Archive: Around Town

Dear Margaret: I work for a mid-size company where I have aspirations to advance my career. I’m known to be a conscientious, hard worker. I receive 'high grades' on my performance reviews, and am satisfied with my salary increases. I’m well thought of by other members of my work team. My problem is my boss takes my suggestions to advance company objectives and my innovative ideas for problem solving and makes it look like they are his. He takes all the credit! This leaves me frustrated and feeling like I want to hold back in terms of working as diligently. I do like my job but am getting frustrated by my boss stealing my ideas and taking credit. How should I handle this?
Burglar for a Boss
Dear Burglar for a Boss: Although it would feel good to receive credit for the ideas and suggestions you come up with, those are the property of your company and do not belong to you. I don’t know if you’ve signed an agreement upon employment regarding intellectual property. Nevertheless, when you work on a team, the credit generally falls to the team lead or the unit as a whole. Wanting to be singled out for your efforts might not bode well for you when opportunities for advancement arise. The ability to work as a cohesive unit is most likely due to the efforts of your boss. Adopting a team attitude may be new for you, but cultivating this skill will be noticed and go a long way to bring you to your goal of moving up the company ladder.

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