When someone does something – anything – right, he's there to take the credit. The more public and spectacular the success, the more vocal he is.

To hear him tell it, you'd never suspect he actually has a department of people doing the work.

Your fantasy responses:

Ask detailed questions he can't answer while he's taking credit… Outshout him… "Hey, wasn't that my project?!"

Why:

• He might think that his taking credit is really a reflection of the department taking credit
• If he's used to being a technical heavy-hitter, the fact that he doesn't have much in the way of personal project-related achievements while in a management role may be extremely uncomfortable.
• He might be very insecure, and this is a way of ensuring that his own management realizes that he's contributing by way of his department
• He may just be using the department to make himself look good, get that next promotion, and move on.

Tips for Dealing:

• When you achieve anything major, announce it yourself. Either do it in a meeting – if you can manage it without your boss cutting in – or announce it via email to all the right people. You can do this under the guise of supporting your project team (whatever you do, don't take the credit for yourself if it's a team effort – give credit to the team in that case or else you're being a Credit Hog yourself) or as a status, or even as a celebration (whoo hoo! It's finished!).
• Keep backup data – status reports, etc. – and be sure to include your accomplishments in every status report. Keep them in a handy place so that when review time comes around, you can provide the list in your self-review. (If you company doesn't solicit self-reviews, do one anyone on your own initiative.)
• When he makes these announcements, follow them up with a resounding 'yes! What a great project team' and enumerate the contributors. If it was an individual effort, you can use the opportunity to thank anyone who *may* have helped you along.
• If your department operates more as a group of individuals than as a team in the kind of work you perform, form a cartel and pat each other on the back instead of blowing your own horn.