Yeah, the expectation that _everyone_ excels in leadership and influence leads to some absurd situations, like everyone on a team being "tech lead" for some part of the project. Or the all-"senior" team. Presumably they're all leading each other? Same game goes for cross-functional impact.
The whole point of the separate individual ladder was to give an alternate career path to management. What a lie that's turned out to be.
The whole point of the separate individual ladder was to give an alternate career path to management. What a lie that's turned out to be.