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Ochaaram your interest first, and then you can ask them to do anything, we are not a society of machines, where we are dealing with human beings, and people have feelings, and each one aspires to be the subject of love and appreciation and respect.
That is, if people are treated in this way; they respond better; but if they treated them as robots handle, they respond and respond to the machine, and this situation is difficult for you to get any creativity, and you will notice that they are expressing their feeling miserable through certain aspects, such as low morale and the large number of problems.
The answer based on Harvard Business Review .
There’s nothing more infuriating than someone taking credit for your work. We’ve all had this happen at one point or another: you share an idea with a colleague and then hear him repeat it in a meeting; you stay late to finish a presentation yet your team member accepts all the praise; you lead a long overdue project to completion and your boss tells the higher-ups it was his doing. How should you handle these situations? Is it okay to speak up right then and there? Or should you keep quiet? And how can you make sure that you get the credit you deserve in the future?
What the Experts SayWe want to believe that our work speaks for itself. But “in the real world, it matters who gets credit,” says Karen Dillon, author of the HBR Guide to Office Politics. “That all goes into the bank account of how much value you bring to the organization and plays into promotion decisions, raises, and assignments.” And you can’t assume that people will notice the time and effort you put in, says Brian Uzzi, professor of leadership and organizational change at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and author of the HBR article, “Make Your Enemies Your Allies.” “With collaborative work, it’s not always clear who has done what,” he says, which leaves the door open for a colleague to take undue credit. Here’s what to do when someone tries to claim your work or ideas as their own.
Take time to calm downYou may be tempted to call the person out right away, but Uzzi says this is a “big, big mistake.” There is no sense in making a scene in a meeting or confronting your colleague in the hallway. “You look petulant, like a kid who’s folded her arms and is pouting,” says Dillon. Plus “if you’re emotionally piqued at being ripped off, it’s not the time to talk about it. Neurologically your mind is not working at its best and you may get out-argued,” says Uzzi. Take a day or two to calm down. But don’t stew about it for so long that, by the time you talk to the person, you’re ready to explode. You also want to make sure the incident is still fresh in everyone’s mind.
Assess the severity of the situation“Most people jump to conclusions and think right away: ‘They’re trying to make me look bad’ or ‘They’re only interested in making themselves look good,’” explains Dillon. But more often than not it’s just an oversight. “I see it with my students all the time,” says Uzzi. “During a presentation they intend to say ‘we’ but then under pressure, they freeze and end up using ‘I’ the whole time.” Consider the possibility that your credit-stealing colleague’s behavior might be unintentional. Or it might not be as egregious as you initially thought. Perhaps you remember that your boss did mention your name a few times during the presentation or recognize that your colleague was combining your brilliant idea with his. Uzzi suggests writing down what you would say to the person if you were to talk to her. Let that sit and then go back and look at it again. Ask yourself: How much does this really matter? Will it negatively impact my career? Not every piece of work has to have your name on it and managers often take credit for the work of their subordinates. “Making your boss shine is part of the gig,” Dillon explains. “You may not get credit for the idea or for slaving over the analysis, but hopefully your boss absorbs that you’re an important part of her team.”
Ask whyInstead of making accusations, ask questions. This shifts the burden of proof to your colleague: he has to explain why he felt justified taking credit for the project or idea. “Research shows that it’s much better to ask why it happened than to make a claim,” says Uzzi. You say something like: How did you feel the presentation went? Did you feel like you were able to hit all the main points? Some might see this strategy as passive-aggressive but it will give your colleague an opportunity to recognize his mistake. If that doesn’t happen, you can say something along the lines of: I noticed that when you talked about the project you said “I” instead of “we.” Was that intentional? Why did you present it that way?Dillon says that your goal isn’t to pin blame but to “show them that you noticed and that you didn’t think it was right.”
Remedy the situationIf the credit-stealer acknowledges his mistake, talk about how you can make things right. Perhaps he can email the group thanking you for your contributions, or you can both go talk to your manager to set the record straight. Even if he’s not willing to do anything, you can take action. Use any opportunity to demonstrate your involvement with the project. “Whenever the project or idea is talked about — in person or via email — chime in with details or answers,” says Dillon, to prove your knowledge. And consider asking others for help. It can be uncomfortable to toot your own horn so find a third person who understands your contributions and can speak on your behalf in a meeting or when the project comes up in conversation. You might approach your colleague and say: I worked really hard on this report but sometimes find it hard to promote my own work. I would appreciate it if you asked me questions about it at the meeting. Then, in the meeting, this person can ask you and your colleague questions, such as: “When you two were thinking about these ideas, how did you approach this issue?” “This provides others with social proof of your work,” says Uzzi. “It plants in everybody’s mind who was actually responsible.”
When the problem doesn’t go awayIf none of the above works and you feel like you’re being systematically undermined by the credit-stealer, Dillon suggests talking to your boss or another manager who has the ability to do something about it. Be careful not to come off as a complainer, she warns. Frame it as an effort to create a good working relationship, not a way to badmouth your colleague. “Your boss wants you to be able to work well together. She isn’t going to want to come in and separate the children.”
Be proactive about preventing it next timeUzzi’s research shows that in collaborative projects, it’s important to agree upfront on how credit will be allocated. Who will present these ideas to the senior team? Who will field questions? Who will send the email to the rest of the company? “At the same time, people need to be able to revisit these agreements if the expected proportion of contributions changes,” says Uzzi, so be flexible. Dillon suggests creating a chart of who’s going to do what. “Write it down and keep it in an email,” she says.
Model good credit sharingIf you’re generous and intentional about sharing credit, others are likely to follow suit. Never hesitate to ask your team: What’s the best way to make sure all of our work is recognized? Uzzi says that he used to add a slide at the end of his presentations with the name of everyone who had contributed to the research. “But I was rushed, and didn’t always get to the last slide,” he says. Now he gives his collaborators the deck beforehand and asks, “What do you think? Does it give appropriate credit?” At the same time, don’t go overboard and thank everyone who worked on any little part of the project. In an attempt to cover everybody, you devalue the contribution. Focus your recognition on the people who truly deserve it.
Principles to Remember
Do:
Don’t:
make a meeting with manager and minute it, then it will be clear who will be doing the job and what he did not do
Thanks for invitation
I amagreeing with my colleague’s answer Ms. Ghada Eweda
Aim to show the initial outcomes first to the highest level of supervisor you can reach. I understand that the immediate higher-ups won't like it, but you need to package it as a discreet and innocent side effect of a communication. For example: If you see a higher manager mailing to your distribution group regarding a current project, you can reply, "The plan that I am working on is almost complete". This serves to indicate your involvement in the planning without letting out that you want to reserve your credit.
Always deal nicely and politely at work, things would happened lift & right and ups & downs. So, always deal with good politeness and simplicity.
Thanks for the invite, it was agreed with the answers to the rest.
full agree with expert answers above
We’ve all had that experience where we work really hard on something and instead of getting recognized for our contribution, we have to sit there and choke back bile when someone else takes credit for the work. It’s infuriating to think about how hard you worked and how much effort you put into a project only to see some other glory-hound or charlatan pass all that effort off as their own.
Heck, I got a taste of that this week. I saw a bunch of traffic coming to my blog from Dr. Shailesh Thaker’s blog (UPDATE: security software now indicates his blog is a virus attack site – DO NOT GO THERE). At first I was psyched. Here was a self-proclaimed “Management Thinker, HR Guru, and Corporate Coach” telling his fans my content was good.
Then I saw it. It was my blog post on shutting your cake hole. The ONLY thing that was different was the author. Apparently that article was now written by Dr. Thaker himself. Hmmm. I wonder if Thaker rhymes with faker.
That’s right folks. Blatant plagiarism. Here’s my original post and here’s his post (UPDATE: he finally removed all posts however his site is now showing up as an “attack site” in my antivirus so I’ve disabled links to him). Unfortunately he wasn’t bright enough to disable the hyperlink back to my blog and that’s how I found the content. It turns out he ripped off several of my articles, a few from SmartBrief on Leadership, some from Kevin Eikenberry and others.
So what can you do when you’re in this situation? What do you do when someone else passes your work off as their own? How do you handle it when someone else takes credit for work you did? Here are a few thoughts:
Seek Clarification
It could be an accident. You might be wrong in thinking someone is taking credit for your work. They might have sung your praises before you walked in the room to find them presenting your deck. They may have written a nice email giving you full credit but all you heard was “I received this presentation from (NOT YOU) and it’s great.” Clarify first. Just ask. If you are wrong and the person gave you credit, thank them politely for promoting your work.
Request (Nicely) a Correction
If it’s clear they did pass of your work as theirs or they took credit for your idea, ask them (in private) if they could clarify to others that it was actually your work. You might say “I’m glad you liked my work but after your presentation some people are under a mistaken impression that you did the work. I would appreciate it if you could clarify to them that the work was mine.” More often than not they’ll heed that request.
If it’s your content that has been stolen/plagiarized, send an email or make a call asking the person to remove it and to never do it again. Give them a clear timeline for action and show them a reference back to your original work. They might be unaware that the work was stolen (maybe someone on their team did it – see the point above on clarification).
Demand a Correction
If the person decides not to satisfy your request for a correction, demand one. You could petition the person’s supervisor to rectify things (the boss might be unaware that someone is taking credit for your work). Let the person know you’re upset that they took credit and that they’ve violated some pretty clear societal standards on giving credit and taking credit. In some cases (like plagiarism) you might even have your attorney send a demand notice requesting redress.
Oh, I know how this feels! The best way to combat this is with proof. If you have a project you were working on and there's a timestamp or date on the project, I would screenshot it and print it out. Show your manager the work and let them know that you had been working on the project long before the other person turned in the work and took the credit. Have the manager confront the other individual and have the manager ask for proof of the work that led to the final result. If the other person cannot provide the proof, then you have won the case. It is all a matter of showing evidence. GOOD LUCK!
Assess the severity of the situation“Most people jump to conclusions and think right away: ‘They’re trying to make me look bad’ or ‘They’re only interested in making themselves look good,’” explains Dillon. But more often than not it’s just an oversight. “I see it with my students all the time,” says Uzzi. “During a presentation they intend to say ‘we’ but then under pressure, they freeze and end up using ‘I’ the whole time.” Consider the possibility that your credit-stealing colleague’s behavior might be unintentional. Or it might not be as egregious as you initially thought. Perhaps you remember that your boss did mention your name a few times during the presentation or recognize that your colleague was combining your brilliant idea with his. Uzzi suggests writing down what you would say to the person if you were to talk to her. Let that sit and then go back and look at it again. Ask yourself: How much does this really matter? Will it negatively impact my career? Not every piece of work has to have your name on it and managers often take credit for the work of their subordinates. “Making your boss shine is part of the gig,” Dillon explains. “You may not get credit for the idea or for slaving over the analysis, but hopefully your boss absorbs that you’re an important part of her team.”
Ask whyInstead of making accusations, ask questions. This shifts the burden of proof to your colleague: he has to explain why he felt justified taking credit for the project or idea. “Research shows that it’s much better to ask why it happened than to make a claim,” says Uzzi. You say something like: How did you feel the presentation went? Did you feel like you were able to hit all the main points? Some might see this strategy as passive-aggressive but it will give your colleague an opportunity to recognize his mistake. If that doesn’t happen, you can say something along the lines of: I noticed that when you talked about the project you said “I” instead of “we.” Was that intentional? Why did you present it that way? Dillon says that your goal isn’t to pin blame but to “show them that you noticed and that you didn’t think it was right.”
Remedy the situationIf the credit-stealer acknowledges his mistake, talk about how you can make things right. Perhaps he can email the group thanking you for your contributions, or you can both go talk to your manager to set the record straight. Even if he’s not willing to do anything, you can take action. Use any opportunity to demonstrate your involvement with the project. “Whenever the project or idea is talked about — in person or via email — chime in with details or answers,” says Dillon, to prove your knowledge. And consider asking others for help. It can be uncomfortable to toot your own horn so find a third person who understands your contributions and can speak on your behalf in a meeting or when the project comes up in conversation. You might approach your colleague and say: I worked really hard on this report but sometimes find it hard to promote my own work. I would appreciate it if you asked me questions about it at the meeting. Then, in the meeting, this person can ask you and your colleague questions, such as: “When you two were thinking about these ideas, how did you approach this issue?” “This provides others with social proof of your work,” says Uzzi. “It plants in everybody’s mind who was actually responsible.”
When the problem doesn’t go awayIf none of the above works and you feel like you’re being systematically undermined by the credit-stealer, Dillon suggests talking to your boss or another manager who has the ability to do something about it. Be careful not to come off as a complainer, she warns. Frame it as an effort to create a good working relationship, not a way to badmouth your colleague. “Your boss wants you to be able to work well together. She isn’t going to want to come in and separate the children.”
Be proactive about preventing it next timeUzzi’s research shows that in collaborative projects, it’s important to agree upfront on how credit will be allocated. Who will present these ideas to the senior team? Who will field questions? Who will send the email to the rest of the company? “At the same time, people need to be able to revisit these agreements if the expected proportion of contributions changes,” says Uzzi, so be flexible. Dillon suggests creating a chart of who’s going to do what. “Write it down and keep it in an email,” she says.
Model good credit sharingIf you’re generous and intentional about sharing credit, others are likely to follow suit. Never hesitate to ask your team: What’s the best way to make sure all of our work is recognized? Uzzi says that he used to add a slide at the end of his presentations with the name of everyone who had contributed to the research. “But I was rushed, and didn’t always get to the last slide,” he says. Now he gives his collaborators the deck beforehand and asks, “What do you think? Does it give appropriate credit?” At the same time, don’t go overboard and thank everyone who worked on any little part of the project. In an attempt to cover everybody, you devalue the contribution. Focus your recognition on the people who truly deserve it.
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