Introduction

When researching about line managers, what they do and what is expected of them, a number of key phrases kept on emerging. For example, the ‘best managersbest managers’ are those who bring out the best in their employees, or ‘good managersgood managers’ are those who are able to balance empathy with accountability. More scarily, there was an expectation that line managers should be able to inspire their employees to achieve greatness, and adapt to change so that they can lead those they manage through it. There was also an underlying notion that line managers should be able to create a positive and productive work environment, and that line managers are more important to employee health than anything in the workplace. With the weight of these expectations on their shoulders, you can begin to question who would want to be a line manager, and can there ever be a good one?