute anything to individuals.","rules":[{"type":"numberedItems","count":5},{"type":"maxWords","max":90},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Asking for 'skip-level questions'","why":"The AI writes 10-15 questions in sections with bold headings and tips.","fix":"Be exact: \"Exactly 5 numbered questions. Plain text, nothing else.\"","checks":["numberedItems","plainText"]},{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for a total word limit and it often lands over it.","fix":"Cap each question instead: \"each question under 16 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Allowing yes/no questions","why":"AI often writes 'Do you feel supported?', which gets a polite yes and silence.","fix":"Add: \"Open questions only. None can be answered yes or no.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Pointing at people","why":"The rumor and names are in your notes, and the AI may ask about Dev or assignments fairness.","fix":"Add: \"Never name a person or hint at favoritism or conflicts.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Not giving the topics","why":"The AI asks generic culture questions instead of what you want to learn.","fix":"Add: \"One question per topic in my 'What I want to learn' list.\"","checks":["r2"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Forbids yes/no questions","patterns":["yes.?no","open.?ended","open questions?"]},{"label":"Keeps names out","patterns":["no names?","don'?t name","single out","no (one|person)","dev"]},{"label":"Avoids the rumor","patterns":["rumou?r","favorit","complaint"]},{"label":"Sets the number of questions","patterns":["\\b(5|five)\\b.{0,15}question"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Skip-level questions work when nobody feels put on the spot. Tell the AI the topics, ban yes/no questions, and keep names and rumors out.","rubricLabels":["None of the 5 questions can be answered yes or no (none start with Do, Did, Is, Are, Would, Have, Can or Does)","No question names or singles out a person (no Dev, Priya or Tom) or hints at favoritism, shift assignment fairness or conflicts between teammates","The questions cover the topics in the notes (day-to-day blockers, the new ticketing tool, how work is assigned, growth paths, what leadership isn't hearing), and there is no intro, heading or facilitation notes"]}