I don’t buy this narrative, I’ve tried in orgs which relied heavily on me (as half of my tiny team quit) and it backfired. Then I was laughed at during interview asking for a certain salary. Then I got a much higher salary than what I asked for from… big surprise a startup whom made significantly less money than the other two mentioned.

I’ve seen this backfire in “less prestigious” jobs too. The advice I was given was to work your way into a position of leverage within a company and then do this. But I learned that finding a company who will pay you what you want outright is a better strategy. You will be infinitely more respected and trusted.