Very insightful and humbling to think about. This is not an anti-pattern unique to software development – my partner works in advertising and it’s endemic there too, as I suspect it is in other industries. I think the relevant link between the domains here is the tendency to work in projects, where there is often a disconnect between those managing the project and those delivering it – I think this could be the reason heroes are often needed (lest the project fails). Fixing that disconnect is far easier said than done though – the roots run deep.