They're talking about a manager who spends so much time dealing with the people above them on the org chart (CEO, Board, etc) that they lose sight of the realities of what's really going on in in the engineering "trenches".

I was confused too. I think (given the counterpoint to the Naysayer) that this could best be described as the "Yes Man".

Incidentally, this article (like Joe Brockmeier's other articles) really needs some good editing, which is disappointing given that Joe claims to be a technology writer and editor.