If the workers didn't submit to the will of management, dire consequences would result. As a technical leader, my value to management is a direct function of my accountability to my commitments. These commitments are what generates value for the company and it's customers. This value translates to money, which is a source of real power in our society. As a manager and leader, however, I'm dependent on engineers to do most of the work, my commitment is worthless without theirs.
Engineers instinctively understand the value of their creativity and credibility.
They sometimes underestimate the value of their commitments. No matter how creative and credible and engineer is, she can't transfer those characteristics to the team leader. Commitment, on the other hand, has the almost magical power of being transferable. One of the most important parts of a project leader's job is to take a big objective and break it into more managable pieces that can be delegated to team members. The next step is the critical one.