3 Signs Your Teammate Will Claim Your Work
I bet you will recognize this person. Let’s call them Cary. You know, the one who lurks at the corner of every project. Cary claims the team’s work as their own, without any real effort put forth. They have plenty to say too. But when you ask for deeper detail or the thinking behind the work, they get flustered. It is not so easy to go off script. Why?
The reason Cary cannot explain the work is because they did not do the work in the first place.
Where do you find Cary? Usually at big, slow-moving organizations. With so many people working on every project, it is easy to fade into the background without having to get too involved. Freeloaders are able to present work as their own. It is convenient to play the part of active contributor — despite having contributed very little.
But this is not unique to big companies. You see it happen in organizations of all sizes, especially when goals and responsibilities are not clear. Sometimes it can be hard to recognize the signs. But you know it to be true when you ask detailed questions about work that was just completed and someone just repeats a few high-level descriptions. Over and over again.
The truth is that it is impossible to make a meaningful impact without being fully engaged and doing actual work.
There are many reasons that a Cary may emerge at your office. It could be that there is something going on in their personal life that is making it difficult to fully commit and be present with teammates. No matter what the underlying reasons are, the problem is that disengaged teammates who point to others’ contributions as their own hurt everyone. No one really feels any joy when this is going on.
Do you see a bit of yourself in Cary? This can be tough to admit. Here are a few of the signs that I have seen when working with folks like this in the past:
No focus
Now, maybe the team leaders have failed to set and share a clear strategy and identify who is accountable for what — but Cary is not stopping to consider the “why” behind the work either. This person tends to be unfocused. There is a tendency to jump at every opportunity and pull every thread without following through.
No curiosity
What did we learn from our last project? How should we evaluate success moving forward? These are all questions Cary should ask — but does not. Since this person is not engaged in the work, there is no curiosity about how to make it better. This is often the result of being indifferent. But no matter the cause, without curiosity, there is no individual or team growth.
No accountability
Yes, Cary gets flustered when others doubt vigorous claims of super-human contributions. It is natural to want to avoid embarrassment. So they get defensive and small accomplishments are presented as company-changing.
Before you worry, know that we all probably see elements of ourselves in Cary.
No one wants to be like Cary. The first step is to be honest with yourself if you are disengaged. Try to identify the behaviors and situations that are holding you back from being fully present, and then think through how you can start addressing why you are not bringing your best.
It is not possible to be deeply involved in every project. But the difference is we should be fully engaged in what we are responsible for. In the process, you will know the details of your work, understand your real impact, and help the team grow too.
How do you ensure that you are really engaged in your work?
ABOUT BRIAN AND AHA!
Brian de Haaff seeks business and wilderness adventure. He is the co-founder and CEO of Aha! — the world’s #1 product roadmap and marketing planning software — and the author of the bestselling book Lovability. His two previous startups were acquired by well-known public companies. Brian writes and speaks about product and company growth and the adventure of living a meaningful life.
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5 年I have seen this a lot in organizations that do not put an emphasis on recognizing their employees. Out of fear, or needing to be recognized, these credit stealers emerge. I think the easiest way to keep it in check is to create a culture of appreciation where there is enough credit to go around for everyone. Start reward teams of people for their work, and try to resist assigning a "MVP" to each project.
Production Management | Digital Innovation | 3D Animation
5 年I've taken it as a compliment when people have "stolen" my ideas or taken credit for things I've done. Several months ago, my counterpart and I led a team that uncovered a terrible process setup in our plant. There was no real solution, it was poor design. We slapped a band aid on it and started opening up conversations about a long term solution, which was going to be high-dollar and hardly feasible. Someone (who we delivered this news to) later claimed that they had uncovered this problem and presented that formally. I sat in the back of the presentation smiling. I had honestly forgotten about the project because we had moved on to other problems that we could genuinely solve now. This person needed something easy to present, and I was honestly glad that we were able to give them something. I realized that some may have seen that as "he stole my idea!" I saw it as "I'm glad I was able to help my peer."?
Thrilled that I am officially part of Team DXC Cyber
5 年Stefne Shymansky - you certainly lived this!
Looking for a new analytic challenge to help a company solve complex business problems
5 年The best way my company can keep me focused is to make sure that there is work in my queue to do. Lurkers lurk sometime because they get lost in the shuffle and do not get assigned to projects. You can lose focus and drive if this happens to you, even when you are begging for work and are not getting any assigned any because it is a "slow time.