With the title of this post in mind, I’d like to address one of the largest myths that surround the act of being a “manager”: Managers have to know everything. How do we fix the server? Can I expense this? What day does that obscure holiday fall on in 2047? Pretty much any question is fair game for a manager or supervisor, and rightfully so. As the person in charge, your people are going to look to you when they have such questions. However, the important point to remember is this: Just because you’re the focal point for these questions, it doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to know the answer.

It sounds contradictory, but not when you consider that there are two ways to answer a question. The first way is to answer it right off the bat from your own knowledge base. This option is what many new managers and supervisors think is the only option. However, the second way is just as viable. It consists of putting the person asking the question in contact with someone who knows the answer, or actively finding the person with the answer and then relaying it back. From my experience, you’ll use option two much more than you think.

Not convinced? Answer this question: What is the end goal of answering a question? Clearly, it’s getting the person who asked the question the answer. It sounds simple, but too many people get caught up in the whole “the person in charge needs to know everything” syndrome to remember this fact. Regardless if you know the answer off the top of your head, or you had to ask the guy in the HR department, it doesn’t matter as long as the question is answered.

Keep this in mind the next time you’re tempted to make an “educated” guess at an answer, and not only will you get the right answer but you’ll save yourself a lot of time and problems in the long run.