I would suggest that lots of people don’t think like you or share your values. Lots of people would rather spend the day talking and basking in the attention and respect that comes with their position.
That may be true. My impression was that people switch over to the management chain because it's easier to climb the ladder there, not because they inherently enjoy it more. FWIW, in FAANG, I've seen high-level ICs to be much more respected than equal-level managers.
