Power & influence

How to get credit, a decision or a better deal

Being right is not the same as being heard. This approach helps you find out who really decides, make your part visible before any argument starts, and choose a response that fits the problem, without claiming more than you can prove.

What it gets you. Find out who really decides. Then choose a move that protects what matters to you. Only claim what you can prove.

Make your work visible

Keep a short list of what you did and what you finished. Ask for names to go in the regular updates, so people can see who did what. Claiming credit afterwards is much harder.

When it helps: The people who decide cannot see your part in shared work.
Where it stops: A list shows what you did. It will not end an argument about credit. For that, you still need a direct conversation, or an official process.
For example: Ask for the next project update to say who did which part. Offer to write that part yourself.

Find out who decides

Many people will give you an opinion. Usually one person can say yes, hold it up, or cancel it later. Find out who that person is.

When it helps: You do not know who to ask, or why something that was agreed has stopped moving.
Where it stops: The most senior person is not always the one who decides. Ask how the decision really gets made. Do not guess.
For example: Before you ask to move a deadline, ask who approves it and whose work would change.

Know your backup plan

Before you ask for something, decide what you will really do if the answer is no. Compare any offer with that plan, not with your ideal.

When it helps: You are about to negotiate, or deciding whether to keep going.
Where it stops: Your backup plan has to be real. If you invent another offer, or threaten something you will not do, people stop trusting you.
For example: Before you ask for a new role, write down the least you would accept. Then write down what would make you stay where you are.

Match your response to the problem

Ask yourself three questions. How serious is it? How often has it happened? What proof do you have? Then choose: sort it out quietly, set a clear limit, or take it further.

When it helps: You are deciding how strongly to react to something that went wrong.
Where it stops: Some things are serious enough to report the first time. You do not have to wait for them to happen again.
For example: Check whether this is one missed credit or the fourth one this year. Then choose a response that fits.

An example, worked through

Your manager presented your analysis to the leadership team as their own.

Match your response to the problemCheck whether this is the first time or part of a pattern. A first time calls for a quiet word. A pattern calls for a clear limit.
Make your work visibleAsk that the next project update says who did which part, and offer to write your part yourself.

One next stepBefore Friday, send your manager a short note listing what you finished this month.

In the Counsel app, you describe your own situation and choose this approach. It uses the one or two principles that fit what you wrote, and ends with one next step you can save.

Try it on your situation

Power & influence, applied to what is going on for you.

Write it the way you would tell a friend. Leave with one clear next step.

Download on theApp Store

Or ask the mentors

Prefer several views to one line of thinking? These mentors often read this kind of situation well. See all sixteen.

MachiavelliThe Realist

Sun TzuThe Strategist

CleopatraThe Sovereign

TalleyrandThe Diplomat

Other approaches

Courage & uncertaintyWhen you have to act and you cannot be sure Difficult conversationsWhen something needs saying and you are dreading it Long-term strategyWhen today’s choice will still matter in a year Clear thinkingWhen you cannot tell facts from guesses

These principles were written and reviewed for Counsel in plain language. They are not quotes from a book. Counsel is for thinking things through. It is not therapy, and not medical, legal or financial advice.