I've been working under this engineer-manager's supervision for almost 5 years now. I consider him a good manager for several reasons, but most of all because

I've been working under this engineer-manager's supervision for almost 5 years now. I consider him a good manager for several reasons, but most of all because of his insistance on me working as independently as possible. When I started out, his approach was basically "here's the problem you gotta solve, come up with a solution, call me if you need help with something particular", which frustrated me at first, but after a few months grinding the documentation and trying (and failing...) several times to solve the problems I was given, I've developed ability to think very systematically and come up with high-level solutions myself. I now have high confidence in my abilities (and I am not a very confident person) which I am very thankful for. Trust is also a big part of it. I would trust that guy with my life, and that's the kind of relationship which makes work so much easier and less stressful.