[sneak]

There is! Management would be replaced by cheaper management if it were possible to do so at the same level of quality.

Either corporations are insane immoral pathological paperclip/profit maximizers, in which case any manager would be replaced with a cheaper version or even a algorithm, or they're not and managers aren't worth what they're being paid.

If the CEO or upper management is so fungible, why aren't they being replaced with staff who will work just as hard and effectively for a tenth of the price?

[strawpeople]

You’re confusing leverage and political positioning with competence and capability.

Not that all managers are incompetent. Some are indeed inspired and or excellent. However these are rare. Just as there are many average engineers who aren’t very productive, so there are many managers who aren’t very capable and are just in their position because they were in the right place at the right time.

[sneak]

Obtaining leverage and positioning oneself politically are indeed competencies and capabilities that are required to excel in medium to large orgs. They're not mutually exclusive.