{"id":78463,"date":"2014-08-04T11:30:15","date_gmt":"2014-08-04T16:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=78463"},"modified":"2014-08-03T21:58:26","modified_gmt":"2014-08-04T02:58:26","slug":"credit-thieves-how-to-protect-your-work-and-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/?p=78463","title":{"rendered":"Credit Thieves: How to Protect Your Work and Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ashley Mancill, Senior Assistant,\u00a0INALJ Alabama<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Credit Thieves: How to Protect Your Work and Ideas<\/span><\/h3>\n

\"ashleymancill\"<\/a>Most professionals over the course of their careers will likely have the unpleasant\u00a0and aggravating experience of someone else taking credit for their work or\u00a0ideas. Sometimes it is as simple as a supervisor not being aware of an employee\u2019s\u00a0accomplishments, especially if that employee works in a self-starting environment\u00a0or his or her manager favors a hands-off approach to management. More often than\u00a0not, however, others intentionally take credit for their colleagues or employees\u2019\u00a0work. Oftentimes people aren\u2019t sure how to handle the situation or may be reluctant\u00a0to even bring it up in a conversation for fear of being perceived as confrontational\u00a0or insubordinate if the offender is higher up on the pay scale. But not addressing the\u00a0problem can lead to built-up resentment or, if it is reoccurring, cause hardworking\u00a0and creative employees to become discouraged and even disengaged. Instead of\u00a0avoiding the situation, be assertive and tackle the problem professionally.<\/p>\n

The first thing to do is to take a breath and assess the situation.<\/strong> It\u2019s possible\u00a0that there was some sort of misunderstanding and taking the offensive without\u00a0taking the time to reflect and resolve the issue tactfully may damage your image\u00a0and potentially your career. Think carefully about how much you contributed to\u00a0the project or assignment. If the concept was wholly yours and you did all of the\u00a0work, then you deserve to be acknowledged for your efforts. If you enlisted the\u00a0help of others or worked as part of a team, then everyone involved deserves to be\u00a0recognized, even if you were the one who came up with the idea.<\/p>\n

Once you have reflected on your contributions, consider why your coworker or\u00a0supervisor accepted credit for your work. As previously mentioned, it could be\u00a0a simple mistake.<\/strong> Your manager most likely has a lot on his or her plate and is\u00a0simply unaware of the work you did. A quick chat can rectify the situation. Still,\u00a0don\u2019t discount the possibility of someone\u2019s hidden agenda. There are managers and\u00a0coworkers who knowingly take credit in an attempt to demonstrate how valuable\u00a0they are to their managers or to the company (especially if operations and company\u00a0performance hasn\u2019t been great and a round of layoffs is looming). There are also\u00a0some individuals who feel threatened by their colleagues or employees\u2019 talent and\u00a0success. Often these people are insecure and feel incompetent by comparison, and in\u00a0an effort to hide these feelings, they may take credit for another person\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Despite what you think is the reason or motive behind your colleague or manger\u2019s\u00a0actions, speaking with him or her is the only way you can get a true understanding\u00a0of the situation.<\/strong> Ask your coworker or supervisor if he or she has time to discuss\u00a0a work-related matter. Do not open the conversation with an accusation. Start by\u00a0noting the success or buy-in to the project, presentation, or idea and then mention\u00a0your contribute to it. Share how you felt when you were not credited for your\u00a0part and listen carefully to what the other person has to say. If he or she responds\u00a0negatively and the situation escalates, be prepared to talk to your supervisor, your\u00a0manager\u2019s supervisor (if applicable), or someone in human resources. Although\u00a0this may cause a little anxiety, informing someone in a higher position of what is\u00a0going on nearly almost ensures that this kind of behavior will stop. It is also a way of\u00a0making your supervisor or a higher-up aware of your skills and talents, which could\u00a0benefit you in the future. If you have to speak to any of these three individuals, make\u00a0sure to bring documentation of your work or contribution with you to the meeting\u00a0as well as any notes on the conversation between you and the offender. Give anyone\u00a0else who is aware of the work you did a head\u2019s up that he or she may be asked to\u00a0verify your claims.<\/p>\n

Regardless of whether this is a one-time or reoccurring incident, get in the habit of\u00a0documenting your work in whatever way you can.<\/strong> Put proposals to your supervisor\u00a0or team in writing or, if using email, copy coworkers and supervisors who may\u00a0play a role in its conception or execution. If someone suggests that you spearhead\u00a0a project or give a presentation, get it in writing. Keep outlines, drafts, checklists,\u00a0etc., to show that you went through a process and check computer documents and\u00a0presentations for time stamps and authorship (the latter only applies if the software\u00a0is licensed to you specifically). If someone attempts to take credit for the work you\u00a0did, you will have a record showing otherwise.<\/p>\n

These types of incidents happen and how you handle them reflects your\u00a0professionalism and overall character.<\/strong> While it\u2019s probably best not to seek accolades\u00a0for every accomplishment, make sure you\u2019re recognized for the successes that have\u00a0the greatest impact on your organization and highlight your skills and talents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ashley Mancill, Senior Assistant,\u00a0INALJ Alabama Credit Thieves: How to Protect Your Work and Ideas Most professionals over the course of their careers will likely have the unpleasant\u00a0and aggravating experience of someone else taking credit for their work or\u00a0ideas. Sometimes it is as simple as a supervisor not being aware of an employee\u2019s\u00a0accomplishments, especially if…<\/p>\n

Read more \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":63294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145],"tags":[69,5363,3592,6428,3624,6430,6429,6431,4886],"class_list":["post-78463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-article","tag-ashley-mancill","tag-blog","tag-credit-thieves","tag-inalj-alabama","tag-protecting-your-ideas","tag-protecting-your-work","tag-stealing-ideas","tag-tracking-accomplishments"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/ashleymancill.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1WoMK-kpx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inalj.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}