This feels way too reductive Dennis, and I think you're painting all designers with the same pessimistic brush. I don't know many designers who don't care about impact and only care about beauty, as you seem to think. Maybe you're hanging out with the wrong people!

I agree there is a massive gap in design education around the business and strategy side of design. And that shows in how green young designers are. It takes a lot of real-world experience to learn those lessons and get into the strategy. But most mid/senior level designers I've worked with are totally onboard with measuring impact and all the strategy that goes behind it.

Designers are often leaders, but not all designers make good leaders. If leadership is the problem, that doesn't mean designers can't help solve that problem. We need better training for designers to transition to leadership roles maybe.