“The Lion's Share.”
(Aesop's fable)
The Lion went once a-hunting along with the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf. They hunted and they hunted till at last they surprised a Stag, and soon took its life. Then came the question how the spoil should be divided. "Quarter me this Stag," roared the Lion; so the other animals skinned it and cut it into four parts. Then the Lion took his stand in front of the carcass and pronounced judgment: The first quarter is for me in my capacity as King of Beasts; the second is mine as arbiter; another share comes to me for my part in the chase; and as for the fourth quarter, well, as for that, I should like to see which of you will dare to lay a paw upon it.""Humph," grumbled the Fox as he walked away with his tail between his legs; but he spoke in a low growl.
Moral of Aesop's Fable: You may share the labors of the great, but you will not share the spoil. (Sounds like politics as usual.)
Now relate this story to what happens commonly in the corporate world -1. The idea you shared with a colleague over coffee gets mentioned in your team meeting as his/her original idea!2. You work hard and do overtime to finish a project and a colleague gets all the praises for the work done!3. You do an exceptional job of completing a tricky assignment and your boss tells the senior management that it was he who work worked all alone on that assignment!
Often in the corporate world, it is the most cunning or the most powerful person (compare him to lion in the above story) who ends up taking all the credit for the good work.
Sadly, you can never assume that you would actually get credit for your work. You cannot assume that you will get your share of rewards and recognitions.
This is something you must ensure.
Given below are few simple things you can do to ensure your efforts get the due rewards and recognitions:1. Never share your ‘great’ ideas with one person only. It is best to share these ideas in a meeting or during a presentation where seniors and your colleagues are present.2. When working in a team, try to distinguish yourself from the rest of team. You can do so by focusing on your strengths. If you are great at giving presentations or writing an article you can leverage on these strengths to make yourself considered a ‘valuable’ member of the team.3. Be proactive to ensure you get your due credit. In collaborative assignments it makes sense to reach an agreement with other team members on keys aspects of credit sharing. Such agreed points should be documented and shared with all team members.4. Keep sending regular updates of your good work to your seniors and other key decision makers in your organization. This way you will avoid any unwanted situation towards the end of the project/assignment you are working on.5. Be generous and transparent is giving credits to others for the good work that they do. This way, others will also be obliged to give you due credit for your work.


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Abhishek Ratna is the author of Amazon Bestseller - No Parking. No Halt. Success Nonstop!
About the book:
A self-help book for success at work! No Parking. No Halt. Success Nonstop!  has 50 career lessons for today's 20teen generation.
Practical and comprehensive, the book often stretches to the point of 'cunning without harming'. Interspersed with quotes, stories and humor, it also breaks a few myths. The author treads the fine line between ethical and non-ethical. The author is able to convince the reader about the necessity for professional success.
Get your copy here -
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This series ‘Life Lessons from Folktales’ brings to you best of folktales from all over the world with the purpose of teaching you valuable and simple lessons for life.