One such pattern that – once I noticed it – I realised is very prevalent in Agile Software Development is what I call the Empowered Straightjacket. Teams are “empowered” to make their own decisions, but when the boss doesn’t like a decision they’ve made, he or she overrules it.
Those who remember their set theory will know that if the set of all possible decisions a team is allowed to make can only include decisions the boss agrees with, then they are effectively working in the same set (or a subset) of the boss’s rules. Empowered Teams Can Make Decisions The Boss Disagrees With – Software People Inspiring