Nothing is more annoying than someone bragging about their success. correct? Not so, according to new research from INSEAD. When a boss brags, it motivates subordinates to work harder at their jobs. Specifically, when bosses, whom employees view as role models, brag about their work accomplishments, subordinates report feeling more inspired and motivated.
However, when we hear colleagues bragging at work, it’s a completely different story—their accomplishments threaten our self-esteem. If they can achieve such success, why can’t we? It’s triggering.
When a role model mentions one of their accomplishments, we tend to evaluate it differently. Their higher levels in the organization lead us to believe that their success is what they deserve. When they share positive stories about themselves that are relevant to their work, the information becomes a roadmap for others who aspire to similar success.Our findings are consistent with recent results Research This suggests that observers are more receptive to self-promotion when it is seen as a journey to achieve success rather than just bragging about the end result.
Bragging is in the eye of the beholder
The benefits of self-promotion can be seen in a variety of fields.For example, social media influencers can earn likes, comments, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars A self-promotional post.
In the past, much research on self-promotion has focused on the gains and losses of self-promoters. For example, does bragging help when pitching to investors? (answer: yes you should do this.) In our research, we examined the impact of self-promotion on those witness it.
We conducted nine experimental studies involving approximately 2,600 participants in the United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore. Work is always the context for our experiments. Across studies, subordinates report feeling hopeful and inspired when they observe their superiors engaging in self-promotion. However, we did not observe this desirable effect when their own colleagues (or subordinates) boasted in exactly the same way. In this case, our results are consistent with research finding that self-promoters are perceived as arrogant (perhaps very competent, but mostly arrogant).
In some of our studies, we ask participants to describe real-life instances in which they witnessed self-promotion at work. In other studies, we asked them to think about how they would feel under various hypothetical situations. For example, in one study, participants watched a 20-second video in which a “coworker” explained how she was chosen to lead an important project.
Overall, we used a variety of techniques to create personally relevant and believable experimental scenarios. We then measured the observers’ reactions: did they feel positive, enthusiastic, or excited, or did they feel threatened, angry, or annoyed? And to what extent?
Inspire others to work hard for their future selves
Our data establish the first condition: for bragging to enhance motivation, the role model must be admired and respected by observers. Just as important, those at the top talk about successes that observers can imagine one day achieving themselves.
In one experiment, for example, a self-promoter said he had a rewarding job because of his childhood in Japan—a situation that was essentially impossible to replicate for the participants. As a result, they felt much less inspired than other participants who were told that the promotion was a reward for meeting sales targets for six consecutive months.
The achievement also needs to be directly relevant to the observer’s own professional life. For example, participants were not inspired when self-promoters boasted about adding a new Rolex watch to their collection. Although collecting expensive watches means material success, for the observer, it is irrelevant when they want to further their goals.
Interestingly, our study did not reveal any gender or race effects. That is, whether the braggart was the same gender or race as the observer did not affect our results. The ideal effect remains consistent. The age or education of the participants was also not important.
However, other research on role models shows that we are more likely to be motivated by the achievements of people with whom we identify.For example, using female role models in an ad for a women-only software programming boot camp Improved occupancy in Latin America. When young Latinos see evidence that the tech industry isn’t closed to them, it inspires them to try this career.
To motivate your team, tell them what your report could accomplish. Success should be attributed to factors that most people can control, such as effort, rather than luck or personal circumstances that cannot be replicated. Include actionable steps to establish a roadmap for how to achieve similar success.
It is important that you do not brag about things that your subordinates will never be able to achieve due to obvious limitations (e.g. resources). Avoid repeating yourself. Just tell the story once.
It’s official: Whether it’s chatting at the water cooler or on social media, if you’re a team leader, don’t hesitate to share something positive about yourself when you receive a report. This may give them the motivation they need to achieve their goals.
Kelly Nault is Assistant Professor of Human Resources and Organizational Behavior at IE Business School. Andy Yap is associate professor of organizational behavior and academic director of the Center for Organizational Studies at INSEAD.
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