My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
(OP)
I just wanted to pass along a curious experience I had and ask a tangential question.
My colleague (colleague A) spent the last two months developing and completing completely new risk assessments for the process we are re-commissioning. He was very successful in this task and delivered ahead of the project schedule, but he asked for some help on the risk assessment from another colleague(colleague B). B has been pushing this idea that he did more than half the work and was super clever to be able to manage his workload and help out. He contributed maybe 2 days worth of work? I was doing all the documentation polishing and it was very evident to me that A spent a lot of late nights putting these documents together.
Personally, I just can't stand this type of behavior and I wouldn't have any qualms directly calling out someone's BS if they tried it on me, but A isn't the type to assert himself and make B stop. I intervened with the project manager so that when he gives the project review, he'll tell the upper management exactly who deserves kudos for what. I just made it very clear that I admired A for their hard work and how much they contributed to the project and that B wasn't so instrumental in the risk assessment part of the project. I am the least experienced engineer on the project, so I didn't speak from a position of influence I just thought it was the right thing to do.
If you were the project manager, how would you view my actions? Would you take into consider the content of what I told you or is speaking ill (however mildly) of a colleague an unforgivable act? I don't regret speaking up, but I wonder if being blunt was best or if I should have used more flowery language.
My colleague (colleague A) spent the last two months developing and completing completely new risk assessments for the process we are re-commissioning. He was very successful in this task and delivered ahead of the project schedule, but he asked for some help on the risk assessment from another colleague(colleague B). B has been pushing this idea that he did more than half the work and was super clever to be able to manage his workload and help out. He contributed maybe 2 days worth of work? I was doing all the documentation polishing and it was very evident to me that A spent a lot of late nights putting these documents together.
Personally, I just can't stand this type of behavior and I wouldn't have any qualms directly calling out someone's BS if they tried it on me, but A isn't the type to assert himself and make B stop. I intervened with the project manager so that when he gives the project review, he'll tell the upper management exactly who deserves kudos for what. I just made it very clear that I admired A for their hard work and how much they contributed to the project and that B wasn't so instrumental in the risk assessment part of the project. I am the least experienced engineer on the project, so I didn't speak from a position of influence I just thought it was the right thing to do.
If you were the project manager, how would you view my actions? Would you take into consider the content of what I told you or is speaking ill (however mildly) of a colleague an unforgivable act? I don't regret speaking up, but I wonder if being blunt was best or if I should have used more flowery language.





RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
Kinda like "Big Eyes" in the courtroom...
Mike McCann, PE, SE (WA)
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
A good, properly engaged, one will already know who did all the work and will welcome somebody saying positive stuff about Colleague A.
A poorer project manager is much less predictable.
Especially if you are the least experienced engineer on the project, being outspoken like that has greatest impact when deployed very sparingly indeed.
Forget about flowery language. It turns "This is really bothering me.." into "Look at me, look at me!" in many people's minds.
A.
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
The whole firm, with one exception, knows "B" sometimes does this and they take all his claims with a healthy pinch of salt (I reckon you could make a whole sermon from the idea of a "healthy" pinch of salt)
"A" tolerates it because he knows everybody else understands, so it doesn't harm his reputation (and "B", like everybody, has positive qualities too).
The only person completely oblivious to all this is "B" himself: If he ever found out, he would curl up and die of shame.
A.
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
The situation may be a hopeless case, and you might want to move on.
Proud Member of the Reality-Based Community..
To the Toolmaker, your nice little cartoon drawing of your glass looks cool, but your solid model sucks. Do you want me to fix it, or are you going to take all week to get it back to me so I can get some work done?
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
Let the managers manage; do your own work.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
Frankly, not knowing where you fit in on the 'who's friends with who' aspect, cudos to you as a person for seeing this and saying something points to your integrity.
As a career move it may or may not be the smartest but you can't have anything.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
@MikeHalloran - I tell myself this all the time but I can't seem to hold my tongue when this blatant lying is happening right in front of my face. I mean, must I forsake Right and Wrong at work?
@capnhook - I'm not harping on this situation to the project manager, so in a sense I've moved on. I know they aren't acquainted with each other outside of work because the project manager is new to the company and when they first saw each other they didn't have the "can't believe you're here now" speech.
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
My perception here: Calling out/showing up folk can get serious quickly.
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
I used to count sand. Now I don't count at all.
RE: My colleague is getting the credit stolen from right under him and I'm the one getting mad
@moon161 - That goes to the questions I asked in the original post about how you would view my speaking up if you were in the position of the project manager. If the project manager saw it as unforgivable, I think he'd tell upper management and let them handle it. One complication that I didn't mention was that I am a contractor at this company so I use that as an excuse not to be political with everything I say and do, so I'm not very worried about retaliation. But I'm not outrageous so as to give a bad name to my company. I'm glad your acquaintance's son-in-law was able to quit on his terms; I get that the senior guy is more valuable to the company, so they weren't going to fire him for hogging credit but if I were the boss I'd take the son-in-law's complaint as justification to have a discussion with the senior guy about the company's ethical standards for behavior and so forth...I think that is a sufficient response for a (hopefully) one-off infraction. But I'm also the kind of person that believes if you help others succeed, some of that spotlight can't help but fall on you too.
@SandCounter - I admired A's knowledge and work ethic right from the start and I asked him that very question. He's the kind of guy that likes engineering for engineering and wants to be an engineer. He's very nice too and always helps the couple junior engineers like me; he seems to know everything. He joked and said he likes teaching people things so that when he works with them again he doesn't worry if they are competent or not! Knowing this, I think he doesn't care all that much that B is taking credit for his work because he sees the work as the reward. It's also the reason I don't really talk about this with A because I don't want him to think I'm trying to push him into being someone he's not. I hope I can maintain such a work ethic but I guess I am not as humble as A because if I were in his position I'd have shot B down the moment I got wind of what he was doing.