How to deal with a colleague who takes credit for your work

Recognition and validation are what keep employees going—especially for individuals who are career-focused and motivated to grow professionally. But things can take a turn for the worse when a colleague hogs the limelight and consistently takes credit for your work (we all know someone like that). You might spend days preparing for a sales pitch, presentation, or project, only to watch your teammate stab you in the back and make the success story all about themselves. Collaboration is one thing—but it's entirely different when someone claims your hard work, effort, and dedication as their own. So, know the difference.

If you happen to deal with a colleague who always claims your ideas and output as theirs, it’s important to address it strategically and effectively. Here’s what you can do. 

Examples of such behaviour

One of the many ways this takes place is when you share an idea and your colleague makes minor additions (that hardly make a difference) and then ends up getting all the praise while you’re not even noticed, let alone recognised. Another instance could be them sending detailed reports and presentations without your name and purposely forgetting you mention your contributions in a group project making it look like they’ve done all the work. While such actions are subtle (that you’d hardly notice), they will slowly take away your credibility and visibility. 

Reason why this is toxic

At the start, you might take this lightly. Should their behaviour become a pattern, the long-term consequences could have a detrimental effect on your career and mental health. To begin with, it undermines the professional reputation that has taken you a lot of time to create and maintain. A colleague getting credit for your work diminishes your visibility and value to your superiors. And this eventually becomes the reason why you don’t get a promotion and/or raise. In a team where everyone depends on each other to get things done, such unhealthy behaviour ruins the team dynamic, as the respect and trust are damaged (it could also make others follow the same behaviour as they prioritise politics over performance). Their behaviour impacts motivation and morale, making you disengage, lose your passion for the work, or even consider quitting.

Here’s how to deal with it

Always document your work

Always keep a clear and organised record of your ideas, project contributions, and email exchanges (the golden rule of workplace communication). Add to that, keep updating your task progress and plans in writing (marking concerned stakeholders and managers in it). Doing so shows and tells people who is working and what is the work being done, a priceless asset should any disputes arise (and with such colleagues in the organisation, they will).

The conversation with them

At the start, be nice and subtle about things. Should they try to steal credit for your idea in a meeting, remind them that they’ve reinforced the point that you were making and the next plan of action should be to build on that. Doing so sees you assert yourself without causing confrontation. On the other hand, should this take place repeatedly, let them know that you’ve noticed that your work wasn’t acknowledged and remind them that you’d appreciate it if the credit is shared accurately moving forward. 

Speak to your manager

If talking things out doesn’t work, raise the issue by speaking to your manager. Rather than making it sound like a complaint, come from a place of concern about things being fair. Remember to focus on the facts and truth and not get personal. 

Promote yourself strategically

Make your work more visible by sharing updates with your team. Always offer to present your own work in meetings and lead sections of the project/task where you’re contributing heavily. Doing so makes it harder for someone else to hijack your efforts when your ownership is clear and public. Lastly, model the kind of culture you want by giving others credit openly and encouraging team transparency.

Lead image: Netflix 

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