The interesting thing about this article, is that it is for the one that is shown favouritism as well as for the others affected by it. How bad can it hurt right if you are the one receiving the compliments? At the very least, you know you are performing in your manager’s eyes. However, do you want your career progression to be based on how well you are performing in the role or would you rather it be because of how good of the relationship you share with your managers?
Think about your co-workers. How would they credit your promotion? Would they have been given equal growth opportunities for career advancement? Would they have thought that performance is linked to career advancement?
Give the benefit of the doubt
Understand if this is a usual practice, by your managers. Try to understand if the treatment is specially for you, or do your managers encourage the others in their little ways as well. Is the manager showing you more interest compared to your colleagues? Do your other colleagues perceive your treatment as unfair as you deem it to be?
It is of this stage that you should also distinguish Favoritism from performance recognition. Have you been given the extra attention because of the overtime you have put into the company, or that you have went beyond what was expected to earn the confidence of your managers?
Talk to them, Tactfully
Being the one that your manager would be more receptive to, you could have the power to recommend an objective approach. You could probably recommend justifying who should be the one who should be taken the role, or even the key client to the rest.
You could also encourage a more inclusive team, whereby you could propose names on taking up certain responsibilities, as well as be the one sharing positive reviews of other colleagues, whose effort could not have been realized by your managers