toadyism
Obsequious behavior pattern
Toadyism is the practice of fawning over people in power, seeking favor through flattery and servile behavior.
The word derives from toady, itself from toad-eater—an assistant who would pretend to eat poisonous toads so a quack doctor could "cure" him.
The office culture rewarded toadyism over competence.
Obsequious behavior toward authority
- adulationExtravagant, servile praise
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- bootlickingServile flattery for advantage
- apple-polishingSycophantic behavior for advantage
brown-nosing · sweet-talk · blandishment · overpraise · smarm · soft-soap · ingratiating · unctuous
Servile eagerness to please
- grovelingDemeaning self-abasement before another
- cringingShrinking in discomfort
- submissivenessDisposition to obey others
- servilityExcessive willingness to please
deference · kowtowing · prostration · obeisance · genuflection · bootlicking · crawling · scraping
Coldly self-serving in strategy
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- insinuatingIndirectly suggesting something
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- craftinessShrewd, devious cleverness
guile · artifice · duplicity · disingenuousness · two-faced · insincere · machination · conniving
Building professional relationships
- climbingAscending by physical effort
- opportunismExploiting circumstances for gain
- brown-nosingObsequious flattery for favor
- politickingSeeking support through persuasion
angling · maneuvering · advancement · ambition · self-promotion · patronage · preferment · status-seeking
sycophancy
Obsequious behavior toward authority
- adulationExtravagant, servile praise
- fawningExcessive insincere flattery
- bootlickingServile flattery for advantage
apple-polishing · brown-nosing · sweet-talk · blandishment · overpraise · smarm · soft-soap · ingratiating · unctuous · oleaginous
obsequiousness
Servile eagerness to please
- grovelingDemeaning self-abasement before another
- cringingShrinking in discomfort
- submissivenessDisposition to obey others
servility · deference · kowtowing · prostration · obeisance · genuflection · bootlicking · crawling · scraping · bowing
calculating
Coldly self-serving in strategy
- schemingCrafty and calculating
- insinuatingIndirectly suggesting something
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
craftiness · guile · artifice · duplicity · disingenuousness · two-faced · insincere · machination · conniving · self-serving
networking
Building professional relationships
- climbingAscending by physical effort
- opportunismExploiting circumstances for gain
- brown-nosingObsequious flattery for favor
politicking · angling · maneuvering · advancement · ambition · self-promotion · patronage · preferment · status-seeking · name-dropping
toadyismindependence
Freedom from external control
self-respect · dignity · authenticity · forthrightness · candor
toadyismdefiance
Open resistance to authority
insubordination · rebelliousness · dissent · resistance · nonconformity
toadyismindependence
Freedom from external control
self-respect · dignity · autonomy · self-reliance · backbone