I hesitate to respond, because I'm generally not interested in arguing on the internet. I'm also not entirely sure if you're just being pedantic or not, but IMO

I hesitate to respond, because I'm generally not interested in arguing on the internet. I'm also not entirely sure if you're just being pedantic or not, but IMO this is a pretty narrow view of "career progression." You don't need to manage people to level up in technical skills and leadership, and you certainly don't need to sign contracts to lead a project. There are plenty of ways to get more money and more responsibility that don't involve eventually becoming the CEO. I personally have three Principal Engineers that work for me. They don't sign contracts, but I can give them a project and they'll do all of the technical designs and mentoring and development, while my managers can focus on more people-related things, such as inter-team collaboration, daily rituals, performance reviews, promotions, engaging with team members to keep up morale and productivity, and more. And for what it's worth, my managers are not authorized to sign contracts, either -- but they're still managers!