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Dr. John Burton teaches Ethics at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada.

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"Applying Credit"

April 29, 2003
Dr. John,

What do you do when a boss takes credit for one's ideas and projects?

Discredited

Dear Discredited,

One approach to this issue would be to ask for an appointment with your boss to talk about your career, things like promotion, compensation, what you need to do to get ahead. Make it a broad conversation and indicate that you are interested in his/her guidance on what you can do to get ahead and make a more substantial contribution to the organization.

It is worthwhile to have this type of conversation from time to time in any case. But in these circumstances you want to focus on the issue of ensuring that the people in the organization who need to know are made aware of your contributions. Ask for your boss's help and direction in making sure that this happens. He/she may not be aware that part of her/his supervisory role is to groom talent for promotion within the company. You are entitled to his/her assistance in developing your career.

An indirect approach such as this is intended to reframe the problem. Instead of feeling that you need to confront your boss in a way that feels competitive, bring him/her on board so that together the two of you can solve the problem of ensuring that you get the credit you deserve in order to be appropriately rewarded.

Thanks for writing,

Dr. John


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