My favorite managers were always similar to the one you describe. But I also noticed these managers didn't get promoted as the more "pointy haired boss" types.
That's the difference between "managing up" and "managing down". The PHBs and those who get promoted rapidly spend their time kissing ass...
I would disagree. My boss has the record of fastest promotion of junior developer to executive and he fights for us against other department/team heads and upper management on a regular basis. Its because he makes sure to deliver such value to the company that the management can't ignore him and his team