Posted on 03/17/2009 6:23:10 AM PDT by shy.invisible.grl
Sorry for posting what I guess amounts to a vanity, (inevitable) but I have encountered a situation that is beyond my ability to handle. (I'm somewhat new to the work force.)
Problem: Other people were given credit for my work, and I was given none.
Question: Is there anyway to set the record straight without making myself look bad/like a glory hound?
Details: I recently coordinated a weekend visit for 3 people, which took about a month of planning and work on my part. I handled all the logistics myself, monitored costs and prevented overages, basically created a 24/7 schedule for three people for three days. I was given three graduate students to "help" me, who did nothing. The visit went well, and the man officially in charge of the event sent out a thank you email giving credit entirely to the grad students. I don't require thanks, I don't want a pat on the back, I just don't want other people getting credited for my hard work. I realize I work for a socialist university but this is ridiculous!
Any advice would be much appreciated!
expensive lesson. Not much you can do for this situation, but you can prevent it from happening when going forward. Every thing you do in the future, you MUST document with an email and CC to everyone involved. When you come up with a plan, pricing, itinerary, event plan, send an email to your direct supervisor, and CC EVERY person who is working WITH you on the project.
It will be virtually impossible to have someone take all the credit, when all the documents came from your computer. Also, if sending attached word documents, sign them and date them before sending them, and then PROTECT your document by making it unalterable unless they have the password to unlock it.
Make sure you send frequent updates to your intended client as well, making sure they know that if there is anything they need addressed to contact you, and give them several options to do so, cell, work, email address, fax etc. Make sure that when you are in charge, you own it.
Just remember, when an event doesn’t go well, you own that too......
Just about the only thing you can do for the situation that just passed is send a hand written note to the person that the event was organized for letting them know it was an honor/pleasure to organize the event on their behalf, ask if there was anything they found unsatisfactory as well as what they though was better than they expected, and your looking forward to working with them again. Let this person know that you are looking for feedback from them about how the event went in their opinion, and you would greatly appreciate any comments, good or bad, about the event as you are trying to improve the way you handle these events. Thank them profusely for their time, as they are busy folks, and give them your email/ postal address to reply to. you can even include a pre made form for them to jot their comments down on (on excellent paper) and a matching self addressed stamped envelope to your workplace (which, if he does respond, will have tounges at the office wagging)
Good luck, and keep your chin up, your new at this, and I have found that college is like grammar school in comparison to the lessons you will learn in the workplace :) Best wishes, and be thankful you have a job in this economy, it helps put things like this in perspective :)
The only one who has to know about it is the immediate boss. The boss will know he has a resource who can add to his glory, and if you keep it between the two of you, he will not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. He WILL steal an egg once in a while, though.
Take a look at all the names that appear on corporate patents.
It is an amazing coincidence that many of my bosses were never issued a patent until I worked for them. That's just the way it is. Recognition appears in the paychek. you cannot eat glory for long. If a boss gets a ride on your efforts, they will go to extremes to keep you happy, because you are their meal ticket. If you leave, and they never again accomplish anything, their whole house of cards collapses.
eqqman for those who don’t know what the six phases of a project are:
Six Phases of a Project
1. Enthusiasm
2. Disillusionment
3. Panic
4. Search for the Guilty
5. Punishment of the Innocent
6. Praise and Honors for the Non-Participants
I also would like to add, that it is a great idea someone mentioned above, to send a congratulatory email to your supervisor and co workers who participated, and point out the things each person contributed to the project, and thank them for helping you to make the project a success. That should be cc’ed to all including your bosses boss. It will make you look the team player you sound like you are, and inspire confidence in you with the higher ups. Report back to us and let us know what course you took and the end results :) Thanks!
“There’s no limit to what you can accomplish as long as you don’t care who gets the credit.” - Ronald Reagan
I encounter this everyday. Every dollar my department saves is the same as the sales groups generating $3 to $4 in sales. Add five or six zero’s to that and it’s a lot. Sales gets the glory, we show up at the bottom of the balance sheets.
You might write something similar stating the few things to watch for in future planning or things you would do differently next time. A short version submitted to your boss with a comment that you have this information stored in case anyone needs it in the future, might be a subtle way to let him know you are on top of things without needing to have him point out that you did the work.
What you could do is a backhanded compliment of sorts.
Send a memo and thank the boss for giving you such wonderful help, while at the same time showing that YOU were the one in charge.
You will never look good saying “I did it all”, but you need to show YOU DID IT.
“Dear Sir...
Thank you for sending assistance on the assignment... it was hard work, but I would have never managed to get this task done... they were of great assistance to me.
This is a way to show YOU WERE IN CHARGE and ultimately the responsible person and at the same time not look like a whiney ‘glory hound’ as you put it.
As you get out in the world, you will learn you will probably never be given all the accolades you deserve, but if you let people know (without even letting them know bluntly) that you were the one in charge, you appear to get more of the credit.
Just my experience in management as well as being an employee at the same time and working with a (usually lazy) team.
It seems we all pretty much have the same guidelines, LOL!
can you tell we have worked in the harsh and cruel business world.
This imo.
ErnBatavia wrote:
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shy.invisible.grl, be very careful here. You look better by making those who work for you look better. Don't say anything negative about the grad students (no matter how much you think they deserve it). Keep your memo positive and focused on the successes. Try to be modest, but make it clear that as leader of the group, you had a little to do with the overall success as well.
And, you've learned a valuable lesson. In the future, you should be the one to start with the "thank you" memos and tout the successes of the team. You'll have more input into the overall evaluation that way.
...best advice. Praise those little left-wing Oxygen-wasters to the skies! Make sure you give them credit for taking the "spirit" of your plan "to heart," and making it work with their enthusiasm and warm feelings toward the guests. Make sure you "acknowledge" how important this attitudinal paradigm shift was to your own ability to plan this event. Heap special praise on any of those in this pathetic little coterie who may be women, gays, or members of federally protected minority species
E.G., "I'd like to especially acknowledge Youretha, who despite the burden of AIDS, several failed transexual surgical procedures, and a murder trial, continued to care for her little Kayeesha and Dawntay, and yet was present for this event, where her warm golden smile made all the difference to our visitors."
.... if any of the grad students are left-wing women, or if there are gays involved, make sure you get the "social background" on them and any members of your university's "nomenklatura." In this kind of milieu, the best people-skills to have are those of a pre-penicillin STD-contact tracer. This will help you avoid inadvertently alarming any movers and shakers in your universtiy's power structure.
This situation is better preparing you for the real world, than 100 classes could.
Much of your success at work, will hinge on how you learn to deal with exactly this situation. Some of your success will come from others being grateful to you, for allowing them to share credit for your accomplishments - more will flow from learning to let it flow off, and move on to the next project.
Over time your accomplishments will be obvious, and you won’t have to draw attention to them, or yourself.
Stay focused. Keep up the good work.
I work in academia too. I agree with the follow up thank you and congratulatory email advice.
There will be some clues that will let you know you have done a great job.
What other work has been assigned to you? The better I have gotten, the more responisibility I have earned, which has translated into more work.
Do the grad students want to work with you again? Yes, they got all the credit but it says more if they express gratitude, even privately, for the experience.
In future projects, keep your supervisor posted. We normally have 5 minute mini meetings daily to let our boss know what we are up to. You want just enough time to show you are solving problems and are enthusiastice about the work.
If you want to network with me, send me a private post. Good luck!
First, get a bat. Then play whack-a-boss. It might not fix the problem but maybe your new boss will be less of a D-Bag.
I always go for the “flaming bag of poo” at someone’s door.
Then the local Stick and Loan company will repossess your stick.
Make the grad students clean the toilets and make you coffee next time.
If everyone is a paid employee have a talk with your direct boss and do a review of the project. Talk about what could be done better next time, and see if there was any dissatisfaciton with your performance. Probably should do that anyway if you are fairly new at managing people.
Also if the grad students did nothing while you had them, you should probably work on your delegation skills.
Twenty years ago I was you. Polite at all costs, raised to be a people/supervisor pleaser, wouldn’t say it if I had a mouthful. Being thought of as a ‘good girl’ by the people I worked with/for was of paramount importance. Then as joe fonebone said, “(When you ask God for help, sometimes he sends the Marines.)”
After I joined the Marine Corps, grew up and worked in the Public Safety arena I started understanding that what really makes you valuable is being good at your job. Courteously standing up for yourself may be unpopular initially, but guess where they start coming when they want a job done right by someone they now know cannot be intimidated? Yep, right to your desk.
Start courteously standing up for yourself.
LET ME HEAR YOUR WAR CRY!
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