Taking Credit for Your Accomplishments

I wouldnt go around tooting my horn every chance I get. I would be selective and talk about your gratitude for the team members who worked with you on a project.

You can also do it as a write-up for your boss for your annual review, summarizing your accomplishments for the year. They usually like to see the info--since they often dont realize what you have done.

Gordon,

I agree with your suggestions here. I would go one step further. Compile a dossier of sorts or a professional looking notebook with all the major things you have done this year and any awards and recognition you received, You can also include any emails or cards that your clients sent to you for go beyond the call of duty or those expressing gratitude for helping them. Then make an appointment to go over the highlights and summary of the notebook with your boss. I did this when i worked for a supervisor you only seemed to notice when things didn't work out for me. She was so surprised to see what i had accomplished in a year and I felt she saw another part of me and my work commitment. Good luck to you!! Please keep us posted as to developments.

Gordon, I like your suggestions. We were raised to not be a braggart about ourselves. But I think thre is a difference between bragging and acknowledging your accomplishments

Always, ALWAYS, give the boss a reminder of all the atta boy work you've done during the year.

Projects completed ahead of time, extra work done, solid suggestions and improvements made, stuff you picked up to "help someone out," work related educational accomplishments, especially if you paid for them yourself, and anything else like that you can think of.

It's not tooting your own horn. It's staking a claim on what's rightfully yours, recognition for a job well done.

gordon and hotlegs have given some very good advice -- take it.

on the topic about getting bypassed by others who are basically slacking off, let me tell you why I find this happens. one reason is nepotism. this person has often been with the company for a long time. two, they aren't really doing a good job but their supervisors haven't bothered to keep track of firing them or the higher ups want for some reason to keep that person around so they'll often promote them to a non-supervisory position. three, they are not very vocal with their opinions, have very little imagination and contribute little to any team structure. this makes certain bosses happy. lastly but not leastly is that when bosses see how good you are at tasks that are hard to find good people to do, they will keep you there, although they know you should and deserve to be promoted. who will be able to do your job as well and how will that affect the bosses time and need to actually work?

Just my 5 cents - watched it for lots of years.

Suffice to say that some folks are more competitive than others. It's in their DNA, their upbringing etc. There will always be folks in the workplace that are looking to "win" by "beating the other guy" - even if it's someone on their own team. Does that mean you have to play by their rules? Certainly not! Your work should speak for itself. Take pride, take ownership - it's not bragging. It's just the facts.

A good boss should never put an employee in a position to have to defend their accomplishments. The best bosses know that regular recognition and acknowledgment of an employee's contribution will boost morale and productivity. A good boss can also can tell when an employee is simply "tooting their own horn". As a manager for most of my career, I find it irritating, immature, and completely transparent.

That said, The Peter Principle (the cream rises until it sours) is as prevalent today as ever. I have had many more unqualified bosses than I have had bosses with the real talent and skill to be leaders.

Sounds to me like you've got some sour cream in the supervisor department.

"I would be selective and talk about your gratitude for the team members who worked with you on a project."

Gordon this is great advice! I did not know what i was doing but i recognized it when i read what you wrote. Exactly what i do, and a variation of this works well when talking to potential clients about my employees and my company.

You can continue to be a non-obnoxious co worker when you use this approach, and not have to put down others or feel they are getting ahead because of nepotism or some other office politics.

Good luck