> In these situations a good manager is what makes the difference; some will fold to the pressure in the hopes that being a "team player" will get them brownie points from leadership (it wont), and some will stick up for their team out of decency and hoping it will get them brownie points from their colleagues (it will).

One of the dimensions I judge my managers on is the "I screwed up, what now?" factor. A good manager will be the shield between me and the higher-ups and will meet with me to discuss the issue to understand it better. A bad one will tell me everyone including them is angry at me. So far I've been lucky to mostly have seen the former.