Don’t Allow Others to Steal the Credit for Your Work
Have you ever completed a project successfully at work only to have someone else steal the credit?
What happens when someone steals the credit you deserve?
Stealing credit for the work of others happens all too often.
You’ve just finished a project at work and the results were positive on all fronts. This success could not have come at a more opportune moment because you’re only a couple of weeks away from your year-end review at work.
This review could favorably impact your upcoming raise, year-end bonus, and undoubtedly, consideration for advancement.
You walk into the review with confidence, only to discover that a colleague has taken credit for many of the ideas you originated on your successful project. It’s a situation for which you were not prepared.
Many articles, books, and seminars suggest what to do when someone steals credit for your work. Although some of those suggestions attempt to correct the situation the moment it happens, most attempt to resolve the problem in the aftermath.
How can you prevent this problem?
I sincerely believe that the only way to deal with this problem effectively is to prevent it from happening in the first place. So, I offer the following career tip:
The best way to ensure that no one steals the credit you deserve is to stop working in isolation!
The more you choose to work in isolation and the better your results, the more likely someone will attempt to steal the credit. Sadly, the “credit grabber” often gets away with it.
Instead, I recommend using a “modified” collaborative approach to set yourself up for success during the project. You can still complete the work based on your ideas, but you’re broadening the number of people who are aware of your role and specific contributions to this effort.
Here are a few suggestions you can use strategically to safeguard the credit you deserve:
1. Collaborate with more than one person on your original ideas
2. Meet with key personnel about strategies
3. Go over your numbers with accounting and finance
4. Have different team members review parts of your presentation and invite their feedback
This more collaborative approach will increase the visibility of your role. It will also provide you with more people who can attest to the credit you deserve. Furthermore, it will make a co-worker or colleague think twice before attempting to steal the credit from you.