In response to Mattie718: Again though, to echo a point made earlier in this thread, it is not completely realistic to expect a manager to have done every single task prior that those under him have to do, at least at a high level. It may work on a lower level, such as a manager of a team within the same department. However, when teams become multi-disciplinary, it becomes almost impossible to have the manager have the exact knowledge and have done the tasks of those under him/her. For instance, sometimes a wide range of departments like supply chain, R&D, finance, etc. will work on a single project together. A project manager coordinates with the people of these different departments and works with them to expedite processes and makes sure a project successfully reaches its completion. Now, would it help if a project manager knew every single task finance, R&D, supply chain and the other departments had to do and how to do them? Of course, but is it reasonable/realistic? No. That is why the typical mode of action is to blend the two ideas: have the project manager be knowledgeable about the tasks each department must do at a high level, with point people, or other managers managing those departments who know what exactly needs to be done, since they have done it themselves. Again, this concept of managers having done every task their workers have done works very well at a high level, but once you go up levels of management, it is not realistic to do, especially on multi-disciplinary teams.