TIME TO READ: 4 MINUTES

Welcome to The Sunday Shift.

Last week, I was in a conversation that reminded me of a dynamic I’ve seen play out more times than I can count. Leaders spending more time focused on the credit than on the work itself. You could feel the shift in the room. Time and attention that should have been spent moving things forward were instead spent circling around ownership, positioning, and who would ultimately benefit when performance reviews rolled around.

It’s not new. It’s more common than we’d like to admit.

It brought me back to someone I worked with years ago.

He took credit for something that wasn’t his. It wasn’t subtle or accidental. He chose to claim it.

And in the moment, it worked. He received the recognition and even stepped into a new opportunity because of it.

But what followed was something very different.

No one called him out directly. There was no confrontation, no big moment. But there was a quiet shift. People stopped leaning in. They stopped offering more than what was required. And when it came time to collaborate, he wasn’t the first person anyone thought to bring in.

Because people remember.

They remember who shares the credit, who creates space, and who makes them feel seen. And they remember who doesn’t.

What made this even more striking is that he once shared a story with me about being a young boy and no one showing up to his birthday party. It was one of those stories that stays with you because you can feel it. That experience of being overlooked, of not being important enough for people to show up.

Most of us know that feeling in some way.

Which is what makes this worth paying attention to.

You might assume that someone who has felt that would go out of their way to make sure others don’t experience the same thing. But that’s where self-leadership comes in. Our experiences don’t automatically define how we show up. Our choices do.

Giving credit isn’t about being nice or generous for the sake of it. It’s a reflection of how you lead yourself.

It shows up in how you communicate, how you connect, and ultimately, the choices you make in the moments that matter.

When you acknowledge someone else’s contribution, you’re demonstrating that you’re paying attention, that you’re secure in your own value, and that you understand leadership isn’t centered on you. Over time, those moments build trust. They shape how people experience working with you.

Maya Angelou said that people may forget what you said or did, but they will never forget how you made them feel. That’s what’s at play here. Your reputation is built in those small, often unnoticed moments.

Not in the title or in the win. In the experience of you.

It’s easy to wait for a defining moment to prove ourselves.

The better move is to show people who you are in the moments that don’t look like they matter.

Ideas to Ponder

• Where might you be holding onto credit instead of sharing it?
• Who around you deserves to be acknowledged that hasn’t been yet?
• What is it like for others to work with you… or simply to be with you?

This Week’s Focus

Choose one person and acknowledge something they did well.

Be specific about what you saw and why it mattered.
Say it directly to them, and when appropriate, say it in the room.

Notice what shifts, both for them and for you. It’s rarely as small as it seems.

People want to work with leaders who make them better, not smaller.

That starts with how you choose to show up.

And if no one’s told you lately, you’re the most powerful person you’ll ever know.

To bold moves,
Jenn

P.S. Think about the people you trust most. Chances are, it’s not because of what they’ve accomplished. It’s because of how they’ve shown up.

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