Experience Reference 2

Colleague robbed you of the credit, how to break?Amy Gallo2016-07-05 19:35:000

Nothing is more irritating than being robbed of credit. We're all in this situation: you tell your coworkers what you think, and then he repeats your ideas at the meeting; you stay up late to finish a report, but your team members should give all the praise; you led a major project, but your boss told the company that he did it. How should you solve these situations? And say it out loud at that time? Or remain silent? How can you be sure that your efforts in the future will get the recognition you deserve?

Experts ' advice

We are willing to believe that the results of work are self-evident. But "in the real world, the praise is what counts," said Karen dillon--hbr Guide Tooffice politics, the author. Brian Uzzi, a professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and author of Harvard Business Review, told us: "When credit is recognized, organizations will know how much value you bring, which determines promotions, raises, and assignments." "You can't even ask people to notice the time and effort you put into it. "It's hard to tell what everyone is doing in a collaborative effort," he says, "so that colleagues have a way to steal the fruits of your labor." When someone tries to take your work or idea for yourself sometimes, you can follow the following procedure.

Just calm yourself down.

You may be tempted to call that person out, but Uzzi calls it "a big mistake." It doesn't make sense to yell at a meeting or confront in a hallway. "You look very grumpy, like a child with arms and a pout," Dillon said. Uzzi explains: "If you get angry at being cheated, then it's not a good time to talk about it." From a neurological point of view, your brain is not working smoothly, and you are likely to be disproved. " You should take a two-day time to calm down, but don't be too upset. Otherwise, when you talk to that person, you're going to blow yourself up. And you have to make sure that you're still fresh on that thing.

Assess the seriousness of the situation

Dillon explains, "Most people arbitrarily jump to conclusions and immediately think: ' They want to embarrass me ' or ' they're only doing their own performance '. But usually, this is just someone else's careless. Uzzi: "I always find in the students ' presentations that they try to emphasize ' we ', but they will eventually get stressed out and end up saying ' I '. "You should consider that your colleague's actions may be unintentional, perhaps not as bad as you start to imagine." Perhaps you remember your boss mentioning your name several times during the report, or admitting that a colleague has combined your idea with his own. Uzzi suggested that we first write down what we want to say in the conversation and then look back. Ask yourself: How important is this? Does this have a negative impact on my career? Not every job is credited to you, bosses often get recognition for their grades. "It's also part of the job to make the boss pushy," Dillon explains. "You may not be well-received for good ideas and hard work, but your boss can understand that you are an important part of the team. ”

Ask cause

You should ask questions instead of making accusations. This will shift the onus of proving who should take credit to colleagues: he has to explain why it is reasonable to have someone else's work for himself. "Studies have shown that asking questions is much better than advocating advocacy," Uzzi said. You can say: What do you think of the report? Do you think you mentioned all the points? Some people may think that this strategy has an anti-product aggressiveness, but it provides a chance for colleagues to be aware of mistakes. If it doesn't work, you can say something similar: I notice that when you mention the project, you say ' I ' rather than ' we '. Did you do it on purpose? Why do you have to show it that way? Your goal, Dillon says, is not to accuse, but to "tell them you've noticed, and you don't think it's right." ”

Mend

If the person who robbed the work admits his or her mistake, then you should think about how to correct the problem. Maybe he can send e-mails to other people, thank you for your contributions, or you can talk to the manager and clarify the truth for yourself. Even if he doesn't want to do anything, you can act. Take every opportunity to demonstrate your relationship with the project. "When people talk about projects or ideas--in person or by email--Give your answers or details," Dillon says, to prove your understanding of the project. You can also try to ask someone for help. It may be embarrassing to volunteer for a third party who understands you and can speak for you, which is a good idea. You can take the initiative to tell your colleague: I really tried to do the report, but it's hard to let people know what I did. I would appreciate it if you asked me the relevant questions at the meeting. Then, at the meeting, the third party can ask questions from you and colleagues, such as: "How did you solve the problem when the two of you were thinking about the idea?" "This will allow others to have a social identity with your work," Uzzi said. "And let everyone know who actually thought of the idea. ”

When the problem is not resolved

If this doesn't work, and you think the person who robbed you has been hurting you, Dillon suggests talking to your boss or any other manager who can solve the problem. Don't act like a complaining person, she warns us. show that you want to create a good working relationship, not to denigrate a colleague. "Your boss wants you to work together, and he never wants to get in the way of everyone." ”

Positive action to avoid recurrence

According to Uzzi's research, it is important to agree on a pre-credit allocation when collaborating on projects. Who shows up for the top team? Who will answer the question? Who sends mail to other people in the company? "At the same time, if the division of labor changes, you have to revisit these agreements," Uzzi said, so please be flexible with them. Dillon suggested drawing a table to clarify everyone's task. "Write it down and send it in the mail," she said.

Set a suitable credit sharing method

If you are generous and willing to share the credit with others, others will probably follow. Don't hesitate to ask your team: What is the best way to get our work approved? Uzzi says he usually writes the names of all the team members who make contributions on the last page of the slide. "But I was in a hurry and often couldn't talk about the last slide," he said. Now he's going to ask the co-workers first, "What do you think?" Is the credit distribution reasonable? "At the same time, do not overdo it, don't give thanks to everyone who makes a small contribution." If you try to mention everyone, then you underestimate the value of your contribution. Credit your gratitude to someone who really contributes and is qualified to be recognized.

Principles to keep in mind

Please do this:

Give yourself time to calm down and assess the situation;

Seize every opportunity to explain your contribution;

Ask a colleague to mention your name when talking about a project or idea.

Please do not do:

Think that everything you do should be rewarded;

Guess people have malice-to take the credit of others as their own, because the robbery is usually unintentional;

Blame-Find out the reason in the way of inquiry

Case Study 1: let others see your contribution

Kyle Simmons part of the time in the infantry unit, part time in the Human resources department. Part of his work is to examine and evaluate the draft for senior leadership in the unit. In examining the instrument, he found that the commander had taken his idea for himself. Kyle has developed a reporting approach that records work, saving time and meeting the demands of senior commanders. The report "helps us avoid repetitive work", explains Kyle. This was identified as an achievement in the commander's annual assessment, but "I have not received any praise for my contribution," says Kyle.

He set aside the matter for a few days and after thinking himself, and he decided to defend himself. Kyle found the commander and asked him why he had made his own credit. The commander seemed to be startled, but "he is indifferent and doesn't seem to care who the credit is," he said. Kyle found the commander's reaction very strange, he "always quickly tell people their own contribution." If his pay is not recognized, he will be very anxious. ”

Since then, Kyle has always copied other people when replying to an email from a commander requesting advice. "If this project includes other departments, I will give it to my superiors on the chain of command," he explained. "I need to maintain my own contribution. "It's all about the root cause of the robbery, because everyone knows the truth and the commander can no longer take his credit."

Case Study 2: Enlist the help of others

Owen Collins is the head of the English department at a college in the England. After the birth of the second child, he decided to take a one-semester paternity leave. Although his boss and he were hoping to postpone the faculty assessment until the end of paternity leave, the task fell to Clarissa, who took over Owen's job. "She was very nervous to call me," he recalls. He spent several hours on the phone with Clarissa, explaining to her what needed to be done and agreeing to help. "On the phone, I promised to finish three-fourths, but I didn't think there would be a problem in the distribution of credit," he explains. She wants to handle everything, "already say ' my report ' and ' I need to finish the errands." ’”

Owen recommends that everyone involved in the report meet before the report is submitted. When they met, Clarissa started by making people think the report was her first. But Owen uses every opportunity to demonstrate his contribution, answer questions, and provide critical information. "I don't want to accuse her because she will defend herself, and everyone present knows that I did most of the work," he said.

Clarissa seems to admit that he needs to share the credit with others. Owen also knows that although he did not attend a formal report to the meeting, he already had an ally to speak for himself. (Wang Zuizhu/translation prance/redaction)

* Name and details are adjusted

Amy Gallo is the author of the Harvard Business Review's special editor, the Harvard Business Review work Conflict Management Guide.

Experience Reference 2