The best manager I ever worked with made it clear to me early on that we worked together, not that I worked FOR her, although she was my boss.  She didn't try to be my best friend, but she did make sure I knew we were a team.   She continued to shoulder large parts of my newly created position until I could get my feet wet and understand all the parts of my new role.  Over a period of time, she doled out my responsibilities so that I was doing all of my job and she was overseeing my work on an as needed basis.  No question I asked was ever considered stupid. All questions were assumed to be asked from 1) lack of experience in the task and 2) a desire to get it right.  When I moved into supervision, I hope I did the same for my new hires.