Too naïve to lead: When leaders fall for flattery

Area of Science:

• Organizational Behavior
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Flattery is a common impression-management tactic.
• While beneficial for flatterers, its impact on targets, especially leaders, is less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the costs of flattery for leaders.
• To explore how leaders' responses to flattery influence perceptions.

Main Methods:

• Seven studies and six supplementary studies involving 4,612 participants.
• Examined factors influencing perceptions of leaders falling for flattery.
• Analyzed contextual factors like flattery type and favor consequences.

Main Results:

• Leaders seen rewarding flatterers are perceived as naive.
• This perception negatively affects leaders' reputation (competence, warmth) and organizational views (fairness, commitment).
• Factors like flattery type and harm to others moderate these costs.

Conclusions:

• Contrary to previous research, flattery incurs costs for leaders and their organizations.
• Leaders need to be aware of the potential negative consequences of rewarding flattery.