Superstar CEOs in a collaborative age

We talk a lot about teams and collaboration. Yet, whether we see CEOs, Chefs, College Presidents, Orchestra conductors, or Sport Team Coaches, we see the pay gap between the star and the rest of the team constantly growing. This was not always the case. I wonder how much of this is actually an abdication on our own responsibility. If we can hold the leader responsible for success or failure then we cannot fail. As John Holt realized in his studies of children, if we do not try then we cannot be held responsible for our inevitable failure. If we try and take responsibility, then if we fail, we can be blamed. Perhaps if the leader takes a greater share of the money, he or she absolves us from responsibility for failure - except it seems that they are even faster to dump their subordinates.