Asian American Managers: An Impression Gap?

Abstract

Asian American managers report using significantly lower levels of self-disclosure, self-focused impression management tactics, and supervisor-focused impression management tactics but more job-focused impression management tactics compared to European American managers. Asian Americans appear to use tactics that do not impress supervisors and do not make enough use of tactics that might pay off in improved supervisor-subordinate relationships and upward mobility. Further, supervisors are not impressed by the tactics Asian Americans believe they are using to impress their supervisors. Asian American managers' perceptions of the quality of supervisor-subordinate relationships are not in harmony with supervisors' perceptions of these relationships. European American managers seem to be in tune with their supervisors' perceptions of the quality of the relationship and the impression management tactics they report. If upward mobility is enhanced by good supervisor-subordinate relationships, this impression management gap may help explain why so few Asian American managers attain leadership positions.