Wayne,
You are so right & I too have seen this happen many times before.
In addition to the ego factor, I have also found that some managers have a hard time letting go of the satisfaction they get from solving the problems themselves. Often they formerly did that job & so it feels so good to show their own expertise. I have found that these folks are often struggling with the role of manager & so they're looking for something to fill their bucket which then takes from someone else's bucket.
Thanks for the post Wayne.
Ryan