There are several ways employees can get ahead at work. One way is to work hard and achieve recognition from one's own accomplishments. Another way is to reflect a generous nature, be polite to others, join in and support a community of people in the workplace who are cooperative and reciprocal in supporting their fellow employees (Westphal & Zajac, 2013). Yet another way an employee can get ahead is to contrive a strategy which utilizes several tactics to influence their supervisor into granting special favoritism they do not particularly deserve. This strategy is called ingratiation.
The Ingratiatory Conversation
Ingratiation involves communication with another individual. When a person approaches his or her manager, intent on harboring special favors that others in the work area are not privy to, that person is acting out ingratiation (Martin & Wilson, 2012). Ingratiation can be seen as positive or negative. Most employees refrain from provoking their supervisor, but some will go on to engage their supervisor in ingratiation. Most employees avoid such risky behaviors, but managers sometimes urge subordinates to engage in ingratiation anyway (Martin & Wilson,
2012). The ingratiator can either begin by their own decision, or by influence initiated by their manager.
Ingratiation is not a one-sided activity. The actor, or ingratiator, initiates an exchange of favors expected to result in gaining a useful relationship with his or her supervisor, a relationship which can be maintained for as long as one party works for the other (Dulebohn, Bommer, Liden, Brouer, & Ferris, 2012). Deluga and Perry (1994) studied such leader-member exchanges, and saw that in cases of higher quality exchanges (trust, loyalty, supportive relationships),
subordinates and supervisors are rewarded equally by the relationship. In low-quality exchanges, (less mutual support, pointed authority), subordinates perform routinely at best resulting in only standard benefits (Deluga & Perry, 1994). Subordinates that share equally in opportunities and benefits in the high-quality exchanges tend to be hard-working, effective, committed employees.
Ingratiatory relationships can often be built on false pretenses. Ingratiatory relationships are quite often perpetuated by the supervisor’s fulfilling the very favors the ingratiator desires. The ingratiator is intent not on managing his/her own impressions, but rather those of the supervisor (Carlson, Carlson & Ferguson, 2011). These activities are known as impression management, sometimes deceptive impression management.
Ingratiation is often known as impression management. Strategies of impression management include flattery, favor-doing, self-promoting, exemplification (going above and beyond, to appear dedicated), supplication (advertising shortcomings, to be seen as needy) and intimidation (appearing intimidating, or dangerous) (Bolino, Klotz, Turnley, & Harvey, 2013). These attributes help define impression management, though self-promotion is closest to ingratiation in definition (Bolino, Klotz, Turnley, & Harvey, 2013; Thomas, 2013). Self-
promotion implies a personal sense of the ingratiator's being entitled to favoritism over other employees.
Narcissism and Ingratiation
The strong sense of self-presentation an ingratiator exhibits can be enforced by a sense of special form of entitlement, known as narcissism. Narcissists feel deserving of recognition whether individual performance levels reflect it (Campbell, Hoffman, Campbell, & Marchisio, 2011). Narcissism is generally recognized as a destructive behavior common in politics and upper-level executive interactions (2011). Inflated self-love, self-views, and grandiosity
characterize narcissism, along with a sense of specialness and uniqueness, a sense of entitlement and a desire for power and esteem (Campbell, Hoffman, Campbell, & Marchisio, 2011). These represent the self-promoting side of narcissism.
On the side of depleting the value of others, narcissistic relationships characteristically express little empathy and intimacy. Its continued influence can further result in shallowness, manipulation, and exploitation (Campbell, Hoffman, Campbell, & Marchisio, 2011). Narcissists feel the need to be seen in high esteem, seek situations where they can steal credit from others, play relationship games, and brag about themselves (2011). When successful, narcissists feel good, but when unsuccessful, can become aggressive and anxious (Campbell, Hoffman,
Campbell, & Marchisio, 2011). Although narcissism involves self-promotion, ingratiation is not specifically narcissistic.
Perpetuating the Conversation
Self-presentation is a key factor in ingratiatory exchanges. Deluga and Perry's work (1994) lacked reference to narcissism, but similarities can be noted to make the point of
ingratiation clearer: mainstream, self-serving ingratiation can be damaging to
relationships, group interactions and organizational performance (Deluga & Perry, 1994). Without a sincere sense of team integrity, loyalty and a sense of personal pride in one's work, organizational success is at risk (1994). Organizations depend on relationships, and professional relationships are at risk when ingratiation takes hold.
Ingratiation uses the medium of the personal relationship to create influence on another individual. Deluga and Perry (1994) observed that successful attempts at ingratiation are
sometimes reciprocated (Westphal & Zajac, 2013). Since one of ingratiation's goals is to be more attractive to or to be liked by the manager, successful ingratiation would attract reciprocation from the manager allowing the ingratiator to cash in on his/her efforts (Westphal & Zajac, 2013). Promotions, better performance appraisals, and desirable work assignments can be granted if the manager likes the ingratiative employee (Deluga & Perry, 1994). Relationships built on such coercive influence can significantly influence organizational objectives.
Organizational performance often depends on building confidence in an organization's employees. Ingratiative exchanges build confidence on both sides (Dulebohn, Bommer, Liden, Brouer, & Ferris, 2012), and present the possibility of organizational goal attainment, which is also a desirable goal of management (Dulebohn, Bommer, Liden, Brouer, & Ferris, 2012; Mawritz, Mayer, Hoobler, Wayne & Marinova, 2012). Further, impression management can be more important early in the manager-employee relationship, until the manager can form a positive opinion of the employee's behavior and work patterns (Dulebohn, Bommer, Liden, Brouer, & Ferris, 2012; Mawritz, Mayer, Hoobler, Wayne & Marinova, 2012). It can become
less important later, once the employee begins to perform in equilibrium with the manager's expectations.
Section 2: The Roots of Ingratiation