> If instead they leverage their execution skills and make an MVP that will speak for itself, then they bypass that issue.

Hell yes. Forgiveness beats permission every single time.

>"if you are a good worker bee your manager will usually notice and be happy with your performance"

And other than some bonus never promote you. If you have capability to be anything above that "worker bee" say / ask exactly what you want. If not look for another job. While this SCRUM / Agile bullshit is wide spread and even works in some specific circumstances there are enough companies that are not hung up on moving pins on dashboard and where one can really grow.

Work for yourself. Work with the manager, not for manager.

> Then from time-to-time you branch off to do something more high-risk to add to your promo doc.

I agree, that's exactly what I wrote.

Maybe toxic is the wrong word. Perverse maybe. But I don’t think that being a good worker bee often gets people past the senior level, at least from what I’ve seen. But also getting past senior is rarer, so maybe what I’ve seen isn’t representative.