Credit thieves lurk in every workplace. They create unhappiness and frustration yet seem to get away with it constantly and, worse, be rewarded. It can cost a promotion and dampen our career prospects. Thievery comes in the form of:
Not giving verbal credit for others' work
Forwarding on work and removing the names of those who did it
Repeating what you said and, when praised, accepting it as their own
Cutting you out of meetings or a specific stage of a project
Not closing out and recognizing your contributions when a project ends and instead accepting the credit
Between peers, between leaders, between teams, between leaders and direct reports, and between internal and external partners.
What to do with a thief? First, we know the utter rage and temptation to call them out immediately and be vindicated by a room of fellow robbed colleagues. However, pg recommends a little more strategy to position yourself as a credit reclaimer.
Self-reflect, are you guilty of this too? Even a little bit because you’re feeling unseen and undervalued? If so, that’s an excellent place to dig into why you’re committing the same credit crimes and map out who you need to support you in feeling appreciated and recognized in your role. So often, the things that bug us the most are what we tend to do, even subconsciously.
Consider being gracious as you reclaim your credit, “Insert name, thank you for championing my idea; your thought of X is important and aligns with my thinking on Y to set us up to move forward.” You appear team focused, set your boundary and give the person the benefit of the doubt they will learn from this encounter.
The power of clear roles and responsibilities: one of the best ways to ensure you get credit for your work is to document roles and responsibilities from the offset and clarify with your leaders and colleagues who will update whom on what, when and why. This positions you as a clear contributor and puts the group's eyes on the plan, making the thievery harder to commit.
Watermark, file name, add an author and save your work; keeping a clear record of your efforts will help you build your portfolio and resume.
Above all, remember that in this difficulty comes a great opportunity to show leadership, confidence and organizational skills in planning, presenting and preparing your efforts. So go forth, and reclaim your credit!
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