We tend to be poised after holidays and cheerful as we start delving into the new year plans.  As work proceeds, I find the article by Alicia Bassuk “7 Tricky Work Situations, and How to Respond to Them” by Alicia Bassuk (Harvard Business Review, October 11, 2017) a good reminder at the start of the year. Link here https://hbr.org/2017/10/7-tricky-work-situations-and-how-to-respond-to-them?utm_campaign=hbr&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

Alicia Bassuk analyses seven work situations and offers a few phrases to keep in your sleeve, when you have to say “no” or someone takes credit for your work/idea or you need to push back on a decision you believe is wrong.

I would like to add a situation from my experience: when someone is giving you credit for something you/your colleagues did not do. They might be misinformed or trying to add to your workload.

Response: Thank you for giving credit to me/my colleague for this, which we cannot accept. As it stands, … (bring in facts, numbers). Then, depending on the reason behind, say We all learned from it. Can we work through it together? (if their aim is to unload the work on your team) Or direct the person to the team in charge (if they were misinformed).