Your OP is spot on - very true... As an elder, working at a menial job (waiter in a restaurant) didn't ,matter, since in the congo I was a VIP. That's all that mattered.
Years later, when I was no longer an elder, and had a much better fulfilling job, I began to see how idiotic the elders were. I remember the first congregation that I returned to after leaving missionary service. The PO was sitting in front of me. After hearing my insightful comments, he wanted to meet me. So amen, and he said, offering his hand, "M...B..., Presiding Overseer". I was actually quite taken aback that he would introduce himself in this manner, as if PO were an important title. About a year later, after a shepherding call that went sour, leaving my then wife in tears, as I escorted him out of my building, he confided smugly: "I have a lot more experience than most elders in this circuit". I lost the little respect I had for him at that point.
I think that self-righteousness is an ailment common among many elders confident of the own self-importance.