One small point on which I'm sure the author would agree is that an executive meeting can shift around between the three. Especially a pre-scheduled skip-level.

It can start with some Mentoring, the executive might hear something interesting and do some Fact Finding, and then become concerned enough to do some amount of Loyalty Check.

IME, this rule is the one that will keep you grounded through such an experience: "Also try to be kind: my rule in this situations is to always assume what I say will be inadvertently shared with the person who it’s about."

You might call it the Mercury rule; right next to Golden!