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Feedback Resistance

Most managers would agree that employees should speak up when they have concerns, ideas, or feedback. These same managers would also likely concur that, as supervisors, they play a crucial role in determining whether employees offer such input. After all, employees often take cues from those in authority, and when managers invite and encourage participation, employees follow suit. However, managers often refrain from inviting employees to provide input or even discourage those who do speak up. My research explores the structural and psychological factors that lead managers to resist and ignore or discount employee input.

For instance, my research suggests that managers are less likely to seek employee input when their organizations grant them limited authority to act on such ideas. Similarly, my work illuminates situations in which managers react negatively to feedback. Specifically, managers tend to react most negatively to ideas raised in public settings by employees with whom they have a distant relationship, thereby depriving themselves of potentially valuable perspectives.

Turning the focus to the psychology of employees, my work illustrates that conceptualizing employees' communication as simply speaking up or remaining silent may be an oversimplification. Rather, voice and silence are driven by two distinct psychological systems and are not necessarily opposites, as is commonly assumed. As a result, my work prescribes that managers interested in promoting voice rather than reducing silence should focus on unique, tailored steps.

Selected Research

In it to Win it? Comparative Evaluation Increases Zero-sum Beliefs (2023)

With Chun JS & Slepian Michael  

Read the full article in the Motivation Science

A Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory View of Seeking Behaviors at Work: A meta-analysis (2024)

With Croitoru Natalie & McElroy, Terence 

Read the full article in Personnel Psychology

For further discussion see: "Seeking Information at Work: How Employers Can Promote Worker Proactivity"

The Errors of experts: When expertise Hinders Effective Provision and Seeking of Advice and Feedback (2022)

With Ting Zhang & Kelly Harrington 

Read the full article in Current Opinion in Psychology

Keeping it Between us: Managerial Endorsement of Public versus Private Voice (2021)

With Sofya Isaakyan, Subrahmaniam Tangirala, & Hanes Guenter

Read the full article in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

For summaries and further discussions see:

  1. The lab Manager: “Have Something to Say? Your Boss May Prefer You Do It in Private

Distinguishing Voice and Silence at Work: Unique Relationships with Perceived Impact, Psychological Safety, and Burnout (2021)

With Michael Parke and Sofya Isaakyan

Read the full article in the Academy of Management Journal.

For summaries and further discussions see:

  1. Harvard Business Review: "You Might Not Be Hearing Your Team’s Best Ideas"

  2. AOM Insights: "Why Employees Who Speak up Sometimes Remain Silent"

  3. UNC Kenan-Flagler: "Employees have a voice – are you amplifying or silencing it?"

I Do Not Need Feedback! Or Do I? Self-efficacy, Perspective Taking, and Feedback Seeking (2020)

With Elizabeth Morrison

Read the full article in the Journal of Applied Psychology.  

For summaries and further discussions see:

  1. HR People + Strategy: "How Leaders Can Balance Confidence and Humility"

  2. I/O at work: "How Organizations Can Encourage Employees to Seek Feedback"

  3. UNC Kenan-Flagler: "Employees have a voice – are you amplifying or silencing it?"

Why Managers do not Seek Voice from Employees: The Importance of Managers’ Personal Control and Long-term Orientation (2019)

With Subrahmaniam Tangirala and Vijaya Venkataramani

Read the full article in Organization Science.

For summaries and further discussions see:

  1. Harvard Business Review: "Research: Why Managers Ignore Employees’ Ideas"

  2. Work Futures: "Less Management, More Autonomy"

  3. UNC Kenan-Flagler: "Employees have a voice – are you amplifying or silencing it?"

Centralization of Member Voice in Teams: Its Effects on Expertise
Utilization and Team Performance (2018)

With Ruchi SinhaSubrahmaniam Tangirala, and Nikhil Awasty

Read the full article in the Journal of Applied Psychology.  

For summaries and further discussions see:

  1. HR People + Strategy: "Forge a Deeper Level of Diversity"

It Is Not My Place! Psychological Standing and Men’s Voice and Participation in Gender-Parity Initiatives (2017)
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