To ask what you think makes a good line manager?

[ChickenLickenSticken]

I'm about to become a line manager for the first time, and whilst I've got some ideas of how to make a good job of it, I would be interested in hearing what other people think.

I know it's going to depend on the person, role, company etc, but:

What do you expect from your line manager?
What things does your line manager do that makes them a good manager?
What would like more/less of from your manager?
If you are a line manager, what are your top tips?

Thanks all!

Say thank you and show your genuine appreciation regularly.
Don't gossip.
Be calm- don't be a flapper!

Be their manager not their friend. Because when you have to give negative feedback it's hard if you've been too nice.

Keep notes of things they've done well or not so well and use this very specific examples when giving feedback. No generalisations about personalities, just be specific.

Regular catch ups with individuals - doesn't have to be formal - so you know how things are.

Learn the art of delegation. It's about trusting people to deliver, setting expectations e.g you want something done by x.

Aldo, unless there's an actual problem, don't monitor people continually. If someone's doing a good job and getting stuff done right and on time, show them the respect they deserve by not looking over their shoulder/timing phone calls/counting tea breaks. People really resent it. You'll alienate your best people. They know who they are.

Fairness above and beyond everything.

Don't pal up with one person in your team and give more weight to them and what they say and do.
Be wary of tattle tales.
The best line manager I ever had allowed his staff to stretch themselves and take on extra responsibility.

honesty
openness
clarity - what they expect from you
humour
understanding
to be informed - about policy, procedure etc
to actually UNDERSTAND what I do!
fairness

In my experience, you can't go too far wrong with these:

*Be open and honest with your staff.

*Give them clear objectives and include your expectations then measure/monitor those objectives.

*Be open to challenge - let them question things, don't just dismiss them as they will have some good ideas!

*Give them responsibility; don't micro-manage but make sure they know you are there to help and guide if needed.

*Find out what they want from you, the business and their own careers. That doesn't mean they have to get what they want, of course, but it certainly helps to know what they want.

*Be as flexible and fair as you can with requests for time off.

*Don't try to take all the shit that's rolling down hill. If your boss's objectives mean that your people are going to be holding the shitty end of the stick, tell them why; don't tell them it's because you're the boss and you want it doing. I don't mean to tell them that your boss is a knob - that never helps - but do explain higher level objectives.

It's all pretty obvious really but I find it works.

I've just read through the thread noticed that a lot of us have said the same thing. That could be either a good or a bad thing!

Anyway, if all the above fails, buy a boxset of 'The Office' and learn from the master of line management... No, not David Brent, the one and only Gareth Keenan.

Hmmm.

1. Everyone is different.
2. Muck in.
3. Give praise where it's due
4. Don't be cynical. Get behind what your company is trying to do.
5. Lead by example - be good at your job. Otherwise your team will wonder why the hell you got promoted and not them.
6. Make sure if you're going to criticise that you are armed with constructive suggestions as to how to improve.
7. What with the whole 'Lean Six Sigma' tripe that works well in manufacturing but has been applied terribly and illogically in areas like the service industry, lots of places are managed around quantitative targets which should be used to illustrate performance but are instead wrongly used to describe it completely. Recognise that hitting or missing these targets might not be linked to an individual's ability to do their job, but to other circumstances.
8. Remember that unreasonable actions towards one individual will make the entire team, or even the entire company, less productive. People do have a sense of justice and fairness. Thus, if an employee misses three days of work because he broke his leg and his daughter is in hospital, and you put him on a disciplinary because he's been absent too often, expect to be pilloried and rightly so. (This wasn't me, by the way).

Oh... and while you probably shouldn't get TOO close to individual team members, do be friendly. People who mistake "don't be friends with your team members" for "don't be friendly to your team members" are very annoying to work for, because you never feel appreciated when you work for them.

I would add - stand between your team and bollox from above.

It depends how you do this. We've had major problems in our department (involving disciplinaries, it got so bad) because my manager filtered out stuff to his manager, because he doesn't like to hear the bad stuff (er tough? That's part of his role, surely?) and he in turn doesn't report bad stuff to our director. Stuff still gets to our director though, because I and others have made good efforts at fostering a relationship with him, partly for our own protection, and mostly because he's just a really great bloke and totally hot. It's been made very clear to me that hierarchy is there for a reason which is mostly to do with who can wave the biggest dick, and I'm happy to live with that as long as the hierarchy is working (which it isn't.)

So yes, stand between them, but make sure that your stance still allows decent two-way communication.

Someone who can organise such as using the right topic to post in

If you are asked a difficult question don't just change the subject. Especially to a subject totally unrelated to the conversation (my manager does this)