At most F500+ corporations, the higher up the ladder you go, the more political your job becomes, and consequently, the less directly functional or operative it is. At the highest rungs of the big corporate ladder, you are essentially a politician. And little more. You are tasked with "legislation" the way a Congressman is tasked with such. But you're spending 99% of your time pandering to the base, setting up and maintaining alliances, cheerleading, politicking, and kissing babies.
These skills are derided by those who hate corporate politics, as most of us probably do. But to get to the top, and to manage effectively from the top, you need to play the game and be damned good at it. If not, you'll be out in 6 months -- and even if not, you'll be a lame duck, unable to get a coalition to advance your agenda. This is why, at each rung up the ladder, political skill, social capital, and favor become increasingly important criteria for advancement.
You're expected to get great results, of course -- but the number of people that stand in the way of your input --> your output increases exponentially the higher you climb. Ergo, your job is more about people than it is about the input itself.
This equation isn't going to change so long as the current structure of the public corporation doesn't change. For those of us who dislike it, we need: a) to cultivate specialties or skills we bring to the table that permit us freedom from "the game," or b) to work for startups and smaller companies.