One of my earliest line managers was a programmer. I don't think he was a particularly good one, but he was a good manager. He was a good-enough programmer to understand my job, anyway.

What made him a good manager was that he removed obstacles for me. He made sure I had the equipment I needed; he dealt with bureaucracy problems; and he hooked me in to experts when I needed advice. He was great. we got on well, and I was his right-hand man.

Then he got promoted, moved to Head Office, left me behind, and I never spoke to him again. He was replaced by a dullard checkbox manager, and I moved on within a couple of months.