Yes, it is, as you note, extremely counterproductive for employees to be heavily focused on "impact" or "visibility" rather than advancing corporate goals. It

Yes, it is, as you note, extremely counterproductive for employees to be heavily focused on "impact" or "visibility" rather than advancing corporate goals. It is also the unfortunate norm at FAANG-type corporations and is caused by the confluence of 1) a lot of smart and competitive and ambitious people, 2) tremendous monetary rewards for climbing the corporate ladder, and 3) the unwelcome possibility of being left behind for not climbing the corporate ladder fast enough (ask your colleagues how people with low "promotion velocity" are perceived) until you reach a terminal level. The least undignified way to play this toxic game is to align your "impact"-generating efforts with your business unit goals as much as you reasonably can and use that as ammunition for why you are more promotion-worthy than your colleagues and to focus all your efforts on being promoted to a terminal level quickly where the need for these stupid antics is lessened. If you're simply not willing to play the game at all, your days at a FAANG are numbered.