What your email reveals about your leadership

By Dr. Toye Sobande · First published in BusinessDay, 21 August 2026

Email is so routine that leaders rarely think of it as leadership. Dr. Sobande argues that every message becomes part of an organisation’s memory and shapes how people work, which makes clear writing a leadership responsibility.

The argument

Good leadership email puts the request and its deadline first, so readers know immediately whether it concerns them. It keeps context brief, names an owner for each next step and gives one point of contact for questions. The CC line is for people who genuinely need to know or act, not a tool for pressure or diluting responsibility.

On important matters, say which version of a document you mean and where the final one lives. Before replying, ask whether the message is really yours to answer: forwarding it, or letting a colleague closer to the work respond, builds capability in the team. And keep structure proportionate, because over-engineering routine messages slows people down.

Key takeaways

• Lead with the action required and its deadline.
• Keep context short, name owners and give one contact point.
• Copy only people who need to know or act.
• Be explicit about document versions and where the final copy lives.
• Before replying, check whether the message is yours to answer.

“Somewhere this week, a decision worth real money will die in an inbox”

Dr. Toye Sobande

A question to take away

Look at the last five emails you sent: would a reader know what you needed from them in the first line?