The downward negative feedback-seeking paradox: when and how it triggers upward ingratiation

Purpose Despite widespread encouragement for leaders to seek negative feedback from subordinates, a persistent paradox remains: attempts to solicit honest input may instead be met with ingratiatory responses. Drawing on attribution theory, this study investigates when and how leaders' downward negative feedback-seeking predicts subordinates' upward ingratiation behaviors. Design/methodology/approach A moderated mediation model is tested using three-wave, multi-source data collected from 288 leader–subordinate dyads. Findings Results indicate that when perceived organizational politics is high, subordinates are more likely to attribute leaders' feedback-seeking to image enhancement motives, which in turn are associated with greater upward ingratiation. Practical implications The findings suggest that merely encouraging leaders to seek negative feedback is insufficient. Leaders should explicitly signal developmental intent to minimize image enhancement attributions, and organizations should reduce perceived organizational politics to facilitate more authentic upward feedback. Originality/value This study advances feedback-seeking research by explaining the paradox surrounding leaders' downward feedback-seeking through a subordinate-centered attributional mechanism. It highlights a distinctive form of feedback-seeking in which leaders solicit negative evaluations from subordinates, making subordinate interpretations central to its effectiveness in hierarchical relationships.