Where do Managers Come From?

In the Tech Support industry, managers tend to come from one of two categories:

1. Tech Support reps who have been promoted to management
2. Managers who are brought in to manage Tech Support Reps

 It's one of the ironies of the industry that if you're particularly good at your job, you're often given the opportunity to move "up" to a position where you don't actually do your job any more, but rather manage people who do what you did. 

If your manager is from category one, it's likely you'll have an easier time relating to this person. He's done the job you're doing, so he's been in the trenches and will have a basic grasp of what you're doing and the challenges that arise.  The odds are good that this manager is being challenged by his new job - the more information and data you can provide for him, the better (see The Metrics-Obsessed Management Environment) - Tech Support Managers don't want these numbers for themselves, but need them to satisfy those farther up the food chain.

If your manager is from category two, you may need to be patient with him as he gets an idea of what it is you actually do. Again, numbers tend to be important here (so, again, Write Everything Down) as does having what you actually do documented so your manager can take the information you give him in context, and communicate that information to his managers.

If you can make your manager's job easier, he's going to be more inclined to make your job easier.