I've found the same. We used goals and velocity metrics on the highest performing team I worked on. This was also a high trust team that happily raised concern

I've found the same. We used goals and velocity metrics on the highest performing team I worked on. This was also a high trust team that happily raised concerns and adjusted priorities/velocity/etc. The goals and velocity were still extremely useful for getting everybody on the same page for what we were looking to accomplish and how long it would take. We needed to land in the general area, but never got caught up in meaningless drivel over metrics. The problem is management wants consistency and expects an explanation when things change. I've found it a team is perceived as failing if they're actually realistic with goals and capabilities.