To be annoyed by asking for my template

[soontobemumof3girls]

I was promoted into a new role and by all means, was the underdog for the role. I've been under significant pressure at home and at work.

To help my new team, I created a template which I rolled out to them and they're about to start using.

Knowing that collaboration is important, I pulled in many members of the wider teams to support efforts.

I've not run the process or template past any of my stakeholders yet.

I've then received a message from my peer in the US who has done nothing like this asking for my template as someone told them about it.

I'm really proud of coming up with this process, template and pulling in the team and having a roadmap to roll this out.

ABU to want to roll this out to my team first, run it past my stakeholders as it's unique and by all means a pilot and not have it shared globally before It's even off the ground?

I don't know if it's relevant but this person is a low performer and won't have even thought about this but someone on the call ran to them to tell them to catch up with me. It feels like if they do the same thing as me but in their own way, then my work is diluted.

@soontobemumof3girls Simply tell them thanks for reaching out. We are still piloting the template and running it past stakeholders. Once we have done this and finessed it, I will share.

EtA; don't be surprised if others that gave seen it share it with US colleague though

I think it's fine to push back and say, 'I'll be happy to share with you once I've pilot tested this, but until then this is a prototype and not suitable for wider use.'

Agree with @GingerScallop professional, clear and gives you the opportunity to showcase your work and innovation. Good luck!

AIBU? DH is at a loss as to what the problem is with sharing it.

I’d just say you’ll be happy to share once it’s been tested and run past stakeholders as there may be minor tweaks made before it’s ready to be used.

@soontobemumof3girls I don't think you are necessarily being unreasonable. Not many of us are fully acknowledged for the hard work we put at work. I recently worked hard developing a course including slides, exercises, graphics. Now everyone in the multi country project are using it. No acknowledgement. My consolation is that I too have on many occasions benefited from other people's sweat. Once I thought like that, the sting went. So try and look at the request as an acknowledgement of how good this template is and how great you are at your job. It's something to add to your cv: Developed a new efficient process that was adopted across the company/global brand.

As others have said... message back (no rush ) with some suitably blah corporate speak...

Thanks for your email. I am just piloting this at the moment. Once it's been trialled and I've had a chance to check feedback, I'll loop you jn with more info"

And quickly update your stakeholders and make sure your name is all over it.

Would you not need to run it past your stakeholders before piloting?

id certainly be making them aware now before they think you’ve taken someone else’s idea

good news ideas travel fast

I also feel like the person who ran and told them to do what I was doing did it on purpose. She doesn't like to see me do well anyway and in if felt deliberate like she doesn't want me and my team to run ahead and shine. Wants everyone else to do what I'm doing so no matter the outcome, it won't be much different to everyone else's. I asked her why she thinks they can use it so early on and she didn't reply.

It’s not relevant what your DH thinks about your work matter, just explain you are trialing it first and will roll out at a later date.

Yeah maybe just send people pdfs or with a watermark for the ‘pilot mode’ or DRAFT

I asked her why she thinks they can use it so early on and she didn't reply.

That sounds like a bit of a confrontational reply rather than a professional one. You need to rise above people like this and respond in a professional way and not an emotional one.

It seems oddly competitive to not share something you think is brilliant with other teams in your company.

You are not being unreasonable @soontobemumof3girls and while you want everyone to benefit it’s not fair of someone to try to steal your thunder. Stick to your guns and maybe consider showing stakeholders soon so you can roll it out on your terms

I've paraphrased and did say it with a more curious tone in my reply. I am genuinely confused how this can be shared and circulated widely at this stage.

It does feel like she came out of my meeting which was very successful, panicked that I was about to do something innovative (which is a 2 month project) and quickly told someone else to do it, not realising they would ask me for the slides.

I've decided to email my manager and their manager tomorrow with the concept, where I am at and whether they feel it's on the right track before I roll it out to my team.

At least then there is an email trail and if it does get rolled out they know where it came from.

Either way, cat it out the bag now, and the other regions will do something similar so either way the final result won't seem all that innovative.

OP I'm struggling to understand what exactly you are doing.
If this template is so complex that it requires input from multiple teams, stakeholders, a roadmap etc etc ,surely you can't just send to someone?

In which case , of course you wouldn't send out something that isn't ready , as any issues with use would be blamed on you. So you just need to point it out.

What's the problem?

Also, I don't know about where you work, but in my workplace, adoption is key!
People never understand something new, they will always have questions and so refer back to the person who created it, this actually helps your good name spread.
I still have people remember me from previous projects and helped me get new roles in the organisation, with things growing organically

Our work is complex. It's not just a random deck of slides that gets shared with no credit..

You need to explain further do you think US colleague might steal the credit or something?

@sixpiacksally it's not complex it's actually very simple but it's innovative, and easily copied. I guess I just wanted to see it rolled out in 2 weeks time and see what the outcome and results were in 1 months time.

Report it all back to stakeholders and then they decide if it should be rolled out globally. Not my work being banded around straight after the kick off call.

Why all the rigmarole around rolling out, stakeholders etc if it's so simple? Surely you can just do it? Why do you need input from all these people?

Can you provide an analogy...?

@sixpiacksally it's a problem which has been ongoing for years with many different mangers trying to solve for it. I was told when I got the job it was my biggest challenge and I was going to struggle in this area most.

I've sat on the problem for several months trying to ideate and innovate and not rush in like a busy fool trying to solve it too soon.

I've solved for it or I'm very close to but now the other regions will just go and do the same thing at the same time, with or without my template they know full well what the plan is.

She's replied now to say she liked my idea so much she thought she would share it as the other region was doing it 'like we always have'.

Well yes, that's the point, no one has solved for it.

See OP this is what I'm confused by.
If a problem is very complex it's unlikely to be something that just sharing a template will solve. You can 'ideate' and 'innovate' all you like but it's in the delivery surely. It's not about a plan but execution. If they don't have the buy-in or capability they will fail so it's not going to matter.
At this point I'm not sure whether it really is that complex or you're just trying to justify making a big deal out of a template.