Advice needed on how best to tackle this...

[mammasmadhouse]

Hi All
A colleague in the same area as me, does not take on board any suggestions or comments I put forward, someone else in my team has on occasion made the same suggestion I have just had pushed back or ignored and it is taken forward.
It is beginning to both grate and knock my confidence. This colleague is 2 grades above me, and I just feel that I am not in any way rated on a professional level.

Have you asked them? Or asked your manager?

Hi @Neriah , many thank for your reply. I haven't spoken to this colleague directly, as I just wasn't sure how to approach it and to start with I did wonder whether I had misinterpreted things and at times still do overthink this, I also don't want to upset anyone unnecessarily, I did mention it to one of our managers a little while ago, as colleague very nearly ignored my suggestion to not share some potentially sensitive info, until one of our managers also backed my suggestion. Like wise I have been included in email discussions, where a meeting has been suggested and colleague has proceeded without me.

I'm not clear. A senior colleague didn't need to include you in meetings, even if you suggested it. But I do think this is a subject to discuss sensit8velyb with your manager first. Explain what you perceive the problem to be, and then perhaps explore what you think could help you frame the situation better. It doesn't have to be a difficult conversation if you approach it as wanting to find a way to be better placed to contribute.

It's hard without knowing the context, but sometimes I find that less experienced staff think they've said something clearly, but being anxious they've not been a ckear as they think. Equally, sometimes they don't know why something wasn't heard unless they ask. And sometimes more experienced people aren't listening!

Try to make it about solutions not problems, and hopefully it will be an easier conversation.

Thank you @Neriah , I do appreciate your reply, this has happened on more than one occasion. In terms of the meeting I referred to, there was an email discussion around a piece of work that we were starting, to which I was asking questions, a meeting was suggested by this colleague, but I wasn't included. The queries and concerns I raised were ignored, until it was too late and it has caused a lot of unnecessary work in trying to unpick to rectify. I have in other similar discussions suggested that we should include a particular picture in our design to be told it wasn't needed, but then have another colleagues suggest the same thing and be told it was a good idea. This colleague is in a specialist role but does not have the experience to undertake the role.

Whether they have the experience to undertake the role is not your call though - it's the employers. You can only do you. So you feedback to your manager what impacts on your role and your work, because it's your managers job to ensure that you are being effective in your work.