I used to think like this but as I've gotten older I've seen the value of transitioning into management. I had aspirations of going beyond staff but I don't think it'll happen in my lifetime. I've peaked, and the cycle of getting close to the next title, getting laid off, and getting put back down at the bottom of the current title is exhausting.

Your best engineers should produce value. It's often a good idea to have your best engineers (with the ability to manage) manage. They can train the next generation of best engineers and act essentially as coaches. That's a tremendous value-add that far exceeds the results one engineer can produce. As an additional benefit, if they're anything like me, not programming for 10 hours a day means programming becomes fun again in your personal time. I generally disagree with this concept of the "savant" programmer. In my decade+ of work I've seen quite a few of these. They're never as good as they seem and often more trouble than they're worth. If a programmer does not display strong organizational and communications skills they shouldn't be advancing beyond mid in any serious company. This type of person generally costs more than they're worth because you have to silo them for anything to get done. Not worth it. If such a "savant" can't develop the proper communication skills perhaps they'd be better in academia.