If you're on the side of "just tell me what to build", you better really, really trust your leads and managers. Bad managers can destroy engineering culture in an instant to the point where "just tell me what to build" becomes a symptom of burnout and not a bona fide aspect of a work culture.
I am not empowered to make decisions, I have nobody to discuss meaningfully with, and I'm told what to build perentorily but vaguely and often incorrectly. Will I be able to read the mind of my boss? Better to stall, complain, and avoid making mistakes.
I suffered through that kind of situation for much longer than I care to admit. I am now behind the curve in terms of skills development because of how stagnant the situation was.
