Ever roll your eyes when a colleague was on a charm offensive with the boss, buttering him or her up in a way that was obvious to everyone in the workplace but the Buttered One?  Well, news flash:  fawning over and flattering your boss can actually get you ahead!

According to a new Northwestern University study, subtle sycophants succeed.  Flattering the boss (and your co-workers) can be an effective career strategy, but it has to be done with a light touch, otherwise it can come across as flagrant scheming or manipulation.  As the Wicked Witch of the West so famously said, “These things must be handled delicately.”  

The author of the study is quoted in the Sun-Times as saying you should be indirect.  So, instead of saying you think your boss is brilliant, ask how she was able to pull off a move so successfully: “Eunice, how did you manage that?”  The author goes on to say that before you pour it on, acknowledge your boss’s modesty and aversion to compliments (yeah, right!)

Also noteworthy–the author’s observations that some professions lend themselves to flattery and ingratiating behavior–politics, law, and sales (I’m shocked!)–while others may not–engineering, accounting, or finance.  And that may explain why people from the first cluster tend to end up as bosses themselves.

Anyway, I’m sharing all this information knowing that a person with your exemplary traits has far too much integrity to ever misuse it.  But I do have a question for you:  “How did you become the kind of discerning person that reads a blog like mine?”  I sincerely want to know.