David Owens, an associate professor at Vanderbilt University, spent year studying company emails, in particular how status groups differ in their emailing.
He found high status people sent short messages; mid status employees had long argumentative messages laden with jargon or overexplicated answers to simple questions.
Senior managers took long time to email – and rarely used the carbon copy function because they wanted to appear to be managing people individually. Bosses tended to have the poorest spelling, worst grammar – conveying they had better things to do with their time.
So, if your emails are late, unevenly capitalised and sloppy, you might be CEO stuff according to Owens. If your emails are earnest and combative, with perfect spelling, it’s give away for middle management. But if you use email to forward jokes, send greeting cards or use happy faces – well you’re giving yourself away as what he calls the low-status worker.
New Zealand’s governance challenge is bigger than director fees
Guest Contributor
August 14, 2026
When conversations turn to attracting board talent, organisations tend to reach for the same lever – pay more. It’s an understandable instinct, but increasingly, it may be the wrong one, writes remuneration expert Cathy Hendry.
