I always have it in the back of my mind that managers are an "overhead" - an administration cost that is applied to anything produced. If all the workers went on holiday for a day: nothing is produced that day. If a manager goes on holiday for a day: all/most of the work gets done.
I have found that a good manager normally works in reverse of what is thought of as a manager: If I have a problem that's stopping me from progressing, it's their job to sort it out so I can do my job. That should be their aim: to make you as productive as possible.
Timesheets are my pain. Whenever I ask why, "for reporting" is always the response. So I estimate how long something takes then I record time against my estimate. If it takes longer than my estimate - am I late or was my estimate wrong?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
