A diligent employee at a large institution, proficient in his work and putting in extra effort to complete his tasks, even offering ideas and suggestions to improve performance. In contrast, his colleague spends most of his time uttering words of praise for his manager, exaggerating compliments in every meeting, and belittling colleagues to portray himself as the only loyal team member. At the end of the year, the employee is surprised to receive a low evaluation with a vague comment about "not aligning with the team's culture and decisions," while his colleague gets an exceptional evaluation and a promotion under the pretext that he is an "effective and motivating element for the work environment"!

Jobs

The employee felt frustrated and wondered, "Are seriousness and sincerity at work no longer valued? Or does success require flattery and excessive praise of those who do not deserve it?" He found no answer except to update his resume and search for an institution that values real competence.

In some institutions, the relationship between employees and leadership turns from a professional one based on mutual respect to one of exaggerated veneration, where the manager becomes a myth exaggeratedly praised and glorified, transcending the bounds of respect into flattery and hypocrisy. This phenomenon is not new, but it appears in work environments that lack transparency and rely more on personal relationships than competence.

Fear of losing certain privileges is one reason for this phenomenon, as it makes the employee believe that simply criticizing the manager or not glorifying him may expose them to punishment or denial of promotions. Another reason is that some leaders, unfortunately, promote the personalization of success ("Without me, you would not have succeeded"), leading employees to attribute every achievement to him, even if it was a collective effort. Also, the absence of proper evaluation criteria: when privileges are built on personal loyalty more than performance, the employee focuses on pleasing the manager rather than getting the work done. In fact, the manager or leader may not be the sole cause of this phenomenon; some employees' desire for material or moral gain makes them exaggerate praise and flattery in hope of obtaining rewards or higher positions.

This phenomenon has negative effects as it makes the work environment toxic, turning it into a stage for false praise, killing initiative and creativity, and frustrating the honest employee. Consequently, job performance declines, productivity drops, and superficial culture spreads at the expense of substance. When a manager believes he is infallible, he becomes less receptive to criticism, leading to wrong decisions due to the absence of honest feedback. Worse still, the flight of talent: the skilled employee who refuses to participate in this game may leave the institution, causing it to lose real competencies.

We can address this problem (if intentions are good) by setting evaluation and promotion criteria based on performance rather than personal relationships. Also, by encouraging constructive criticism: the employee should feel safe to provide honest feedback without fear of punishment. A leadership style should be adopted where the leader serves his team, not the other way around, focusing on the success of the institution as a whole. Awareness of the dangers of sycophancy should be raised, clarifying the difference between healthy respect and harmful flattery, and its impact on the organizational culture. Exaggerated glorification of leaders is not evidence of institutional strength, but rather of its cultural and organizational weakness.

Successful institutions are built on mutual respect, transparency, and focus on common goals rather than personality worship.

We do not want the institution to lose its competitive and creative spirit and become a talent-repelling environment. Therefore, it is essential to balance respect with integrity to ensure sustainable institutional success.

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