Know Enough Not to Act like a Know-It-All

The article I decided to pick was titled “Know Enough Not to Act Like a Know-It-All”. The reason I chose this article was because this week our discussion topic was about characteristics and skills necessary to be a manager of people. This article stood out because it highlighted an important character trait that is prominent in managers that works against them, and can even stunt their growth as a manager. Acting like a know-it-all may seem like a good idea at first because it does not show weakness, but you quickly learn that you can’t know everything. Acting like this also prevents you from getting the required feedback that you need to grow and improve relationships with clients and workers. Another big drawback to acting like a know-it-all is that you are hesitant to ask for advice. Asking for advice is crucial to grow not just as a person, but as a manager. If you think you know everything and don’t need advice, then you are severely impacting your progression in the workplace and even your personal life.

The article interviews multiple executives, CEO’s, and managers. They all tell a story of them initially being a know-it-all, and how it was never a good trait to have. They used examples from their time at their jobs to explain that a lot of the time it prevented them from moving on or making huge mistakes that cost them financially. These mistakes eventually led them to re-evaluate how they acted and learn from their mistakes. They all came to the conclusion that being a know-it-all is a bad trait to have, and eventually they dropped that characteristic and their careers improved immensely. They ask for advice rather than seeing it as a weakness, and they surround themselves with a team that challenges them and critiques them. In a lot of the examples these managers did not ask for the team’s input or thoughts because they acted like a know-it-all, and thought they had the answers to everything and didn’t need their input. They said it was tough, but eventually they realized they needed input from their team and had to not be so defensive to grow as a manager.

In conclusion, I feel like this article highlighted a characteristic that a manager does not want when trying to be a manager of people. Learning to get rid of this characteristic if you have it is not only a way to improve your own personal life, but also your work life. It will improve how you interact with people, how you approach an issue, and how to ask for advice without thinking asking is a weakness.