Skip Level

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The career advice that built you — dig deeper, specialize — can trap you at the next level. David Epstein's Range shows elite performers usually sampled first, and Federer, not Woods, is the norm. Maya and Marcus explore Robin Hogarth's kind and wicked learning environments, Karim Lakhani's InnoCentive outsiders, and an insurance leader who borrowed triage from a hospital emergency department. Plus four steps for building range before you need it. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

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Free worksheet for this episode at: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/is-your-oq-showing/

Climbing takes more than brains and people skills. Psychologist Daniel Goleman's research found emotional intelligence explains nearly ninety percent of the gap between star and average senior leaders — yet executives still stall. George Yip and Nelson Phillips named the missing third intelligence OQ, organizational intelligence: making the answer move. Maya and Marcus climb the IQ, EQ, OQ ladder, meet a director whose flawless strategy died in the hallway, and finish with a four-step OQ self-audit you can run this week. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

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Free worksheet for this episode at: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/the-top-six-ideas/

What if everything you need to get promoted is already in how you work — and the only thing missing is knowing which parts of it actually matter? Maya, Marcus, and researcher Lena distill thirteen episodes of Skip Level into three patterns — doing becomes directing, visibility is a skill, nobody is coming — then count down the six ideas with the strongest evidence and the most immediate use. Featuring the CEO Genome Project's decisiveness finding, the self-promotion gap research, and the AI-judgment study almost nobody is teaching. Plus three actions for this week, and a bonus fourth from the research side. Maya, Marcus, and Lena are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Free worksheet for this episode at: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/nobodys-coming/

She waited three years to be noticed. Then she built a business case, booked a dedicated meeting, and asked — landing the VP role. Maya and Marcus deliver the hardest truth in the series: if you don't ask, you don't get. Three moves: build the business case (not "I need" but "the business needs someone at this level"), ask for the roadmap not just the role, and make the ask specific and scheduled — then pause and let them process. Lisa's story. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Free worksheet for this episode at: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/write-like-the-room/

His forty-slide deck died in the exec meeting. His two-page memo got the decision. Maya and Marcus unpack why the higher you climb, the more writing matters — from Bezos banning PowerPoint at Amazon in 2004 to the six-page narrative memo. Three moves: lead with the answer (recommendation first, then why), write the memo not the deck, and write for the skimmer two levels up. Sam's story — the director who rewrote a dead deck as a 2-page memo and got the green light. Your ideas only climb as high as your words can carry them. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

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Free worksheet for this episode at: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/influence-without-authority/

75% of cross-functional teams fail at their basic goals. But a program manager with zero direct reports shipped a launch across four teams — by making it everyone else's win. Maya and Marcus unpack how to lead when you have no title: map the interests, trade in currencies (give first), and make it their win. With fewer layers and leadership dispersing laterally, influence is becoming the core senior skill. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

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Free worksheet for this episode: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/managing-up/

Managing up isn't sucking up — it's one of the most promotable skills there is. Maya and Marcus break down how to create value for your boss without losing yourself: learn their operating system, bring solutions not problems, and make them look good upward (no surprises). Adapting to your boss's communication style makes you 70% more effective. Alex's story — the senior manager with a vague big-picture boss who started sending a Friday 5-bullet update, turning him into her biggest advocate. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

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Free worksheet for this episode: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/the-strategic-no/

He said yes to 11 initiatives. His flagship slipped twice. Maya and Marcus make the case that "no" is a promotion skill: 94% of professionals work 50+ hours a week, context-switching costs up to 40% of productive time, and overcommitment directly predicts burnout. Three moves: pause before every yes, tie every no to a strategic yes, and publish a Not Doing List. Tom's story — from scattered VP to focused leader who shipped three big bets. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Free worksheet for this episode: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/work-doesnt-speak/

Her dashboard saved the company millions. Nobody upstairs knew her name — until she started writing a monthly one-pager. Maya and Marcus unpack the visibility paradox: identical performance gets rated differently based on who's narrating it. Three moves: document as you go (build a receipts file), narrate the work not yourself, and establish a visibility rhythm. Nadia's story — from invisible analyst to principal. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Free worksheet for this episode: https://crayonleadership.com/podcast/skip-level/stop-collecting-mentors/

You've got mentors. You've had the coffee chats. So why hasn't anyone opened a door for you? Maya and Marcus unpack the research on the one relationship that actually moves careers — and why the people with the most mentors often get promoted the slowest. Maya and Marcus are AI voices, created with text-to-speech. This show is written and produced by Joe Dutkiewicz of Crayon Leadership. Joe equips mid-senior leaders to think and act two levels up, so they're recognizable to top leaders and ready for the promotion before it opens. Find Joe on LinkedIn, X, YouTube, Facebook, and at the Crayon Leadership website.