Great people management is like great parenting.
That's something I realized when reading an article on being a nourishing parent in a parenting magazine, years ago.(nope, i am not a parent, it just interests me) Having had the chance to observe different managers before and since, in a small company, a fortune 500 company and scores of small businesses, I strongly believe that now.
I think, being a great manager is about letting and helping the people under you develop to the best of their abilities,help them develop new abilities and be confident about those abilities. (all of that does translate into productivity and profits)
Its just like providing a nourishing environment for kids, so that they develop to the best of their abilities and are confident about their abilities.
Both involve a varying mix of nudging, standing back, holding the back, lending a hand, letting go off the hand, push, pull, positive and negative but constructive feedback, setting the limits, a bit of rewards, a bit of punishment, giving guidance and giving freedom to explore, to mention a few.
Yep, i do think its very possible to be like that even in a very profit minded company too, provided there is top down support.