The funny thing is that in the four companies I worked for as an employee, I never once heard those who were being managed say they really valued and benefitted

The funny thing is that in the four companies I worked for as an employee, I never once heard those who were being managed say they really valued and benefitted from their Manager and we had plenty of great managers. The founders always thought there was value, but the folks on the bottom rarely did. That doesn't mean the Managers were value-less, just that the perception of their value changes depending on who's talking. In my limited experience, the folks who are actually doing the work on the front lines usually have a better grasp on reality so I'll defer to them.