#9 should be #1
I've worked in a lot of shops where the managers didn't stand behind the techs. It is really difficult to work when your managers are letting the users run over the techs with petty (and non-petty) demands. The users rarely realize that petty demands get in the way of techs meeting deadlines and then they hammer both management and techs when deadlines are missed.
Standing behind your employees can make up for the other things being substandard. The very best places I've worked protected techs from unruly and sometimes downright abusive users. By doing this you not only help the techs do their jobs and keep up their morale but you also improve relations with the users.
