I agree it's easy to see it that way as an IC (I thought the same!). I think the more senior you become the more you will view impact from the lens of your team/org, even as an IC
If you act in the interests of the business, the leadership of a company will (usually, but not always) reward you for your service to the business. Whether or not this is something you "should" do is up to you, in my opinion. As an IC, you can't make me care about a business. I'm there to get paid and gain career experience, the latter of which sometimes improves the business and sometimes not.