There is a discipline of actually doing the work that rewards competence. If you take a competent implementor, give them the title of "architect", and have them tell everyone else how their programs should be designed, the natural tendency is downhill in competency. I've met brilliant architects. I've never met an architect who impressed me that didn't code a lot.

But still, even among implementors there are frequently disagreements on the design that should be followed. And you see the same pattern. The person who wins the disagreement tends to get a lion's share of the credit for improvements, and often gets to skip blame if it fails.

If you win several of these in a row you may get offered a raise and title of architect.