Your Boss Just Stole Your Thunder (Again)

You crushed that product launch. Revenue up 47%. Customer satisfaction through the roof. Three months of 80-hour weeks finally paid off.

Then you hear it in the all-hands: "Huge shoutout to Sarah's team for the incredible Q3 results!" Sarah's your boss. Sarah was on vacation for half the project.

Your boss isn't evil. She's not plotting against you in some corporate Game of Thrones.

She's playing a different game entirely.

While you've been heads-down perfecting deliverables, she's been heads-up managing perception. You see work as doing. She sees work as being seen doing.

And here's the brutal truth: In corporate America, invisible excellence is an oxymoron.

The leadership team doesn't actually know what happens three levels down. They know narratives. They know stories. They know whoever shows up in their field of vision.

Your pristine project plan? They'll never see it. Your elegant solution that saved $2M? It's just a bullet point in Sarah's deck. Your name? It got lost somewhere between your desk and the C-suite.

This isn't about fairness. It's about physics. Credit flows upward in organizations like heat rises. Unless you actively redirect it, your boss becomes the default owner of your wins.

So, here’s your play…

Your 5-minute fix for making sure your name sticks to your work:

Step 1: The Pre-Game Email (2 minutes)

Before your next big deliverable is due, send this:

"Hi Sarah,

Quick update as we approach the [project] deadline:

I'll be submitting the final [deliverable] by [date/time]. I've incorporated feedback from [stakeholders] and validated the approach with [data/testing].

For the leadership update, I've prepared a one-pager summarizing the key wins and my methodology. Should I send it directly to you, or would you prefer I share it in Thursday's leadership meeting?

Thanks, [Your name]"

Step 2: The Signature Move (30 seconds)

Add your name to everything. Not just emails. Everything.

Step 3: The Reinforcement (2 minutes)

After any win, send a wrap email to ALL original stakeholders:

"Hi everyone,

Following up on our [project name] kick-off from [date]:

✓ Delivered [specific outcome] ✓ Exceeded target by [specific percentage] ✓ Key innovation: [one specific thing you did differently]

Appreciate everyone's input along the way. Full results attached.

Best, [Your name]"

CC your boss. BCC your skip-level (your boss's boss).

This framework exploits three psychological principles that govern corporate credit:

Primacy Effect: Whoever frames the narrative first owns it. Your pre-game email plants your name in Sarah's mind before she presents.

Documentation Bias: Leadership believes what's written over what's said. Your signature on everything creates an evidence trail.

Network Effect: Credit is consensus. When multiple stakeholders know your contribution, it becomes harder for anyone to claim it.

Remember: Your boss managing up isn't the problem. You NOT managing up is.

To your momentum,

Cassie