Skip Level is your daily shortcut to that leader. A daily 8-minute podcast for mid-senior leaders who want to get noticed by the top table — and be ready before the role opens. Every morning, in about eight minutes, hosts Maya and Marcus break down one strategic-leadership idea: what’s new, why it matters, and exactly how to use it before your next meeting.
The promotion goes to the leader who’s already thinking two levels up. Hard work got you here. It won’t get you there.
Promotions don’t go to the busiest leaders. They go to the ones senior leaders already recognize as peers — people who speak the language of strategy, carry executive presence, and make decisions like they already own the bigger role.
Maya brings the frameworks and ideas. Marcus asks the questions you’re already thinking and keeps everything grounded in real situations. Every episode ends with action steps you can actually take that day.
This show is developed 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 here at the Crayon Leadership website.
What you’ll get
- A daily 8-minute episode — short enough for the commute, sharp enough to change how you show up.
- Strategy you can speak — learn to frame your work the way promotion committees think.
- Executive presence, decoded — the most cited, least explained factor in who gets promoted.
- Real stories, real moves — no theory without application, no advice without action steps.
Episodes
Episode 109: The Strategic No
He said yes to 11 initiatives. His flagship slipped twice. “No” is a promotion skill…
Episode 108: Your Work Doesn’t Speak for Itself
Her dashboard saved the company millions. Nobody upstairs knew her name — until…
Episode 107: Stop Collecting Mentors
You’ve got five mentors. Zero sponsors. And that’s why you’re stuck….
Episode 106: The Real Meeting Happens Before the Meeting
You brought the best data in the room. And the decision went the other way.
Episode 105: The Override Call — When to Trust Your Judgment Over the AI
The AI said yes. Her judgment said no — and she was right.
Episode 104: The Succession Logjam — Why Nobody Above You Is Leaving (and What That Unlocks for You)
What if the biggest thing between you and your next promotion isn’t a competitor or a budget — but the fact that your boss isn’t going anywhere?
Episode 103: The Information Tax at the Top
The higher you climb, the less truth you hear….
Episode 102: Executive Presence — The 26% Nobody Explains
A quarter of your next promotion has nothing to do with your results….
Episode 101: The Promotion Language Is Strategy
What if the reason you’re not getting promoted has nothing to do with how hard you work?…