Strange how little authority it takes to bring out the authoritarian in all of us.

Definitely. I speak from 1st person experience ( in RL). There are extra pitfalls for being in a position that is primus (prima) inter pares as well as "if in doubt, you'll have to make the decision"..., and there's no kind of formal training for any of it, so fly by the seat of your pants and have the occasional overreaction is what I see, and do...