Troubleshooting 'Unable to Find Manager' Error in Power Automate
A company uses Power Automate to automate approval workflows for purchase orders. The flow should send an approval request to the manager of the requestor. When the manager approves, the flow should update a SharePoint list and send a confirmation email. However, the flow fails with an error 'Unable to find the manager for the specified user'. What is the most likely cause?
Quick Answer
The answer is that the user profile in Microsoft Entra ID does not have a manager assigned. This is because the Get Manager action in Power Automate relies entirely on the manager field being populated in the user’s organizational profile within Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD); if that field is empty, the connector cannot resolve the manager, causing the "unable to find manager" error. On the PL-900 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how Power Automate connectors depend on underlying data sources, and it’s a common trap to blame SharePoint permissions or trigger conditions instead. Remember that manager lookup is a directory service function, not a SharePoint or flow trigger issue. A helpful memory tip: “No manager in Entra? The flow will fail to send her.”
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The user profile in Microsoft Entra ID does not have a manager assigned.
The 'Get manager' action in Power Automate retrieves the manager from the user's profile in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). If the manager is not assigned in the user profile, the flow will fail with the error 'Unable to find the manager for the specified user'. Option B is incorrect because the SharePoint list column for manager is not used by the Get manager action; the flow uses the Microsoft Entra ID profile. Option C is incorrect because the error occurs during the approval process, not due to the trigger condition. Option D is incorrect because permissions on the SharePoint list do not affect the manager lookup, which happens in Microsoft Entra ID.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The user profile in Microsoft Entra ID does not have a manager assigned.
Why this is correct
The Get Manager action requires a manager attribute in the directory.
- ✗
The SharePoint list column for manager is missing.
Why it's wrong here
The error occurs during manager lookup, not SharePoint update.
- ✗
The flow trigger is set to 'When a new item is created' but the item already exists.
Why it's wrong here
The flow is triggered by an approval action, not a new item.
- ✗
The SharePoint list does not have the correct permissions.
Why it's wrong here
SharePoint permissions are unrelated to manager lookup.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on PL-900
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A Power Automate flow sends an approval request to a user's manager. The flow uses the 'Get manager' action from the Office 365 Users connector. The flow runs successfully but the approval is never received by the manager. What is the most likely reason?
easy- A.The Office 365 Users connector is not properly configured.
- B.The approval action is configured to use the Teams channel instead of email.
- ✓ C.The manager does not have a valid email mailbox.
- D.The manager's user profile is missing in Microsoft Entra ID.
Why C: The most likely reason the approval is never received is that the manager's email mailbox is not enabled or is invalid. The 'Get manager' action retrieves the manager's email address from Azure AD. However, if the manager does not have an active Exchange Online mailbox (e.g., they are a distribution group member or the mailbox is disabled), the approval email will not be delivered. Option A is incorrect because the flow runs successfully, indicating the connector is configured correctly. Option B is incorrect because the approval channel (Teams vs email) does not affect delivery if the manager lacks a mailbox. Option D is incorrect because the manager's user profile exists in Microsoft Entra ID (the flow finds their email), but the mailbox itself may be missing or disabled.
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PL-900 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PL-900 exam.