Software and hardware design skills are not at all the same as people and management skills. I can tell you from years of experience that the best designers are often not the best managers (to say the least). But for many years, management positions have been the only way up and that has not always had the best results. Hence there has evolved in the software business (at least) the senior position of chief architect. Thus someone will exemplary technical skills is recognized (and paid) accordingly, and expected to manage the design, not the people. This gives a project the guidance it really needs without putting such a technically valuable person into a management position that (s)he may not be well suited for.
I don't know if this is at all applicable to AMSAT-NA, but perhaps it is at least worth thinking about. Respectfully submitted,
-- KD6PAG (Networking Old-Timer, Satellite QRPer) --------------------