my employee cc’s me on too many emails
A reader writes:
I’m a director of a busy company. I receive upward of 1,000 emails a day, with 75% of them for awareness only but necessary nonetheless.
I have a report who manages a team of nine, all remotely. He copies me on everything — from meeting response notifications to emails to his employees to messages to IT about an employee’s computer issue. I’ve asked him why he does it and he says he wants to make sure I know what he is doing at all times. I told him that I trust him, he does a great job and it is not necessary. Problem is, he still does it.
I need to have a conversation with him, but knowing he can be sensitive and already feels like he has to defend his every move, I am afraid it will have a negative effect on our work relationship. However, I need that volume of email to stop and for me to not be so consumed with it.
I answer this question — and three others — over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.
Other questions I’m answering there today include:
- We didn’t hire our intern full-time and I’m worried she’ll be devastated
- Employees want to work while they’re furloughed
- Do I owe my friend a personal response on a message I forwarded on her behalf?
