You raised the same issues I was going to. The only instance I can think of where command ossification may have hurt the British was during the night actions,

You raised the same issues I was going to. The only instance I can think of where command ossification may have hurt the British was during the night actions, when the (German) High Seas Fleet was escaping across the wake of the (British) Grand Fleet. At that point there was a chance for British capital ships to engage-- they'd seen the Germans-- but they deferred the decision up the chain of command. The rear admiral in charge of the squadron declined to attack without an order from Jellicoe, but Jellicoe wasn't told the situation, so he assumed that the contacts to his rear were German harassing attacks. That allowed the remainder of the High Seas Fleet to escape. Quick edit: though difficult with all of the smoke, the flag signalling did work as intended at Jutland. Flag signalling relies heavily on skilled signal officers. Beattie did not have a good one, which is why he didn't get a crushing victory at Dogger Bank (his signaler sent his entire squadron after the wrong ship). Jellicoe managed to maneuver the fleet quite well once the main battle commenced.