The myth of the manager that needs to know it all

There is a fairly general myth in companies that suggests that bosses or managers should always have more knowledge than the people they lead. Now is this so? Where does this type of paradigm come from? Let’s dive into this issue.

In the factories of the 1900s there was always a foreman directing a group of workers. As a consequence of having been exposed to the same type of monotonous and repetitive work for very long periods of time the foreman had a technical knowledge superior to those he led. In those times when the worker didn’t know how to proceed with an unexpected situation he went directly to his foreman so that he, through his experience and technical knowledge, could unravel a situation that he may have previously experienced.

Now, in the society in which we currently live such hierarchical paradigms and purely technical knowledge begins to lose meaning. We live in a complex and interrelated world, constantly changing, what works today may not tomorrow.

We constantly see new technologies emerge and others become obsolete overnight. New development tools, new programming languages, new frameworks make it impossible for current managers to keep up with everything, many times it happens that a person who have just graduated from university knows more about one specific technology than their supervisor. But wait…so are we saying that a manager can have less knowledge than the person he leads? Well…yes and no.

If we take the purely technical knowledge, it is possible that the manager is easily overcome by the person who leads but this should not frustrate or stress him but on the contrary, he should embrace that situation as a very probable reality and understand that other types of knowledge can contribute to the company to which he/she belongs and that we often lose sight of but are as important as any other knowledge when leading a project / team.

Let’s list 5 of the most important types of knowledge within the business world to understand a little better what we are talking about. There are many more types but these top-five are enough to understand the general idea and jump later to conclusions.

1. Empirical Knowledge

It is a type of knowledge that is closely linked to personal experience. A person who reaches a manager position must have previously gone through previous roles and those should have given him or her an experience that the people he/she leads do not have and that can help a lot in their day to day life.

Going back to the example of the factory, the foreman becomes the boss because of the knowledge that he accumulates over time, it is a type of knowledge that directly depends on the time of exposure to the assigned task/role.

2. Intuitive Knowledge

In the intuitive knowledge what prevails is the association of ideas. A direct verification of the veracity of what is believed in this type of knowledge is not required.

Intuitive knowledge example at work: knowing when a teammate is nervous, in order to help them and increase productivity and confidence in the work area. Empathy is key here. A manager that can understand not only people’s work but people’s feelings is a manager that will create the conditions for a team to grow, to learn from each-other and to feel comfortable within the team.

3. Philosophical Knowledge

The third of the types of knowledge and examples that we will see now is the philosophical. This type of knowledge is based on reflection about reality, it does not require precisely experimentation but it does require deep observation.

Example of philosophical knowledge in the workplace: the philosophy of a company is super important for the identification of the members of the organization with it. In this way, based on the vision, mission and values ​​of the company, managers can understand which profiles are the best ones to build his/her team.

4. Scientific Knowledge

Scientific knowledge is based on experimentation, observation and analysis in a systematic and orderly way. Very rigorous procedures are followed to ensure that the results and conclusions are valid and objective.

Example of scientific knowledge in the workplace: many times it happens that people have a lot of knowledge at the technical level but they are lost when it comes to practical application with the client. In this sense, the manager becomes key to make sense of that technical knowledge and led the conversation with the client.

5. Technical Knowledge

Maybe the most common one, this is intended to solve problems through the use or adaptation of human tools to the modification of reality, all with a predetermined practical purpose. Companies and organizations in general value the specialized technical knowledge of their staff as one of their fundamental assets.

Example of technical knowledge in the workplace: people who know in detail one or more programming languages, people who know how to work in a specific framework.

Conclusions

1. No matter how good a manager may be, it is impossible to think of a person who brings together all the types of knowledge necessary to carry out a team / project in today’s world, so being aware of this we must think of ourselves not as individuals who lead people to carry out a given task but as systems that work with a specific objective where no one is above the other but each one fulfills a function providing a type of knowledge to fulfill a common objective.
2. To lead any type of project, not only one type of knowledge is required, but all of them in an interrelated way and in an environment that encourages collaboration between profiles with different types of knowledge and avoids the toxic verticality typical of many companies to which hierarchy gives them a false sense of control and security.
3. Managers should not be scared by people with apparently more knowledge than themselves in a certain area. Instead they should embrace the situation and see what kind of knowledge they can contribute to the success of any kind of project.
4. Managers should be humble enough to embrace the idea of learning from their direct reports and see what kind of knowledge can they teach to them creating a healthy & trustful work atmosphere where people can learn from each other no matter the role they play within the company.