Last Thursday. Director-level all-hands. My manager presents the Q2 dashboard project I rebuilt from scratch over 6 weeks, says 'the team put together some great work here.' No names. I'm sitting in the third row. A VP pulls him aside after and says 'great stuff from your team.' He nods and says thanks.
I know this is a tale as old as time. But I'm still kind of stunned because I genuinely liked this manager up until that moment. He's been decent in 1:1s, gives decent feedback, not a screamer or anything. Just apparently comfortable taking credit in the room that counts.
I don't want to blow this up. I also don't want to pretend it didn't happen. Has anyone actually navigated this successfully? Not looking for 'document everything and talk to HR' because I know that's the nuclear option. I want the actual move here.
5 replies
director_dee
The non-nuclear move: find a natural moment soon to send a recap email to the broader group, your manager included. Something like 'following up on the Q2 dashboard rollout, here's what we built and what's next.' Sign it. CC relevant people. You're not accusing anyone, you're just making your contribution visible in writing.
Also, in your next 1:1, mention the all-hands casually. 'I was glad the VP saw the dashboard work.' Watch how he responds. If he's decent like you think, he'll hear that.
corp_refugee
the email idea is smart. i can do that without it feeling aggressive. going to draft it this week.
pm_priya
seconding this. the recap email is genuinely useful AND it gets your name attached to the artifact. win-win. just keep the tone completely neutral, make it about the work not about you needing credit.
firsttime_mgr
I became a manager eight months ago and one thing that surprised me is how much of this happens by accident. Not defending it, just saying: some managers genuinely don't realize they're doing it. The 'the team' phrasing becomes muscle memory and they stop noticing it erases individuals.
If you like him otherwise, one direct conversation is probably worth trying before you write him off. 'Hey, I noticed I wasn't mentioned in the all-hands when the dashboard came up. I want to make sure my work is visible up the chain. Can we talk about how to handle that going forward?' Most halfway decent managers will be mortified and fix it.
staff_steph
documenting what YOU built, separately, is just good practice regardless. keep a running list of projects, impact, dates. that's not nuclear, that's just having receipts for your next performance review or job search. don't wait for a crisis to start doing it.