Ask Efri

How do I make sure I get credit for my work?

Efri · 1 min read

Make it visible while it's happening, not after.

Credit disputes almost always come from work that happened invisibly and then got summarised by someone else. If people watched it happen, there's nothing to claim.

The process
5 steps
  1. 01
    Work where people can see it
  2. 02
    Put your name on things
  3. 03
    Say "I" when it was you and "we" when it was the team
  4. 04
    Tell your manager's manager something occasionally
  5. 05
    Keep your own record

Work where people can see it. Updates in shared channels, not just to your manager. Not performing. Just not doing everything in private.

Put your name on things. Documents, analyses, proposals. Sounds petty. It's how attribution survives being forwarded.

Say "I" when it was you and "we" when it was the team. People over-correct into "we" for everything and then wonder why nobody knows what they did.

Tell your manager's manager something occasionally. Not going around anyone. Just being a known name one level up.

Keep your own record. What you did, when, what it produced. For reviews, for your CV, and for the moment it's disputed.

And if someone actively takes credit, address it directly and once. Calmly, factually, to them. "That was my analysis, I'd appreciate being credited." Most people back off immediately. The ones who don't have told you something useful about where you're working.