Fire ‘Get Manager (V2)’ – Graph API is the Boss Now!

Is Power Automate's "GET MANAGER (V2)" action failing you again? It’s time to 💥fire💥 your Manager and hire a new boss — MICROSOFT GRAPH API!

Do you need to look up a user’s manager in Power Automate? Many developers turn to the “Get manager (V2)” action from the Office 365 Users connector. But let’s be honest – this “manager” isn’t exactly reliable. If a user doesn’t have a manager set in Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), the action fails, breaking your flow and causing unnecessary headaches.

Why “Get Manager (V2)” is Problematic

When a user does not have a manager assigned in Entra ID, Power Automate throws an error and stops execution:

The “Get manager (V2)” action returns the following error:

This means that you need to include extra error handling in your flows (like Try-Catch blocks) to prevent them from failing unexpectedly. Instead of handling these errors, an alternative solution is to use the Microsoft Graph API.

An Alternative: Using Microsoft Graph API

Rather than using ‘Get manager (V2)’, we can use the “Send an HTTP request” action in the Office 365 Users connector to retrieve a user’s manager directly from Microsoft Graph API.

What is Microsoft Graph API?

Microsoft Graph API is a powerful and secure way to access Microsoft’s cloud services and data. It allows you to manage users, emails, files, calendars, Teams messages, and more across Microsoft 365, Entra ID (Azure AD), and other Microsoft services. In our case, we’ll use it to fetch a user’s manager without causing flow failures due to missing data.

Advantages of Using Graph API Instead of ‘Get Manager (V2)’

• No failure if the user has no manager: instead of throwing an error, the response simply returns no manager data, allowing the flow to continue uninterrupted.
• Better error handling: the flow won’t break even if manager data is missing.
• No additional licensing required: The Office 365 Users “Send an HTTP request” action is a standard connector, avoiding any premium licensing costs.
• More powerful: Allows access to many other Microsoft 365 services beyond just user management.

Limitations of the “Office 365 Users – Send an HTTP request”

While powerful, this action has certain limitations you need to be aware of:

• Supported API Endpoints: It only supports Microsoft Graph API calls starting with /me or /users/. Attempts to access other endpoints will result in errors. See Microsoft Learn | Office 365 Users.
• Permission Requirements: Some API requests may require specific permissions.
• Alternative Connectors: If the “Office 365 Users – Send an HTTP request” action doesn’t meet your needs, consider using alternative connectors. The standard HTTP action offers more flexibility but requires a premium license. Evaluate both standard and premium connectors to determine the best fit for your workflow requirements.

Further reading: HTTP vs Send an HTTP Request in Power Automate and Types of Power Automate Licenses.

Building the Flow

The flow is very simple:

Step 1: Add the “Get user profile (V2)” Action

Step 2: Add the “Send an HTTP Request” Action

In the ‘Send an HTTP Request’ action, configure the following fields:

💡 Replace <user-id> with the user’s UPN (email) or Object ID.

The “Send an HTTP Request” action is configured to retrieve a user’s manager from Microsoft Graph API using the Office 365 Users connector. The GET request expands the manager property to include id, displayName, and mail. This request retrieves the manager’s details without causing a flow failure if no manager exists.

Response from the “Send an HTTP request” action

The screenshots below display response bodies from the “Send an HTTP request” action, demonstrating cases for users with and without a manager.

If the user does not have a manager, the manager property will be absent. If the user has a manager, the manager property will be present.

Handling API Response in Power Automate

Step 3: Add a Compose Action to Extract Manager Details

A Compose action is used to extract and store the manager details retrieved from the Microsoft Graph API request:

Note the use of the ? QUESTION MARK ? in the JSON expression:
body(‘Send_an_HTTP_request’)?[‘manager’]

The use of the question mark (?) operator in the JSON expression ensures that if a property does not exist, it returns null instead of causing an error. This helps prevent flow failures when data is missing.

If the manager property is missing, using ? allows the expression to safely return null rather than breaking the flow.

However, if the manager property is missing AND the question mark (?) operator is not used, the Compose action (or any other action referencing the missing property) will fail, triggering an error that stops the flow:

To learn more about how the question mark (?) operator can help prevent flow failures, see How to Read and Query JSON in Power Automate (With Examples)

Step 4: Add a Condition to Check if a Manager Exists

The Condition action checks if the Compose output is empty. If the user does not have a manager, the manager property will be absent and the output of the Compose action will be empty.

• If empty is TRUE → The user does not have a manager.
• If empty is FALSE → The user does have a manager, and their details can be extracted.

Step 6: Extract the Manager’s Details

If the user has a manager, use these expressions to extract the Manager’s details:

• User ID (UPN): outputs('Compose')?['id']
• Display Name: outputs('Compose')?['displayName']
• Email Address: outputs('Compose')?['mail']

Summary

Using Microsoft Graph API instead of ‘Get Manager (V2)’ provides a more reliable way to retrieve a user’s manager in Power Automate, reducing the risk of unexpected flow failures. A key advantage is that if no manager is assigned, the API simply returns no data instead of triggering an error, making the flow more robust and predictable.

Furthermore, by using JSON expressions with the question mark (?) operator, you can prevent flow failures when data is missing. This simplifies error handling and reduces the need for complex Try-Catch blocks.

While ‘Get Manager (V2)’ may still be suitable in some scenarios, the Graph API offers greater flexibility and reliability, especially when dealing with missing data. The best approach depends on your specific needs and flow requirements.

Further Reading

(1) Office 365 Users: Send an HTTP request: “Office 365 Users Connection provider lets you access user profiles in your organization using your Office 365 account. You can perform various actions such as get your profile, a user’s profile, a user’s manager or direct reports and also update a user profile.” (Microsoft Learn)

(2) Best practices for error handling in Power Automate flows: This module focuses on how to use Configure run after to help isolate errors. It also overviews the built-in error reports. (1) Office 365 Users: Send an HTTP request: “Office 365 Users Connection provider lets you access user profiles in your organization using your Office 365 account. You can perform various actions such as get your profile, a user’s profile, a user’s manager or direct reports and also update a user profile.” (Microsoft Learn)

(3) How to Read and Query JSON in Power Automate (With Examples): This post illustrates through examples JSON notation that often confuses beginners. You will learn how to read and query JSON values and stop your flows from throwing errors! (Ellis Karim’s Blog)

(4) Types of Power Automate Licenses: provides an overview of the various licensing options available for Power Automate. (Microsoft Learn)

(5) Power Automate HTTP action: This built-in action makes an HTTP call to the specified URL for an endpoint and returns a response. (Microsoft Learn)

(6) HTTP vs Send an HTTP Request in Power Automate: Understanding the differences between these actions and when to use them can help you optimize your workflows and reduce unnecessary expenditures on premium licenses. (Pieter Veenstra)