The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word OUTRANKING
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
O
U
T
R
A
N
K
I
N
G
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Excelling in status" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case excelling in status = outranking.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does OUTRANKING mean?
OUTRANKING verb- To be of a higher rank than.
- (transitive) To be more important than.