Or technical product owners, who in lots of companies, especially large ones, are "promoted" into management roles simply because they are directing traffic and

Or technical product owners, who in lots of companies, especially large ones, are "promoted" into management roles simply because they are directing traffic and coordinating activities of the technical staff "beneath" them (The folks also contributing to the product they govern). There are a lot of ways to deal with this that don't involve flattening the whole org.