Well, that depends, fakers tend to fail. But there's something to the status thing, and I think he illustrates it: if you have any status or credibility at all

Well, that depends, fakers tend to fail. But there's something to the status thing, and I think he illustrates it: if you have any status or credibility at all, you also have the ability to set the tone. And you probably should. The few managers and executives I've met with who can't take "I don't know" and "this was a mistake" in stride without losing their cool immediately start getting lied to and shielded from bad news.