“Ask no questions and hear no lies”: the relationship between supervisor feedback-seeking and subordinates’ use of upward ingratiation tactics

In this study, we hypothesize that supervisors’ downward feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) would be positively related to subordinates’ engagement in upward ingratiation, suggesting that subordinates may use it as an opportunity to flatter their supervisor, rather than providing sincere upward feedback. This is problematic, as overly used ingratiation can present a risk to organizations. We furthermore posit that not all subordinates respond to their supervisors’ FSB equally, and that this reaction varies depending on their feedback orientation. Hypotheses were tested using a multilevel design in which we questioned 259 subordinates from 52 teams. Our results partly support our hypotheses: supervisors’ FSB correlated with subordinates’ upward ingratiation. However, subordinates’ feedback orientation did not moderate this relationship. More research is needed on the dynamics of ingratiation as a potential consequence of feedback-seeking and its mitigating mechanisms. These findings contribute to the literature on feedback-seeking in organizations and the use of impression management tactics.