Sounds like the Mentor / leader concept the Army uses. Some discussion of it here:
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/MilitaryReview/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20091231_art015.pdf
Google Army leader mentor foro this link and some others.
In an organization like the Army where you have to grow your own leaders, it is essential that leaders take the initiative to train their subordinates. It is a key part of your leadership responsibilities. While that may not apply so much in civilian context where you can hire in new leaders, I can't imagine why a leader would not want to do this. The article at the link above object more to the idea of the Army forcing this through a program or strategy rather than having it happen naturally, but that tends to be how we are.
The article gives some good examples of mentor leaders, George Marshall being one.
Good luck with your research