It's possible to give the final say on task selection to the programmers while still allowing the manager to have useful input. Instead of bossing people around

It's possible to give the final say on task selection to the programmers while still allowing the manager to have useful input. Instead of bossing people around, the manager just offers their opinion, and the rest of the team respect it as being from a position of oversight. And if they really disagree, they can explain their reasons and the manager is better informed in future.