In an institutional context when we ask for permission from higher ups, especially publicly, we put them on the spot to clarify some rule or make a pronouncement which rules will be enforced and which won't. Sometimes you have to break rules, or perversely are even expected to, just to get things done. Asking permission means the boss has to tell you that you cannot break the rule officially, even though they know the rule has to be broken for the task to be accomplished. So not only do they deny the permission, they also resent you for forcing them to make the pronouncement and preventing anyone in the near future from accomplishing the task at hand efficiently. In other words even as they respond with "No, Peter, you cannot bypass filling out 10 TPS reports just to fix this bug" in their head they are thinking "Why the fuck didn't you just do it. Why did you have to ask me about it in front of everyone..."
Large power structures usually have rules you cannot break, you can break if you want to, and perversely enough, you should or are expected to break. Winning or losing the politics game often comes down to simply understanding which rules belong to each set.