> Most of the successful engineers and engineering leaders I have had the pleasure of working with were able to hold a discussion on almost any topic, whether technical or not

Reverse Gell-man? https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Gell-Mann_amnesia_effect#Engl...

Haha yes I've seen that too, I think the distinction is that it is not "fluent on everything" but rather "curious about everything". The best developers I know will happily admit when they don't know something and look it up, no matter the topic.