There's a rubric of requirements. Technical proficiency, leadership, mentorship, cross-functional impact. If you want to be cynical about it, sure -- it can mean you drive projects just for the impact, you lead internal conferences, you hold meetings, you mentor, whatever, all for the self-serving benefits of promotion.
And you definitely get the whiff of that occasionally from certain initiatves people take on.
But I generally find it pretty positive and inspiring to see how it encourages people to grow, and how it drives the tone of the organization. For example I've never worked somewhere where it was so encouraged to take on tasks outside of your comfort zone. To suck at things, and learn, and get better -- versus staying in your own little hole and getting very good at your specific role, but no more.
