What would be the best way to have emails sent directly to you in your inbox but hide emails for later review when you are in Cc line?

Using cc to keep others in the loop is especially risky when you aren’t the originator of an email thread. 

For example, let’s say you send an email to your colleagues Betty and Carlos. Betty writes back — and cc’s your other co-workers Debra and Eric.

This is a big lapse of professional email etiquette. You intended the conversation to be among you, Betty and Carlos. But Betty expanded the conversation without your permission, which shows disrespect.

What to Do Instead

What’s a better strategy here? During the initial email exchange, Betty could say something like, “This is all really relevant to what Debra and Eric have been working on lately. What would you think about bringing them into the discussion?”

Don’t CYA With a Cc

We all find ourselves in situations where we aren’t completely sure we’re on the right track at work. Some people try to handle these situations by cc’ing their boss, who they believe is sure and, they think, will chime in to provide accurate information if necessary.

But this strategy doesn’t always work as expected. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re feeling a little unsure about the directions you’re giving to a contractor on a big project, so you cc your boss in your email to the contractor. You figure that this will give your boss an opportunity to correct you if she doesn’t agree with your course of action. But this cc doesn’t actually accomplish much.

As I mentioned earlier, your boss might not even read the email at all since it wasn’t addressed to her. And if she does, she might not realize that you are cc’ing her to confirm she agrees with you. And also, cc’ing her does not absolve you of responsibility.

What to Do Instead

When you’re unsure, it’s better to run your intentions by your boss before communicating with the contractor. Or add your boss to the “to” line, and then address her in the message and invite her input. For example: “Francesca, I think we should go with the 5×7 flier. Gerry, please let us know if you disagree.”

Avoid Passive-Aggressive Cc’ing

Here’s another cc’ing gaffe that often drives people crazy: adding a new person to a thread in order to pressure the recipient of the email to respond.  

Let’s say Eric emails you with a question. But a couple of days pass and you fail to reply. (Hey, things have been crazy.)

So Eric emails his question to you again, this time cc’ing your boss.

To put it mildly, this is not productive. It damages Eric’s working relationship with you. And it wastes time for your boss.

What to Do Instead

My recommendation in this situation goes back to an important principle: part of being a productive business communicator is choosing the right channel to get your message across.

In this case, Eric should have found a more direct way to circle back with you than cc’ing your boss, perhaps with a phone call or in-person visit.

Micromanaging Via Cc

It’s especially damaging when a leader demonstrates bad email etiquette by requiring that their direct reports cc them on all communications. 

I’ve heard clients complain about managers who required that their direct reports cc them on all communications. Not cool! This is micromanaging, and it can even be seen as bullying.

When I speak to leadership teams affected by this issue, I suggest they examine where it’s coming from. Do they distrust their employees? Do they have control issues?

What to Do Instead

If you’re a manager who does this, stop. You’re making yourself and your team members less productive. Then address any underlying issues that have been driving you to act this way. 

Beware of Bcc

Ethically, you’re getting on shaky ground with a bcc. 

A common use for bcc is sharing a message with someone that you don’t want the primary recipient to know about. 

Be Careful of Unintended Consequences 

But ethics aside, there is simply too much potential for unintended consequences with a bcc. For example, I’m sure you’ve heard about, or even experienced, horror stories about Bcc’s gone awry, such as when someone didn’t realize they were Bcc’d and hits ‘reply all’ to respond.

What to Do Instead

I teach a safer way to handle situations in which you need to privately share an email: First, send your email to the primary recipient. Then go into your “sent” folder and forward the message, alerting the “private” recipient why you are sending it to them. For example, “Betty, below is the message I sent to Debra to call attention to her frequent tardiness.”

When It’s OK to Use Bcc 

There is only one situation where using bcc is good email etiquette: sending a large group email. 

If you’re sending a large group email, use bcc to protect your recipients’ privacy, and to prevent anyone in the group from “replying all,” especially with unnecessary messages, like “thank you.”

I hope this article serves as a valuable resource for you and your coworkers. If you would like to learn more about great professional email etiquette, I’ve added below additional insight into email best practices and how email can support, rather than stifle, your productivity.

And, you can click these links if you would like to learn more about Attention Management, or my Empowered Productivity workflow management system. Or, contact me at any time to talk about specific issues in your organization and whether my solutions are a fit for your speaking and training needs.

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More About Email Etiquette

Navigating cc and bcc is just one aspect of practicing good email etiquette. This, in turn, helps your colleagues—and yourself—be more productive. Here are a few more email etiquette tips that support healthy attention management.

• Avoid or Reduce After-Hour Emails.  You might send an email late at night. Why? Because the topic is fresh in your mind and you don’t want to forget about it. You figure it’s OK since you don’t need an immediate reply. But your message still keeps the recipient from disconnecting from work and getting the relaxing, restorative time they need outside the office.It’s both kinder and more productive to hold non-urgent emails until standard business hours. If something urgent comes up, call or text instead of emailing.Leaders, you can support your team’s productivity by setting guidelines in your office around after-hours email. To learn more, see my HBR article “Your Late Night Emails Are Hurting Your Team.”

• Be Clear About Response Times  What does it mean to be “responsive to email”? Different people have different standards around responsiveness. The important thing is to be on the same page as the people you communicate with.If you lead a team, you could set a guideline that email is used for routine requests only. (Email was never intended to be synchronous communication! Anything requiring a faster response should be handled via another communications channel.)This frees your team members from feeling that they should constantly check their inboxes and gives them more time for uninterrupted work.

• Write Thoughtful Emails  Putting just a little more time into the emails you send can make them a lot more clear. This will cut down on miscommunicationOne thing you can do to help your email recipients is writing more information-rich subject lines. For example, instead of using “important!” as your subject line, go ahead and say what’s so important: “3 p.m. meeting canceled.”In the body of your message, help your colleagues be more efficient. To do this, be as descriptive and specific as possible, especially if you are asking the recipients to do something. For example, it’s more direct to write “Please review this agenda before Friday’s meeting” instead of just “agenda for Friday.” 
• Don’t Jump the Thread   This means you should confine messages to whatever is in the subject line. For example, if someone emails you with the subject, “meeting minutes,” and the content has the minutes of the meeting, don’t reply with a subject line, “Re: meeting minutes,” but have the message be about something completely unrelated. In this case, it’s better to start a new message with a new subject line.

Practicing good email etiquette improves your relationships with your colleagues and helps all of you be more productive. 

Increase Productivity and Improve Email Etiquette

Check out my books to find more email strategies like the ones in this post:

Or, click here to contact me to talk about specific issues in your organization and whether my solutions are a fit for your speaking and training needs.