to be more than a little bit annoyed that our boss has been nominated for an award for something the whole team was involved in..

[Leetlebitannoyed]

And hasn't told us. We were all involved in a big piece of work last year, and it appears that her boss has nominated her for this award, with no acknowledgement of the whole team effort. She mentioned the award to her PA in passing, who then told the rest of us - unaware that we didn't know.

Do we ask her why the team effort isn't being recognised or just keep quiet. It was such a huge piece of work, and it just feels as if our equal contribution and our hard work is being ignored, whilst our boss takes the credit.

Well, I would be annoyed too tbh. Any way to bring it up casually, and see her reaction?

What is the award - perhaps your boss is just going to be the person who goes to pick up the award. Then she'll come back with it and share it with you all.

I'd wait and see how it goes before I said anything to be honest. She may be planning a surprise for you.

She may do a fabulous acceptance speech or a piece for the company newsletter on what a superb team she has and couldn't have achieved it without you all. Or maybe the prize is 2 weeks in the Maldives and she just won't mention you at all.

Weeeeellllll, I'm not sure. If it had all gone horribly wrong, would the buck have stopped with her? If so then YAB a teeny bit U, I think. And as the others say, perhaps she'll acknowledge the team's effort when/if she wins the award? If it's a whole team, presumably it'll be obvious that she couldn't have done it all on her own, so everyone will know she's a cow if she doesn't mention it?

The thing is, she was nominated a while ago by our boss, neither of them have said anything about it, and it involves a day out for her at some big garden party in recognition of her work - nothing about the rest of us. It was a piece of work that we were all very much involved with, and although she oversaw much of it, we all led on certain aspects of the project. To top it all, she was on maternity leave for the last 4 months of it, which meant we completed the work. I think it's fair to say that we're all pretty taken aback that one person has been singled out, when it was very much a team effort - and I do mean effort. The pressure was really on, and we all worked many extra hours to complete it.

I understand that you are annoyed that she hasn't mentioned it to the team involved, but I think you're being a bit unrealistic tbh. Unless she is trying to taking the credit for the whole thing and pretend it is "all her own work" she isn't doing anything unusual in work terms - being the boss means getting the praise and taking the blame for what "her team" has done. You could expect to be acknowledged in her thank you speech but not necessarily to all be invited to the ceremony.

Bitching about her maternity leave was a cheap shot btw.

I hear you Leetlebit. It's frustrating when you've put the effort in and one person is singled out and does not acknowledge your contribution. She's not a good manager if she's done this. Not sure what you can do about this time though - if you complain it's sour grapes.

Put it down to a learning experience - next time make sure YOU are the contact point or YOU speak to people about it. Perhaps your boss's boss didn't realise how much effort you'd put it. Make people aware of this. Put updates in your company's newsletter/internet, mention it on Staff Awaydays or in conversations. Anything that will enable people to associate the work more with you.

And when the time comes that YOU get all the credit and it should be shared (and it will) make sure you thank those involved.

In the meantime try to let it go. You want your colleagues to hear about your good work not any bitterness (however entitled your are to it).

Our boss's boss did know about the effort - she led for the last 4 months while our boss was on maternity leave (which was not a 'bitch' btw, but a fact, and not a cheap shot).

Our achievement was well documented throghout the organisation, which is why it seems very strange that she's been put forward for this event, and hasn't said as word to us all. None of us expected to be invited to the event, but we would like her to have made it clear that the recognition was for us all, and that she was attending to accept on behalf of us all. We will be going through the process again in a years time, so I think it would probably have been a good way of keeping the team motivated.

Your pay is your reward - you did your job, the company paid you, anything else is a bonus. Get over it.

Ouch BAFE. Harsh.

well, loads of us were trying to tell her nicely but it wasn't working so I thought I'd take the blunt approach.

Loads of you? There'a about 4 people on here! Anyway, we've moved on from the "there's your pay, now shut up" approach in our organisation thankfully, but cheers for your insightful post.

Fair enough.

It's not a good example of how to motivate your staff though. Leetle needed to hear that she did a good job by her boss or her boss's boss and she didn't. Bad communication on their part means Leetle is less likely to put in the extra effort in the future.

It's not nice, not fair but yes BAFE I see your point.

Oh that's the situation that's not nice and not fair.

What SpiderObsession said.

"Anyway, we've moved on from the "there's your pay, now shut up" approach in our organisation thankfully"

no, your organisation is still doing the above - they haven't moved on at all. If they had, your efforts would have been recognised now wouldn't they?

I'm sorry to be blunt but the bottom line is you are paid to do your job well. It's nice if you do a job particularly well to get some recognition but it isn't something you're entitled to.

It's more that nothing has been said about the award. I'd feel incredibly uncomfortable taking an award that I knew my colleagues had really worked hard for, and then keeping quiet about the whole thing. But then I'm a fab manager myself

BAFE - are you reading my posts at all? I've already said that our achievement was well documented throughout the organisation. What's irritating is that she's not said anything to us about this award.

Maybe she hasn't said anything because she was worried you'd react...well, in the way that you have. She didn't nominate herself for the award, perhaps she's embarrassed about it, as she knows it was a whole team effort.

She's the boss though and so success or failure lies at her door. Perhaps she hasn't told you because she knows you'll want some of the credit....

Nyx, I think you could be right. I'll think I mention it to her in passing in a sort of "congratulations, why didn't you tell us" type way (through gritted teeth!) and see what she says.

Better go - 3 year old is pleading to go out to the park.

Could she have been nominated by her boss for publicity reasons rather than because of any actual achievement? Presumably if she wins the award then it will also mean some free publicity for the company.

Still don't know why she would have tried to keep it a secret though.

YANBU. She's managing very poorly on this issue. Hope she's better most of the time.

Not really sure what you can do. Could you ask her to come back with the award and have a photoshoot with it and the whole team in the office, so that it can go on the intraweb? A fairly blatant push to spread the love, but only what she should be doing anyway.