To kick things off, let’s just call it how it is:
• It sucks when someone steals your work
• Sadly it probably happens to someone, somewhere everyday
Oh corporate America, definitely not known for being a level playing field and everyone giving each other high-fives and handshakes every time a match is over. So what do you do when someone takes your work/project/data and passes it off as their own? I don’t think anyone has all the answers, but here are a few tips to help navigate what is possibly one of work-life’s most sticky situations…
1. Stay out of the mud.
As tempting as it may be, don’t retaliate and don’t act in the moment. Emotions will no doubt be high when you find out what has happened, but sending an email/voicemail/text full of vocabulary usually reserved for Eminem lyrics is not the way to go.It will only reflect badly on you, no matter how justified you may feel in sending it, and once it’s out there you can’t take it back.
2. Clear the air.
So even though a verbal smack-down or trip to the thunder dome are off the table (and typically frowned upon by HR) you can and do need to stick up for yourself.Once the dust has settled, decided on a plan of action. Depending on your position and the position of the person taking liberties with your stuff, figure out what next steps would be most effective in getting the situation resolved.
Maybe it is an email, written thoughtfully, and outlining what has happened from your POV? Maybe it’s calling a meeting with upper management and the person involved? Whatever the next step is, make sure you only speak from what you know and what you have in writing. Making accusations or throwing out assumptions will only discredit you.
3. Proceed with caution.
Immediately following the points above about clearing the air, if you do want to meet with the other person make sure there is a 3rd party (aka a mediator) in the room. Having someone else there will limit any he said she said nonsense, should it come to that, and at this point you want to take every precaution.
After you get through all of that and once the situation has been resolved – or even if it’s not – then what? It’s hard to get that ‘team spirit’ back after someone has pilfered your goods, but life goes on.
My advice is to look at it this way:
Your career and personal happiness are much more important than whatever happened and in the end the goal should be to take the high road and be a team player that others enjoy working with. So don’t let someone else’s lack of professionalism and immaturity drag you down.
Or as our friend Eminem likes to say, “You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.”
Yo, indeed.
Just Typing Away 
I absolutely love your blog.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself? Please reply back as I’m looking to create my very own blog and would like to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Kudos!
Please let me know if you’re looking for a article author for your blog. You have some really good articles and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d love to write some content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an email if interested. Kudos!
Hi there! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with Search Engine Optimization? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share. Appreciate it!
Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your posts.
I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write once more very soon!
Fantastic website. Lots of useful information here. I am sending it to several pals ans additionally sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you to your sweat!
Great post however, I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject?
I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Cheers!
Hurrah! I found a website wheге I can takе useful іnformation rеgarding my studies and knowledge.
Quality articles or reviews is the secret to invite the users to go to see the site, that’s what this website is providing.
Excellent blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many options out there that I’m completely confused… Any ideas? Thank you!
I would recommend using WordPress as a blog platform, which is what this site uses. As far as writing tips… one of the biggest things I’d recommend (to help stay organized) is planning out your content calendar so you know what you’ll be writing about and when. That is something that has helped me immensely!
Hello! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Terrific blog and excellent design and style.
Great weblog here! Also your website lots up fast! What web host are you the using? I wish my site loaded up as quickly as yours lol
This is a WordPress site, so their servers take all the credit for the quick load time 🙂
I am not sure where you are getting your info, but great topic. I need to spend some time learning and understanding more. Thanks for great information!
I am truly thankful to the owner of this web site who has shared this impressive article here.
Hi would you mind stating which blog platform you’re using? I’m going to start my own blog soon but I’m having a difficult time choosing between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
Thanks for asking! This site is powered by WordPress.
Hello! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this website? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at alternatives for another platform. I would be awesome if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
Hi! Unfortunately I won’t be able to help as I’m using WordPress and (at least for me) it’s been great. Sorry but hopefully you’ll be able to find a platform that works well for you!
Every person is sharing such knowledge and it’s nice to read this web site so I check this blog everyday.
Wow, this article is good, my sister is analyzing these kinds of things so I’m going to let know her about this.
Hello to all, the contents on this site are genuinely amazing for people knowledge. Keep up the nice work fellows.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I truly appreciate your efforts and I will be waiting for your future posts, thank you once again.
I really like what you guys are up too. Keep up the amazing work and I’ve included you guys to my own blogroll.
Howdy are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any html coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!
Hi Gwendolyn! If you’re using WordPress you don’t need to know how to code. Hope that helps!
We are a group of volunteers and your web site offered us valuable information! You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be grateful to you.
Good way of telling the facts on the topic.
It’s hard to find knowledgeable people on this subject, however, you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks
Hi to all, how is everything, I think every one is getting more from this web site, and your views are fastidious in support of new users.
I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it is rare to see a nice blog like this nowadays.
I’m not that much of a internet reader to be honest but your blog is really nice, keep it up! I’ll go ahead and bookmark your site to come back later. Cheers
These are really fantastic ideas in concerning blogging. You have touched on some pleasant points here. Keep up the writing.
whoa this weblog is excellent i really like reading your articles. Keep up the good work! You understand, many individuals are looking round for this info, you could help them greatly.
Thanks for a marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed reading it, you may be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and definitely will come back. I want to encourage that you continue your great work, have a nice morning!
Your style is very unique in comparison to other people I have read stuff from. Thank you for posting when you’ve got the opportunity, Guess I’ll just book mark this site.
Great web site you have here.. It’s hard to find good quality writing like yours these days.
I truly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!
Outstandіng story there. Whɑt occurred after? Take care!
Hi! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the fantastic work!
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this post plus the rest of the website is very good.
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this excellent blog! I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!
There is certainly a great deal to learn about this subject.
I love all the points you made.
Write more, that’s all I have to say.
Outstanding post however, I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this subject? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Bless you!
An outstanding share! I have just forwarded this onto a friend who was doing a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me lunch because I found it for him… lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending the time to discuss this topic here on your web page.
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this article plus the rest of the site is really good.
Many thanks, Quite a lot of content.
You ought to take part in a contest for one of the greatest blogs on the internet. I am going to recommend this website!
Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you could do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is fantastic blog. A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
Howdy! This article could not be written much better! Reading through this article reminds me of my previous roommate, he constantly kept preaching about this. I am going to forward this post to him. Fairly certain he’s going to have a great read. Many thanks for sharing!
Wonderful blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thanks
Hello There. I discovered your weblog using msn. This is a really well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your helpful information. Thank you for the post. I will certainly return.
Hello there! Would you mind if I share your blog with my zynga group? There’s a lot of folks that I think would really appreciate your content. Please let me know. Cheers
You are so awesome! I don’t suppose I have read anything like this before. So good to find someone with original thoughts on this subject matter. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is something that is needed on the web, someone with some originality!
I like the helpful information you supply in your articles. I’ll bookmark your blog and visit more frequently. I’m certain I’ll learn many new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!