Crying Wolf with the CC Line

It is summer in NE Indiana, at least it is after Memorial Day that is. Our landscaping is exploding with flowers and insects are taking advantage of the blossoms. I enjoyed my coffee watching the sun cast its rays over everything, giving the promise of a great day. As I sat with my hot coffee, I thought about podcasts I listened to recently.

Just yesterday I listened to one of those "business" podcasts, the one promoted as giving lessons to make you a better employee and leader. In reality it was full of the typical suggestions that can be summed up as just being a good person.

There was one topic that did hit home though: CC'ing someone's boss when not necessary.

The CC'ing of someone's boss is a huge Red Flag that says "The receiver of this message is NOT doing their job." It is a maneuver that should be reserved for when necessary.

I've experienced this in the past when someone did not reserve this for special occasions; they CC'd supervisors in every email.

As I thought about my experience after finishing the podcast, I realized the people CC'ing the world were covering their rear ends by transferring responsibility for their job to others. Even when the situations were shared with management, supervisors said "Just do what's needed." The message was not protecting their teams; it was to cover for the one screaming wolf.

This occurred with almost every email, the transfer of workload by subtly complaining that others were not doing their jobs with the CC. The CCs were known throughout the company and regularly discussed. While the objective of the copying was to help the customer, in reality it eroded the support and effort put into helping.

The bees flitting from flower to flower in our patio landscaping don't announce their work. They just do it. Teams function the same way, quietly, collaboratively, trusting that everyone is handling their piece. The moment every email becomes a paper trail, something shifts. People stop working toward the goal and start working toward protection. And somewhere in that shift, the customer, the whole reason the team exists, gets less than their best.