Highly situational. Influencing 10 junior-mid engineers is always worse than being in good graces of someone that actually has influence on your career (manager, director, etc.)
I still have a hard time saying which way in your scenario since I tend to move companies. The wide network has totally helped my career. Also I feel like at a higher level, having a network is actually part of the job.
In the same way that being a CEO means having a broad network of connections even before day 0 of the job.
In the same way that being a CEO means having a broad network of connections even before day 0 of the job.