Told to let someone else lead on my work

[Dawevi]

I am a specialist in my workplace, and the only one in our team with this specialism, however I work in a particular field with trained professionals and I'm not trained in that field. This is relevant because I think I and other non-industry colleagues are generally seen as lesser.

For over a year now I've been doing a piece of work all about my specialism working alongside another member of the team who is also not industry trained.

Some months ago, our boss decided that an industry trained member of the senior leadership team should be involved and so she joined our discussions. However, she has only really turned up to things rather than got involved and I have continued to lead on all discussions and events. She hasn't asked to present anything or be involved in any meaningful way and has been happy to just turn up almost as an observer.

We have a final event coming up which is basically all about my specialism and will then feed into the industry specific work. Therefore, I am mostly leading the day and my colleagues are generally helping with practicalities.

I have just had an email from our boss saying that this colleague is the "industry lead" on this (which is news to me, I thought she was involved to keep an eye on things and ensure SLT input and knowledge) and that the agenda for our event needs to be changed so that she can run a number of the sessions on the day.

This is a problem because she doesn't have the knowledge and experience in my specialism that is needed to run these sessions and there is very little else that she could take over because the entire day is about what I do.

There was also an event recently that should have involved me and my specialism, but I was completely excluded from all planning and was not involved on the day except as an attendee so it feels there are some double standards at play.

I don't really have any option but to include this person and give her some sessions to run even though she will basically be presenting my work. But I am rather annoyed about it because I am expected to create the slides and use all of my work from the last year to create them and then hand them over to my colleague to present as though it's hers.

I think I'm venting more than looking for advice because I don't think there's anything I can actually do.

Unfair, but can you watermark the slides in some way so it's clear it's your work?

Well lets hope she doesn't turn to you for back up or "filling in"... You can just shrug & say, "its your presentation..."

@Dawevi good luck to her answering any questions then! watermark and footer your name on the slides and password protect for changes! that is a terrible way to treat employees and the presenter is probably on a higher wage than OP!

Don't watermark or name the slides. It won't end well - unless OP is trying to make her life harder or put her job at risk.

It's fucking annoying when senior managers do this, but it's not uncommon and it's part and parcel of the politics you sometimes have to put up with. In an ideal world it wouldn't happen, but we live in the real world - and it does.

OP, my advice (having been in your shoes) is to provide the slides but make sure you follow 'presentation best practice' (which is that slides should be high level points which are presented, rather than you reading out the content to the audience).

I wouldn't give any slide notes - I'd send it on to the manager with a covering email saying as discussed, please find presentation slides attached, ready for you to add your talking points based on your industry knowledge so that you can make it your own. Which is a diplomatic and professional way of saying that she needs to write her own script.

I'd then make a note to follow up in your next 121 and tell your manager that you would really appreciate the opportunity to follow through by being allowed to present your work (rather than be the author of the talking points that someone else presents). Get it documented as an action, or in your personal development plan. Swallow the annoyance of this being deemed a development areas (you know it's not, and I bet your manager knows as well, but it's the acceptable face of compromise). By having it documented then next time you're in a situation like this, you can get in front of it by reminding your manager that you are planning to present because of your agreed development plan etc etc.

Good luck. I remember sitting and chewing my teeth to dust in a meeting where a director presented slide that were mine, passing it off as his own work, when all he'd done was taken my name off the presenter slide and added his own instead. Karma bit him when he did this to a colleague, and the audience (Board members) asked him a load of questions that he couldn't answer, and it became painfully obvious that he not only didn't know shit, but hadn't written the presentation either....

Can you work out which sessions you're least precious about and hand those over or do them jointly?

Or set up a clear figure head role like introducing the day or being the competre?

I've had a similar situation in my work....I did the hard graft and someone less knowledgeable asked to run the workshop....however, when it came to "any questions" the person was really thrown in the deepend...couldn't field most of the, gave some misinformation, etc.... They felt so uncomfortable....

A potential solution is to co-facilitate? The 2 person interaction makes things much more interesting and a great way to show team work

Ah that's crap for both of you then. Time for a new job?

Jesus, no! How childish!

I agree. Some people on here have a very possessive understanding of the work they do, and it is ridiculous and immature. The work we produce is for the organisation, it is not ours! We are but a cog in the machine. Try to be a useful cog, at least! So unbelievably childish to be upset about this.

No! It's not OP's work, it belongs to the company.

OP, from the outset it sounds like you feel you are the only employee who knows "enough" about a niche area. This is a really unusual attitude. Congratulations on knowing something about a thing, but other people can also know things about that area, and can therefore be involved in working and speaking about that area. Other people in the company might also learn about the area as time progresses. This is a normal part of work. It is better for the company to have a number of people knowing about each area. It leads to better work, and means that there isn't a single point of failure.

As for the day itself, it comes across as petty that you want to deliver each session if the day. From an external perspective, it is better to have a few different people present. It breaks up the day, gives a different flavour, and showcases different talent. Also, your senior colleague is industry lead on this - this means she has the skillset to liaise and network with industry, and has been tasked with focusing on that. You have been asked to focus on a different part of the project (preparing the content). This is a normal part of team working.

In summary, you sound like you need to own or be the only person who knows about an area. That's not how things work, nor should it be. Collaborate, and you will produce better work, and learn in the process.

Interesting views. Did you put together the presentation thinking you were doing it? You were left out previously so what was the reason given?

Did you collaborate on the presentation knowing another was presenting? Did the other person know they would be presenting or let you assume it would be you?

It is possible at the presentation which you must attend, questions and further explanations will be directed at you. This may be your opportunity to shine.

This depends on a few things. If you are a 'consultant' and employed for specialist work, then you should present it, as your work but under the umbrella of the company.
If, however, and this is more likely - that you are employed to do a job and just happen to be a person working with a specialism - then your company can legally say that you produced that work, for a purpose that you were employed for, on their premises and using their property. They therefore own it.
It's a. bit crap of them to not let you present it but they can ask someone else to present it legally.

There's no harm in letting your colleague know that you were looking forward to presenting the topic and asking whether you could present it collaboratively. As someone else mentioned above, your colleague and be the presenter and you can be the expert answerer of questions. The best outcome is if both of you can identify your respective strengths and shine together, rather than competing for the limelight.

Is it education? Is this one of those “teachers won’t want to take instruction from support staff” things?

If so, I unfortunately can’t see a way around it. It’s an industry that likes to mop up information from non-teachers without acknowledgment or pay reward. Sadly, you could be the absolute best specialist in your field, but you will always be “not a teacher”.

Make sure your name is all over the presentation..

That's hugely unprofessional.

Every time I've been to a (professional) presentation the author is clearly acknowledged.

This is completely normal. The minions do the work and the higher ups get a pat on the back for job well done.

Can you do them together? Could she start them off with a 'state of the nation address' give a bit of context and introduce you, and then you could do the 'nitty gritty' of the presentation and you both answer questions? To me, that would be a win-win for both of you. You get public endorsement from your manager and she gets to speak without having to do the unfamiliar detail. You both get the credit, you make her look good, the workshop turns out well because you have two professionals coming at the problem from different angles, the company looks great for having such a great, knowledgeable team, and you get to raise your profile as a trusted expert.

Bet it's education ~not a teacher

@Paganpentacle You have been to professional presentations with someone's actual name written on every slide? I don't believe you.

In my field (medicine) its ALWAYS very clear who's presentation it is.
We don't present work other people have done without full acknowledgement.

Also... footers.

Where I work it would not be acceptable to present someone else’s work as your own. If someone else did step in and present on the author’s behalf, the author and any contributors would be acknowledged.

It’s also normal in my industry for a department to have only one specialist in a particular field.