First of all, please don't judge me. This post is probably more of a vent and just wanted to share my vulnerable feelings.
Why do I feel like I work a thankless job?
So I'm in Tech and manage a tiny team of junior to mid-level designers. Each of them is assigned to work on these projects which I have mentored them on including how we should present these designs to stakeholders. Without giving them guidance, the designs would be a mess and presentations will be confusing, as what we've experienced in the past.
I'm happy that these presentations have gone really well and the outcome of these designs have received a lot of praises, but every time they get kudos from everyone else, the designers then go on to only thank the PMs and Engineers that have helped them. Is it because the help I offer is a given being their manager?
And when I give them kudos publicly, they don't ever respond. They just respond if it's the CTO or some other person that's higher-ranking.
I just feel like they don't like me or maybe I'm not providing any value in their eyes.
I'm sorry for coming off as needy. Maybe I just feel drained and need some validation having to mentor my team plus doing individual contributor tasks myself. Please don't judge.
Edit: One insight I received to this question is that “Compliments typically flows top to bottom” and sometimes, some people just get weirded out thanking their bosses. So maybe that's true?