It's funny, when I was a manager at a big tech company I did fear saying "I don't know." I always assumed saying that enough would have people doubt my competen

It's funny, when I was a manager at a big tech company I did fear saying "I don't know." I always assumed saying that enough would have people doubt my competence. When I was at the same company as an engineer, I would see my managers make up shit on the spot and I knew they were full of it. And, I doubted their competence. I really wish someone could assess the long term implications of saying I don't know and not saying it. I don't know which way it would pan out. I suspect there might be a short term gain in pretending you know something but a long term problem when you pretend. And if you are truthful, the short term benefits might be worse but the long term benefits might go exponential.