Manager taking credit for your work? Here's what to do

How do you deal with people who take credit for your work?

For example, you are the one who came up with a big idea, but in a meeting, your manager presents it as their own.

702's Clement Manyathela asked HR Specialist Boniwe Dunster for some advice.

"If the manager is threatened by you as a team member who does well, if you have been identified as a successor or somebody who has been identified to get a promotion, and they are threatened by your capabilities, chances of them having to talk about your contributions are slim, " says Dunster.

Often, if a manager is performing poorly, they may "take the group's work and portray it as their own".

Dunster says it's also problematic if the organisation's culture tolerates and perpetuates this kind of behaviour. Junior staff see what is going on. "They say, if my manager does it and my boss's boss does it as well, what are my chances if I go to report it either to HR or to my boss's senior?"

She advises against immediately taking this issue to others.

"You have to understand the lay of the land. HR is not the first starting point. Try to resolve it with the person who has stolen your work or taken the credit.

"Say, 'Hi, I saw in that presentation, you didn't give me credit. Is there any reason you did not mention my name?' It may have been subconscious, and/or there may be another valid reason. But if it's not understandable, you can ask politely for them to "make sure it doesn't happen the next time".

Dunster says, if the behaviour repeats, say, "Next time we both deliver. I need my name on that.

"Then if the person isn't changing, go to the line manager to say I have actually contributed so much to certain projects, but my work goes unnoticed.

"

Dunster says another thing you can do is to start communicating the work that you do to the right people - make it visible.

"So, instead of me sharing my work only with Clement, I can share it with him and all the other people involved in the project. So it's not hidden," she says.