When Someone Takes Credit for Your Work

Square Circle Coach Divya Ramachandran addresses questions received from the Indian Women in Computing community.

In a recent poll Square Circle conducted about challenging situations you are facing, the most frequent experience was that of someone else taking credit for your work. There is no question that this is a significantly demoralizing and frustrating situation to deal with, and I am sorry to all of you who have faced it.

While we might time and again have no choice but to deal with an unexpected and uncomfortable situation like this, we do have a choice on how we respond to it. In order to do that, it helps to focus our lens on our own personal, default reaction to the situation, and the impact it has on us. In some cases, it might cause stress in the present. In others, it can have a longer term impact on your future actions.

There isn’t one way to address the challenge that works for every person or context. In order to identify the best course to move forward, start with your internal narrative about the situation. Here are some possible thoughts you might be telling yourself:

• Self-Doubt: My contributions must not have been enough
• Self-Criticism: I should have been been more vocal to get more credit
• Resentment: I can’t believe this person took credit for my work
• Disengagement: I’m not going to put as much effort in next time
• Determination: This better not happen again.

You might identify with one or more of these thoughts. Let’s take a look at a few steps you can take to move from each of these thoughts to effective action.

Self-Doubt

Especially if you’ve experienced a pattern of others taking credit for your work, a natural tendency is to internalize this as a message that you are not doing enough. One way to move away from that is something that we also discussed in a previous article. Write down an objective narrative about what actually happened: what were the goals of the project, and what were your contributions to it? Get clear on the actual facts and separate this from the story that others around you are saying. Remind yourself of the hard work you put in and celebrate it.

Take Further Action: When you’re ready, reach out to those who are taking credit for your work. Tell them that you noticed your contributions to the project were not acknowledged, and ask whether those contributions went unattributed due to an issue of quality.

Self-Criticism

You may be replaying events wishing you had spoken up when someone else took credit for your work. But it may not come naturally to toot your own horn. Many people — especially women — have difficulty doing this. If this is the case, start by recognizing that this is probably because you are an unassuming and amicable person. There is plenty of rhetoric out there that says that women should learn to speak up for themselves more, talk about their achievements, negotiate for more etc. But blindly following scripts that lead you to speak and act in a way that is unnatural detracts from your sense of belonging at work. It is essential that you act in a way that is authentic to you. Focus on the bigger picture beyond credit — what specifically do you wish to achieve as a result of the hard work you put in? Whose recognition do you actually need?

Take Further Action: You don’t have to wait until the next time around to speak up in public about your achievements. Instead, identify what action you can take to get you the specific outcome that you need. Maybe it means confronting the person who took credit for your work. Or maybe it is ensuring that someone else is aware of your contributions. This might require you to stretch yourself a bit, but make sure your approach is still aligned with who you are. You don’t have to compromise who you are to get the results you deserve.

Resentment

Probably the most normal response to a situation where someone takes credit for your work is to feel resentment and anger toward them. While this resentment might serve as impetus to take necessary action and confront them, it is more productive to do so from a more neutral mindset. Rather than take it personally, assume the best possible intention. Entertain the possibility that they simply didn’t realize they were stealing credit.

Take Further Action: Now, you are in a much better place to have a calm, honest and direct conversation with them about how their actions have led you to believe that they are not aware of your contributions. The less personal you can make the conversation, the more effective it will be.

Disengagement

It can be such a let-down to work so hard on something only to have your contributions go unrecognized. This may impact your motivation to do your best on future projects. While this is a completely understandable emotional response, does it serve you? The answer is almost always no. If this incident has led you to become disengaged, it means that you were engaged. You are proud of the work you did, and the passion, skills and hard work you brought to the project are all part of your authentic self. Write a list of all the personal strengths and values you brought to the project to create success.

Take Further Action: Find a mentor, coach, colleague or champion to share your list of strengths. Ask them to add to it. Lean further into these strengths of yours the next time around and you will realize that being true to yourself is far more fulfilling than recognition.

Determination

It could be that this incident has urged you to take action to ensure it does not happen again. Whether this was your default response, or you eventually landed here after journeying through the other responses, congratulations on your determination! As uncomfortable as this situation is, hidden behind it is an opportunity to learn and grow. Using this objective mindset, map out the steps you took and identify alternate steps you could have taken. Think about how next time you might engage others, even just for feedback, as a way to increase your visibility at each step. Your personal growth through this exercise will guarantee that the situation cannot repeat itself.

Take Further Action: Consider who else you can keep in the loop about your contributions, so that they can champion you publicly and ask for help. Garner the support you need to fuel your determination.

In Summary

While the challenge of stolen credit is all too prevalent for comfort, not all of us experience it in the same way. Recognize that you control how each challenging situation impacts your thoughts, feelings and actions. Regardless of what your default response might be, there is always a way through that is productive, authentic, and an opportunity for growth.