What makes a good line manager?

[user50and]

I'm 51 and have been with my current company a year (insurance, just over 1k employees). I work in HR administration have just been offered a promotion, a new role leading a team of 5. I haven't line managed in about 20 years and it's the only part of the new role that's making me nervous. I know two of my direct reports, but haven't worked with the other two and will be getting a temp.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Don’t make big bang changes, start the role, listen, learn and then make small improvements over time, little and often.
Meeting your direct reports for a tea or coffee, not a meeting room from time to time and trying to get to know them. Build up their trust and ask them how you can support them.
a good manager will have a good line of communication with their staff. Your job is go support them and bring the best out in them (productivity of course)

Don't micro manage them. Trust them to do the job. I have left jobs due to micro managers as it just shows lack of trust, makes you look like a meddling dick and winds people up so they will leave.

I can tell you what currently irritates me about my manager, if that helps.

Siloes information

Tries to force a close relationship and implies if I don't fully trust him there is Something Very Wrong

Lies, and tells different things to different people in the team, also tries to pit us against each other

Half-arsedly runs projects

Claims to be the expert on X, Y, and Z but actions prove otherwise

"Mirrors" people and pretends to have lots in common with everyone

Is mostly concerned with climbing the greasy pole of success and will elbow people out of the way if he can

I miss my previous manager. He listened, debated if we disagreed, changed his mind if I was right. Didn't pretend like he was "better" because he was my manager. It never felt like I was a pawn in some mind game he was playing.

God I'm glad it's Friday.

Will you be together a lot or remote?

Some good line management I've seen:
Get to know them, informally
Be available and approachable
Don't micro manage but offer to support where they need it
Delegate and offer development opportunities if they are interested
Give credit and praise when it's due
Be honest, if you don't know or can't do something just say so
Address any issues early and constructively, don't let anything build up or blame

@CantStartaFireWithoutaSpark has some good suggestions. I would add Regular 1:2:1s, make sure you know what authority you do and don’t have to flex the rule/policies and learn to say no.

I'd say focus on the basics, get a good structure in place, 1-1s, team meetings, appraisals/PDRs at a frequency that suits you and team so everyone knows where they are, saying you have an open door/are accessible is all very well but personally I find I need that structure to give focused time to each team member and the team as a whole to really be on top of what's going on for each of them.

Communicate, communicate, communicate. 95% of the problems I've had as a line manager has come down to lack of communication in one shape or other. Obviously I do try and act as a 'filter' so I don't for e.g. share every single message I get from my senior managers in exact form with the team, I may need to extract or summarise key messages or translate corporate speak into terms that mean more for them and their work or 'real-life' implications for them but it's so important that they know what's going on and trust me to always be honest with them.

Have patience with your staff when they inevitably annoy you (everyone is always very ready to tell their tales of bad managers but it's less common to mention what a bloody headache managing staff can be, but it's true, people can be deeply frustrating and it makes no difference if they are more senior or more junior). Personally I favour a less is more style, so I'd prefer to slightly under-manage/leave people be than risk micro-managing or be a control freak, so while I try to set clear expectations and requirements (see point above about communication), I largely trust people to do a good job and manage their own time/workload, it does sometimes mean things are done not exactly how would I have done it personally but what matters is results at the end of the day so so long as people are working within my general boundaries then I try to be relaxed (and generally my team are good about coming to ask me for help and feedback on tasks in progress so if something really is going wrong I can pick it up early). Similarly with any behavioural type issues, again I work from a base assumption that everyone is a grown up, they all understand the 'ground rules' and if anyone really does seriously behave badly (very rare) I will pick them up on it but otherwise I avoid intervening in the petty relationship/gripe type issues that do always arise in a team from time to time - I'll give them friendly advice if they come to me but I nearly always encourage them to sort things out amongst themselves with my blessing and back-up if need be rather than wading in myself. Perhaps some people do find this a bit laissez-faire and would prefer a more authoritarian style but overall I think it works.

Do not micromanage.

Do not lie.

Do communicate!

Some great suggestions and tips everyone, thanks so much. I do think I'm overthinking it a bit but I want to do it right and don't want to be one of 'those' managers!

Suspect it depends on personality types.
Don't micromanage as pp have said.

I like straightforward people, rather than those who try to manage by manipulation.