It's how I make my living. I'm very good at being a replaceable cog. I'm very quick when becoming a replaceable cog, and I get paid precisely because I can slot in, get things done and then leave again. This is also how I like to work - I'm constantly immersed in new systems, learning how they work and hopefully helping to improve the underlying stuff as well as churn out functionality.

This doesn't mean I take 'shit rolling downhill' from management, but it does mean that I am there to facilitate them, their ideas and their projects rather than make good stuff on their own. I play my part as best I can, advising them what to do better but ultimately deferring to them even when I know what they're doing is wrong, because they are the customer.

Hopefully (as mentioned upthread) I'll someday be able to cobble together all the wrong into a coherent set of thoughts and either become the best dev manager ever or start selling consultancy services.