I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to treat senior leaders differently from peers. More on topic, if we're talking about a business context here, and I

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing to treat senior leaders differently from peers. More on topic, if we're talking about a business context here, and I think we are, it's important to consider the actual implications. If the team that is willing to shove and be shoved is more effective than the other team, it seems reasonable to expect those who join the team to get their shoving gloves on, fast, if they want to contribute at a high level. Lots of assumptions baked in there, and I'm not saying it's the only valid way to run a good business, by any stretch.