Let others steal your credit and ideas......it is OK

When you are in a big organization, you probably will never create a solid career for yourself by worrying about who is using your solutions and ideas. There probably is some nepotism, if the staff around you are related to the management or some kind of related relationship with the senior people. People hate whiners, they hate bickering, and, most importantly, people who are confident that they have many plans and ideas don’t keep track of each one. And, let’s face it, we do not get far by just having ideas. You need to be likable in the eyes of the management and which means you are either in sync with them or singing the same tune all the time with the CEO ( probably the CEO likes that ! ). So cut it out. Worrying about who gets credit for which solutions or ideas will prevent you from having a fulfilling career in your hectic work life, especially in some kind of tough industries with challenging schedules to meet. Why ??

There is no such thing as infinite count of good ideas -

Good people - the ones who have tons of good ideas - share them. If you’re a business venturer, you have an idea and call some friends to share it. They may say why your idea won’t work, and you do the same thing the next week, until you land on an idea that does work. However for an entrepreneur, the ideas never stop coming and you never stop sharing them.

Those who have lots of ideas or at times “think out of the box” don’t bother to treasure their ideas and keep it secret. If your ideas are so valuable that they need protecting - or you think they do - you’ll come across as someone who is anything but creative. Then no one will hire you for your ideas. So if you want to be known for your ideas, act like someone who has a lot of them. Keep them coming and give them away all the time. It will benefit you more than keeping them tight in your pocket.

Bosses like “nice” people and dislike “smart alec” -

It may be true that most would rather work with people who are likeable than those who are competent but selfish. In fact, some view the nice people as more competent, even if they are not. And the skilled people who are jerks start appearing incompetent to their co-workers. That’s how powerful being nice at the office is. In other words, others will view you as you better at your job if you stop bitching about who gets credit for ideas or solutions.

As I see, management would likely prefer those who help others get their job done. That person genuinely cares if you are happy doing your work; they genuinely cares if it feel connected and engaged. One way to become that well-liked person - share your workable ideas and sell it for FREE.

Try make your boss look up to you -

Do not complain and do not be the “YES” man either. Demanding that your boss give you all the credit does not help, either. If you make your boss’s life easy, he may help you. Hopefully he or she will mentor you, train you, guide you through the organization and recommend pay adjustment for you. Bosses do not complain that they don’t have enough idea people working for them. Bosses complain that there is too much work to do. This is because bosses always think they are the idea people, whether or not they are. So if your boss thinks your staff has all the ideas, it doesn’t matter. Your boss will recognize those who gets things done.

If you want to get credit for your ideas, you could try a blog -

Resumes may not showcase ideas. Resumes are a history of what others have allowed you to do in their organization. If you want to be known for the ideas you are coming up with right now, then try to put in your blog. It’s incredibly easy to write a blog if you have a lot of ideas. The ideas need not reveal company proprietary info; they just need to reveal how you think - about a wide range of things in your specialised field. Try putting your ideas out for public reference. Don’t write about people stealing your ideas. Your blog ideas, should they be convincing, then others will associate those ideas with you.

Be “Open Source” software -

Imagine yourself as “Open Source” software versus “proprietary” software. Open Source’s strength is that many people contribute to the growth and refinement of it. It’s a breeding ground for people to share ideas. Credit is shared, and tracked as the software evolves. And as your contribution to it grows you will gain power and recognition in the community.

Alternative to blogging your ideas, Speak up -

Make sure the Boss hears your ideas at meetings, in emails, in memos — establish yourself as a constant “source” of bright thinking and good ideas within your team. Do not try to outshine your peers in front too much and control yourself. Otherwise, you may be seemed to be too arrogant in the meeting.

Work Hard -

Be seen as the person on the team that always does your homework. Never come to a meeting unprepared. Think through what the agenda is, and add your insights and ideas, in front of everyone. Refrain from talking irrelevant issues not related to the topic of discussion.

Push yourself to the front -

That doesn’t mean you have to be “in-their-face”, but it does mean that you should seek out opportunities where you can show your abilities to best advantage. (eg. trade shows, trade publications, special committees) In the long term, wise companies will ensure that all employees who participate in the creation of new ideas are recognized. New ideas are one of the engines of economic growth after all.

Where will all this get you? Hopefully some organization or headhunter will want to hire you or work with you not because of the list of tasks on your resume, but because you are that person with all those sound ideas. And once you’re hired, it doesn’t matter if someone has stolen your ideas and your credit.

Get in control at "hot meetings"

If you have not been once a while under fire by your management or seniors then it may seem either your job is not interesting or your career’s probably not going anywhere. It is sort of like “no pain no gain.” If you push the envelope and take risks, then you’re going to get mercilessly grilled from time to time. That’s just the way it works. And if you really really want to get recognized or hoping for next promotion and get something of yourself, you have to learn to deal with situations and present your skills infront of the “audience”.

Not talking about being thick skin and becoming a human punching bag. I’m talking about learning to handle getting fired upon like a true leader.

We all probably behave as defensive in the early days, but as time pass we tend to mellow down and learned the ropes:

Don’t get emotion - It’s good to be passionate about your ideas, but if you’re emotionally attached to them, it’ll come through when you’re getting grilled. And managers are incredibly distrustful of ideologues trying to shove things down their throats. It’s all about positioning. In your mind, you have to be willing to walk away. That little separation will give you the appearance of perspective and poise under fire.

Find alternative plans - The best way to respond to most objections is by first embracing them, then explaining why your plan is better or at least equivalent. Again, it’s a positioning game. But there’s a subtle but significant difference between, “My approach is better and here’s why,” and “That’s an interesting idea; here’s why I think this might be a better approach.”

Know your stakeholders - Of course you need to know your material and expect the worst. Unfortunately, that’s not even close to good enough. You also have to know the stakeholders, your audience, and pre-empt their likely objections. A few one-on-one pre-meetings are a good idea. Then you’ll be ready to counter effortlessly.

Never lose your cool in meeting- It’s your meeting, or at least your time to present, so you’re in charge and you need to act like it. You need not bother if the chief or boss start going down on some trivial point. You have to be adept at all the usual techniques for keeping meetings on track, on topic, and on time. Come to think of it, that’s probably a topic of its own.

The truth is that great things can happen in meetings, if the person running the show knows what he’s doing. Unfortunately, most managers are so inept at conducting effective meetings you’d think it’s rocket science. Become adept at running effective, productive meetings with some tips that will help you keep a group of highly intelligent and opinionated staff on track when they’re all trying to fly off in different directions.

The setup - Tell what you expect from those in the room what you don’t expect from them. Be specific. For example, “we’re going to determine our testing proposition to customers,” but “we’re not going to sit here and brainstorm the pros & cons to death; we’ll do that offline.”

Be the alpha person- From the start, your manner, level of confidence, eye contact, and body language need to project and reinforce who’s in charge. You don’t care if the boss is in the room; it’s your meeting. You can be respectful and still be the alpha person. You can even tell them in the setup that your job is to accomplish some key actions today. Just don’t overplay it.

Channel useful debate- There will inevitably be heated debate where the meeting starts to get out of control. That’s fine, as long as you bring it back. First you have to get everyone’s attention with something like “Everyone here listen, I have to jump in …,” and once all eyes are on you, then perhaps you summarize the two sides and start to bring everyone to consensus. Then you’re back in control.

Table useless debate - Same as above, except once you have everyone’s attention, tell them they’ll have to take it offline for a separate meeting, then just continue with the agenda … with authority. Be honest, “it’s time to move on and there’s a lot to cover …” Be tough. Remember, it’s your meeting; you get to override.

Improvise- Sometimes meetings get out of control because you screwed up and executives can sense loss of control. Well, before they take over the meeting, you have to improvise, and that can only come from experience. Thinking on your feet is equal to parts knowledge, experience, preparation, self confidence, and maintaining a sense of humor.