My boss stole my idea

[Ang1ePhalange]

My boss stole my idea and pitched it in a meeting as hers. It was well received. It was a very serious meeting with lots of very senior people discussing very important issues (government). AIBU to feel upset that she pinched my idea? Should I just take it as a compliment? I’m a temp so don’t want to bring it up with her and lose my job.

Ask her if you can be involved in the project. Tell her you're really glad she liked it so much she took it to the seniors and that they supported it too so you'd like to see it through.

Your idea impressed your boss and they are progressing. Your boss is who you need to impress so I would take it as a compliment.

Also at a high level meeting I expect talk to be about the project not who said it first. Once talking about it she would say I think rather than "Julie thinks xxxx"

You may still get credit at some stage.

Of course she should have given you credit for it. It would be worth bearing in mind though that 90% of an idea being accepted as a good one is down to how it is communicated and the person selling the idea exercising influencing skills. You won't gain anything by making a fuss about it.

How was this presented by her:

Here is the proposal for resolving the Robinson problem
Or
I’ve thought of a solution to the Robinson problem

The first I think is par for the course - yes irritating not to be name checked but perfectly standard for a team head to present ideas coming out of the team in this manner. The second is different.

Actually if the people in the meeting were that higher up I'm kind of not surprised your boys didn't say 'the temp' had the idea.

If approach your boss directly and say something like you were glad they liked your idea and see what comes of that

@Neron

Can you email her, asking for feedback on your idea? You know it was presented, but ask if there were things they liked, didn't like, any changes etc.

That way, it's in writing, but it's also something to use in a new job if you got one. An answer for one of those 'tell me about a time when' questions.

This is a polite way to do it

The second @AtLeastPretendToCare

@SummerWhisper

If you sent her the idea by email, send it to her manager and the chair of the meeting...

"Hi everybody, just want to thank Janice for sharing the below at today's meeting. As a temp, it's a big deal to have your ideas heard. I'm blown away by the support it received. Really can't thank Janice enough for championing this and giving me the confidence to apply for her job."

I wouldn't advise doing anything like that, OP. I presume it's tongue in cheek though...

Ask to be involved with implementing it, and use it in interviews in the future, as an example of work you were involved in. And you can take credit for it in the interviews.

Keep a wary eye on the person who did this. I worked with a manager who often took credit for my work. She was royally caught out one day when her manager said something to her about 'that great piece of work you did on x'.
It was my work, and she had to acknowledge it, as such, because I was there. She had obviously passed it off as hers, to him.

You think that is bad, I once left an organisation [a national one] to go and work for a private training provider and developed a whole new way of teaching this particular thing, including the buidling design etc and when I went back a decade later to the original organisation, my design was the highlight of their induction presentation as ways they innovated in the industry. They had chuff all to do with it.

It's part and parcel of working life. And you are a temp so your rights if you object are pretty limited.

People will take ideas where they find them, the art is being in the position to present them to the right people at the right time. That's what your boss did, all those years of working hard and she gauged it right.

@CharityDingle definitely tongue in cheek if the OP wants to stay in her job...

Great that the OP shared her idea in a meeting. At the next meeting, she can ask the boss what the next steps are regarding her idea.

It might even be possible that Janice is seeking to keep the OP on because she is so amazing and will announce it at the next meeting. Come on, Janice, if you're reading this...do the right thing. @Ang1ePhalange is a keeper!

YABVU to say that you won't share ideas again. That's cutting off your nose to spite your face.

And they didn't steal the idea, they stole the credit. The idea got used, which is what ideas are for in business.

Yes, it's shit not to credit you, and short sighted, as you'll probably go elsewhere and take your ideas with you. But don't turn it into something that puts you off making the most of yourself in the workplace.

I'd send an amended version of the email above saying that you're thrilled at the reception of your idea, and can you have a 121 about further ideas you have that are related.

You're always going to get this to some degree. Correct.

A good boss will make sure the best business ideas are surfaced. A great boss will do that alongside appropriate recognition.

Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s great.

But if you want control over what it’s going to be, you need to go solo or work your way up to boss level. If you’re “just” providing a service, it’s hard to change the approach / culture of management.

@Gingernaut

Yup.

That's what bosses do. Steal ideas.

Either get used to it or find another job.

Or grow a pair and stand up for yourself. Women do themselves no favours in the workplace by being meek and quiet.

If you want to get ahead, you need to stand up and show you have the strength to challenge people like that.

Any idea can be stolen but what can never be stolen is having the creative brain that comes up with solutions and ideas that work. Don't waste time resenting what happened with that specific idea and don't hoard your ideas and keep them to yourself. Keep generating and sharing ideas and build your career on your reputation for doing so. In future when you have a good idea make sure there is a paper trail that gives you credit - don't just blurt it out the moment it comes into your head, spend a bit of time working out the implications and effects and put together a short email or one-page document about it.

Making a good new idea work in practice isn't just about the initial spark or inspiration. There's work to be done to prove the concept and drive the change through. The person who stole your idea didn't do "nothing", they would have needed to invest a lot to make it work and yes they are a selfish person for failing to credit you for the inspiration but in reality think about whether they would have put in the same energy to champion an idea that they couldn't claim credit for.

In the future you will be in a position to have a great idea, and the experience to make the change happen and work and it will be something to be really proud of.

This happens - it's not right, but annoyingly common. It points to insecurity on the part of the manager, as a good manager will champion her staff and their ideas and not see this as a threat to their own competency or position.

Talk to your manager directly. Say that you were really pleased that your idea was so well received, but ask her if there was a reason you couldn't be credited as being the source of this. Do it in a 121. I doubt it will change anything but at least it will tell your manager that you noticed, and it might make her think twice about doing it again to someone else.

As @SinoohXaenaHide says don't let this put you off sharing ideas and being creative.

@SinoohXaenaHide I will do exactly this in future, thank you

I was in a similar situation some years ago. I presented a suggestion for improving one of the organisation's services during a job interview for said organisation. I wasnt working for them at the time. The interviewer fired back at me with concerns over implementation and cost and I countered that yes, there were cost implications but enhanced efficiency and safety benefits too. I emphasised the safety angle, saying you couldn't put a price on it (air transport industry, BTW). He seemed satisfied with my reasoning and moved on. I didn't get the job but my suggestion was implemented in a matter of months! The other unfortunate outcome was that the interviewer couldn't look me in the eye again from then until he left to work abroad. And we had been known to each other for years. Bastard.

@SummerWhisper

If you sent her the idea by email, send it to her manager and the chair of the meeting...

"Hi everybody, just want to thank Janice for sharing the below at today's meeting. As a temp, it's a big deal to have your ideas heard. I'm blown away by the support it received. Really can't thank Janice enough for championing this and giving me the confidence to apply for her job."

This ^^

Lots of the replies on here are really unprofessional.

Dolly Parton mentioned this problem in her song 9-5

@WildRosie

Well, he didn't do anything wrong, so I've no idea why he couldn't look you in the eye.

It's a pity your obviously good idea didn't secure you the job; but having heard your good idea, he took it & implemented it, that's the bulk of the work. That's perfectly sensible. He & his organisation would have had plenty of work to do to actually make it happen.

I'm often at conferences and similar where I hear about good ideas, maybe that others have put in place in their organisation. I similarly speak at events about our innovation.

I will often take an adapt an idea for our own purposes. No stealing involved, it's just learning from others.

[quote EarringsandLipstick]@WildRosie

Well, he didn't do anything wrong, so I've no idea why he couldn't look you in the eye.

It's a pity your obviously good idea didn't secure you the job; but having heard your good idea, he took it & implemented it, that's the bulk of the work. That's perfectly sensible. He & his organisation would have had plenty of work to do to actually make it happen.

I'm often at conferences and similar where I hear about good ideas, maybe that others have put in place in their organisation. I similarly speak at events about our innovation.

I will often take an adapt an idea for our own purposes. No stealing involved, it's just learning from others. [/quote]
Exactly.

I've done similar at interviews, and although I've never heard of my ideas being used, I hardly think they make the difference between employment or not. It's all about the approach and track record of delivery.

Similarly there are loads of good ideas that don't go forward, and good ideas that don't pan out. I won my company a big contract, and emphasised to other staff that we could have just as easily lost it for the wrong reasons as won it for the right ones. But then again the same team would be iffy about the time I spent nurturing ideas - and although I'd say all of them were good ideas, only one tenth translated into viable opportunities for the organisation. It's a leader's job to make sure that the company is ready to take forward good ideas, which involves a lot of prep work.

An idea should always come with a bit of analysis, a plan.

(and yes, of course, credit should go for the idea, but I bet there were a few ideas that were also good and could have gone forward, and it was simply the boss's choice to push OP's)