Welcome to ​Arise Leadership​: Where women learn actionable ways to have a voice at the table and get promoted faster.

Hi Reader,

Quick story:

I once had a manager who would blatantly steal credit for my work. He would ask me for intricate details about the project and would share them with stakeholders in his own words.

I was extremely frustrated and angry that I wasn't getting the recognition I deserved.

But I couldn't confront him.

He was my manager and it would be no good if I made an enemy out of him. I would lose him as a potential ally.

You probably have been or are in some permutation of such a situation where you're not given the credit that is rightly yours.

​Women In The Workplace 2023 report finds that women are 1.5x more likely than men to have a colleague take credit for their work.

I knew I had to stand up for myself.

So, here's what I did to ensure my contributions were visible across all levels and also developed a collaborative relationship with him (you can apply this approach with anyone in your workplace):

#1 Document my process

I would document and share regular updates with all stakeholders involved. A simple weekly email to keep everyone in the loop.

When the information was coming from me, they associated me with the results.

To ensure my manager didn't assume I was trying to show him in a bad light, I would involve him in prepping the updates and also highlight how these updates would create a win for us as a team.

#2 Co-create with my manager

Before a leadership meeting, I would urge him to let me lead the meeting since I had already prepped the needed insights:

He couldn't say no because he knew that I held a tighter grasp on the project and we would both come off looking good to our stakeholders.

After a few meetings, he started initiating co-creation with me.

I was super proactive in controlling the narrative around my contributions and worked hard to be two steps ahead.

Have you ever worked with someone who steals credit? Do you have any other strategies to share? Please reply to this email and let me know.

See you next Thursday! 🙋‍♀️
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Cheers,
Shivani

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