Blog written by recruiter Koreena Geisler-Wagner.
Thoughts and ideas, once extrapolated and implemented, can be worth a new promotion, a raise, and could even be a career-launcher given the right circumstances. This is why we tend to focus so heavily on the concept of “credit”; we need to know who is responsible for great ideas so we can reward them appropriately. Remember those dreaded group projects in school? They were dreaded by those who wound up doing all the work while having to share all the credit. This sentiment of receiving due reward for our ideas and accomplishments sticks with us as we transition to the workforce, where a professional atmosphere must be maintained. Monica Torres discusses the most professional ways to deal with misplaced or stolen credit in her article “How Smart People React When Others Take Credit for Their Work.” Here are a few of our favorites:
- Don’t leap to anger. This is a knee-jerk reaction ruled completely by emotion and selfish motivations– nothing good ever comes from leading with anger. Instead, take a few moments to assess the situation and formulate a plan to respond calmly.
- Don’t accuse; ask questions. Relating back to the previous point, it is never a good idea to accuse someone of credit stealing right off the bat. Asking questions about the perceived credit stealing situation is the best way to determine whether a person intentionally or accidentally took credit for one of your ideas.
- Give credit where credit is due. Above all, and perhaps most importantly, if you want to ensure that others don’t steal credit for you ideas, actively give credit for theirs! People tend to respond in kind when they are treated well and fairly.
Today’s message for sharing credit is brought to you by Contemporaries.
Photo: “IDEAS for Genius Hour” by Denise Krebs, available under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.