How to be a good line manager?

[naiveandrestles]

Ive just been informed Im going to be line managing 5 people from Monday. All of them are brand new staff and all of them are home workers. I think one is a school leaver! They are all remote. Technically it is in my job description but Ive never had to in my 9 years here.

I do a good job but I work in my own little bubble and unless something directly affects me, I tend to ignore it. I didnt even really realise we had new starters on Monday!

What skills should I start working on? Apart from paying more attention to stuff!

Ive tried to think about previous good managers and bad managers but Ive been somewhat indifferent to most of my managers. One was power mad (as you can tell Im not!) and one thought that people didnt like her because of her "strong management style" aka micromanaging and bullying.

So how can I be a good manager? I'm feeling out of my depth.

there is an american blog called 'askamanager' which has lots of advice - some doesn't apply in the UK but many of the basic examples are sensible and you can search for specific situations.

Always lead by example, lead with empathy but don’t allow yourself to be managed by your team. They need to respect you so be confident in making decisions.
Show them kindness when needed. Listen to them.
Be clear in communication.
Don’t show favouritism.
Hold regular one to ones and make them about them not you.