managing teams

I recently worked with a manager who has three or four teams reporting to her. Each team is talented, committed and different from the other teams. Some of the teams like to be left to get on with things as (truthfully) they have the expertise. Other teams, as committed to the work, are less independent-minded and look for more managerial direction. Something of a challenge.
As well as this, increasingly this manager's role is to interpret the organisational changes in strucure and goals to her teams, and work hard to manage the context around them so that they can deliver their excellent best. This takes the skills of political astuteness as well as interpersonal skills. A demanding task.