Taking Credit

[angelic1]

OK...

I am a consultant, so in my line of work we have to hit milestones in order to bill the client. Each pay point is different. (I still get salary, but receive bonuses each quarter based on billables)

I am primarily responsible for a certain jurisdiction, my boss however manages me and steps in on harder projects that she is in charge of handling.

This past month I had a very high billable amount. A lot of projects came through that I had been working on. Well a few of the items for the month were from her. She wrote an email out in one sector of the company highlighting my high numbers/saying congrats and copying the VP of our division.

I of course want to give her credit for some of the work and help, so what should I say back to everyone??

[AGDee]

She is giving you the credit, accept it. You can reply to her and thank her for her support in accomplishing those things, but don't go further than that. Accept the praise without diminishing it to the rest of the sector or the VP. That is a mistake that we often make as women and it can hold you back in a career. There have been studies that show that when men succeed, they take the credit and when they fail, they blame someone else. When women fail, they take the blame and when they succeed, they credit it to someone else. Your successes do make your boss look good anyway, because it is her responsibility to ensure that her employees are doing well. Her bonuses may even be dependent on how well the people in her oversight perform.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

This was my exact thought before I even read AGDee's post. Trust me, when she sent that to the VP, there was also an element of "look how smart I am for hiring this employee". That is totally justified, btw, but you are making her look good, and accept the praise.