How to Coach Yourself and Others Beware of Manipulation | Page 208

This paper examines the utility of deception from the standpoint of a subordinate employing it in an
attempt to influence their supervisor’s opinion of them. The following sections discuss a definition of
deceptive impression management (“Deceptive IM”), a study examining the effectiveness of different
forms of Deceptive IM, and finally, the implications for managers.
Managing impressions
Employees work actively to influence perceptions about themselves held by their supervisor(s)
(Rosenfeld, Giacalone, & Riordan, 1995). Impression management (IM) is the process through which
individuals manipulate information about themselves so that others view them in the way in which they
would like to be viewed (Schlenker, 1980). Deception can be defined as the communication of
information to a target with the intent of creating a false understanding on the part of the target (Buller
& Burgoon, 1996). Lying, a form of deception, requires the expression of an actual statement known to
be untrue.
There are several different forms of IM and although the “information manipulation” described in the
definition does not require deception — indeed such manipulation may be done with complete honesty
— it does open the door widely for it. Such deception includes the active distortion, destruction, or
omission of information that the supervisor has the right to truthfully receive from the subordinate. For
example, a subordinate who has failed to complete an assigned task might work to manage the
impressions of their supervisor by, (a) truthfully explaining the difficulties encountered and affirming
their willingness to redouble their efforts to catch up (honesty), (b) not reporti