This study sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the emotions of shame, embarrassment, and modesty within the cultural context of South Pars by analytically examining one of the authors’ personal experiences through analytic autoethnography. The findings derived from reflexive analysis of thirteen narrative accounts drawn from different stages of the researcher’s professional life indicated that experienced shame emerged in contexts that fostered comparisons between the actual self and a superior other, perceptions of moral impropriety in the form of hubris vis-à-vis technical competence, and the imposition of excessive and unrealistic expectations inconsistent with the individual’s professional capabilities within the organization. Moreover, shame was found to be transmissible along the chain of command, from the lowest to the highest organizational levels. In addition, due to the institutionalization of modesty and deference toward managers -and the resulting preference for silence over organizational criticism- managers’ embarrassment following criticism or the disclosure of organizational shortcomings does not serve a constructive corrective function. Furthermore, forms of modesty that lead to organizational silence and upward political deference, as well as modesty that results in flattery and appeasement in task performance from higher to lower hierarchical levels, were identified as dysfunctional organizational phenomena.