Mr. and Mrs. Kodak. The Perfect Heist!

Have you ever imagined how life will look like if we wake up one day and all the cameras are gone away!

I don't mean here our personal or social life, where we share joyful moments with families, friends and people we love and care about.

But I mean - intentionally - corporate life!

Corporate life often revolves around the pursuit of exposure, the brightness of achievements, and the constant need to showcase one’s contribution to organizational success.

In most workplaces, success is not just about delivering results that have been dictated by job descriptions, but primarily ensuring that you are seen, acknowledged, and leveraged for career advancement.

Promotions are mostly booked for those who master the art of visibility—whether through networking, showcasing your work bright fully, or aligning with influential figures or all these collectively.

This creates an environment where perception can sometimes outweigh actual competence, pushing employees to curate their professional image meticulously. some people do it in the right way and many others in a wrong way.

So those who do it in the right way, Pls continue what you are doing, you earned that moment!

But those who do it wrong, whom I call Mr. and Mrs. Kodak (translates in English to Credit thieves)

Those who are waiting for the photoshoot whether the picture is big or small...

Whether they deserve to be there or not...

Whether they were in the action scene or were just passing by...

You should really reconsider your life perspectives.

You should really think - before sending that email while copying everyone in every single country and function (not to mention those in bcc) ...

Or posting that picture looking for plenty of emoji interactions.

Or speaking in front of the crowd about things nobody has seen and looking for their praise...

You should think Primarily if you are entitled to do that or not, and if yes?

Who else should share that moment?

What is the order for sharing this credit?

Stealing credit is not only limited to those who feel insecure when their contributions are not enough to be recognized in the organization, trying to cover their inadequacies, sometimes it is attributed to poor teamwork dynamics where accountability is absent and no clear performance trackers have been set among the group.

Sometimes it is the mistake of those achievers who have low voices and thus encourage thieves to take their credit. Some managers assume that their team credits should go entirely to them assuming that their leadership was the pivotal factor to achieving that success.

and more dangerous when it is part of toxic culture where the loudest voice claims the credit...

And seriously sick and maleficent behavior when credit theft is a strategic move to align with influential figures or to undermine colleagues in a power play.

When these actions become a prevailing practice, it hinders productivity and innovation, weakens leadership capabilities, demotivates employees, increases turnover and above all tarnishes the company reputation.

While leadership holds the clear responsibility of organizing performance tracking and ensuring credit is given to those who truly deserve it, employees must fiercely safeguard their contributions and boldly stand against credit thieves with clarity and courage.

They said once: “Life is like a camera: focus on what matters, capture the good times… and make sure no one steals your shot.”

Sherif.