Weak leadership tends to self-serving leadership

Somewhere along the line the rabbinic regime shifted from being about the Jewish people and became being about the honor and privilege of the rabbinic leadership. The more practical power the rabbinic leadership lost, the more it became the focus of that leadership to promote their own privilege and honor. 

Weak leadership tends to be self-serving leadership, where the focus of the leadership is on their own welfare rather than on the stewarding of the well-being of their charges.