The PI on the only research project I ever worked on as a student was relatively chill and collaborative, so I assumed that's how they all were. 20 years later,

The PI on the only research project I ever worked on as a student was relatively chill and collaborative, so I assumed that's how they all were. 20 years later, I once again work with big research projects, and was surprised to learn how tyrannical and petulant PIs are (or have a reputation for being). Much more so than CEOs in any private sector company I've worked at, the PI seems to be both at such a high level that they are disengaged from the daily work of their "employees", and simultaneously inclined to micromanage that work when their attention turns to it at last—the worst of both worlds!