There is an excellet discussion about this in Leary, T. (1957) The Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality. Ronald Press. pp. 323-327. I am about to place below the text from those pages of that chapter that I just scanned for you. Note the lines I underlined in referrence to your question. I appologize to all about the length...but it is an excellent work (sttandardized to the MMPI and conducted with 30,000 subject!). What follows is from the book cited above.

Adjustment Through Power.' The Autocratic Personality (category 11 on the ICL test)

Power, success, and ambition as means of warding off anxiety and increasing self-esteem comprise the theme of this chapter. We shall consider those individuals whose overt interpersonal operations stress compulsive energy, authority, and dominance over others. This is the "11" personality type.
Until recently, these patients were not often seen in psychiatric consulting rooms. The nature of their security operations is such that they were not seen as needing psychiatric help and would hardly consider asking for help.
Adaptive Forms of the Power-Oriented Personality
Adjustment through power can be an adaptive and successful way of life. Included here are those persons who express strength, force, energy, and leadership, and who win from others respect, approbation, and deference.
The generic idea of hero belongs to this mode of adjustment. So do all forms of ambition. So do the traits of energy, planful organization, and righteous authority. Behavior which is designed to excite admiration or to provoke submission from others can be considered as diagnostic of this security operation.
There are many ways in which power can be manifested. Physical strength, especially in the case of the male, is a means of winning respect. Intellectual strength is another common power operation. The sage, the wise man, and the savant are all roles which earn respect. The interpersonal mechanism of teaching is, in fact, probably the most common manifestation of power motivation. The ordinary, commonplace frequency of the teaching behavior makes its power implications go unnoticed. It seems clear, however, that whenever one person begins to instruct, inform, or explain to another, he is conveying the interpersonal message, "I know something you do not know; I am wise and better informed on this subject than you." Intellectuals are often power-oriented individuals who maintain illusions of strength and prestige through their knowledge. The nonintellectual who cannot understand why teachers seek out and remain in positions of such low pay may fail to recognize the rewards and securities which accrue to the pure undiluted power expression of the pedagogue.
Teaching is thus a most adaptive and constructive manifestation of the autocratic impulse. In addition to physical and intellectual strength, there are several other ways in which power can be gained and expressed. Social status is perhaps one of the most effective means of exerting authority. Prestige-either bureaucratic or social-is a power magnet for attracting respect and deference.
Financial strength is another common form of power expression. Most forms of conspicuous consumption are diagnostic of the attempt to maintain a superior (22) or powerful (11) facade. In summary it can be said that the" 11" personality is characterized by energetic, organized behavior, by the attitude of knowledge, competence, strength, and authority.
Maladaptive Forms of the Power-Oriented Personality
The extreme forms of this way of life are characterized by autocratic, domineering behavior. Compulsive attempts to control are diagnostic of this maladjustment. So is power-ridden, overambitious behavior. Pedantry falls into this category; as do status-driven attempts to Impress.
The person who tries to over organize his life and the lives of those around him is utilizing maladaptive power operations. The compulsive person is often striving to increase his facade of competence and efficiency. His exaggerated attempts to be planful, precise, and correct are diagnostic of the" 11" maladjustment.
The key factor in this maladaptive type is the complete avoidance of weakness and uncertainty, and the compulsive endeavor to appear competent, organized, and authoritative.
The autocratic person exhibits his power-oriented machinery of adjustment rigidly whether it is appropriate to the situation or not. He cannot relax his compulsive, energetic operations. In social or recreational contexts he grimly clings to his mantle of efficiency and competence however uncalled-for it may be. The extremes of this type of maladjustment often involve hyperactivity and manic behavior.
In the clinic the autocratic individual is thus easily diagnosed by his inappropriate responses. He does not act like a patient coming for help-but as a strong competent person seeking to inform or impress the clinician.
The Purpose of "11" Behavior
Individuals select power-oriented security operations because they have found them to be effective in warding off anxiety. They feel secure when they are exerting control over people and things. They apparently dread the possibility of being weak, uninformed, submissive.
The rewards and comforts which can be obtained through control and power are numerous. The strong person feels defended and protected. He wins awe, admiration, and obedience from others. He gains a feeling of certitude and organization-which serve as an illusory buffer against the mysteries and uncontrollable possibilities of existence.
The autocratic individual is, we assume, made most anxious when he feels uncertain, confused, or passive. He attempts to maintain security and self-esteem and to avoid derogation and hurt by means of his power-oriented operations.

The Effect of "11" Behavior
The facade of power and control provokes others to obedience, deference, and respect from others. This is to say, AP pulls IIJ (these are profiles on the ICL check list).
In most situations the person who manifests wisdom is looked to for advice. The person who demonstrates planful control and competence is respected.
This principle of reciprocal interpersonal relations is, of course, a probability statement. It can be altered by the personality of the other person. Thus a managerial person interacting with another who uses the same interpersonal reflexes may generate a power struggle. He may: receive agreeable cooperation from a person with hysterical operations.
In general it will be found that rigid autocratic individuals seek out docile admiring followers. They are most comfortable when they are paired with those who symbiotically match their interpersonal reflexes-who flatter, obey, and respect them.
Clinical Manifestations of Managerial Power

It has been pointed out that prior to the 1930's the managerial personality was not a frequent visitor to the psychiatric clinic. In recent years, however, a broader definition of neurosis (as any form of extreme or maladaptive behavior) has developed. In addition, the concepts of psychosomatic medicine have stressed the point that certain physical symptoms can be manifestations of maladaptive conflicts.
For these reasons, more and more patients whose overt facade stresses power and energy are being referred for psychiatric diagnosis. There are several specific clinical characteristics of the power-oriented personality.
Psychosomatic symptoms are a most common complaint. Ulcer patients are classically seen as driving, ambitious, energetic people. Certain dermatitis diagnostic groups utilize strong interpersonal reflexes. Overweight women tend to present clinically in the same manner. Asthmatic men tend to stress power and deny weakness in their approach to a psychiatric clinic.
Some strong managerial individuals come to the clinic because of their concern about other family members. One frequent type of referral involves the competent, industrious woman who is married to a weak, delinquent, or rebellious husband. The managerial wife comes partially seeking the clinic's support in getting her husband into treatment and partially because of her own underlying passive needs. This type of strong woman inevitably manifests "preconscious" masochism and is usually involved in a complicated guilt-power conflict with her husband.
Many cases of alcoholism or gambling present a power-oriented facade to the clinic. These patients see their symptomatic behavior as isolated from their character structure and are not initially well motivated for therapy. The prognosis in these cases depends upon the ability to tolerate consideration of their underlying rebellious or passive feelings.
Another symptom typical of the" 11" personality involves an isolated anxiety attack. The patient regularly uses compulsive, energetic, self-confident operations to handle anxiety. This facade may temporarily crack (in response to a particularly threatening environmental circumstance). The patient comes to the clinic because he is scared by the possibility of a recurrence. (An anxiety attack or any other sign of weakness is, of course, the most paralyzing catastrophe to the person who utilizes power security operations.) By the time the patient comes for his intake interview, his routine compulsive reflexes may be working smoothly again. He mobilizes against the threat of anxiety created by psychological exploration and presents a facade of competent strength. These patients see their anxiety attacks as isolated events, not integral to their strong character structure. The latter they do not usually want to change.
Some managerial personalities (male) come to the clinic with symptoms of impotency. The facade of strength is particularly disturbed by sexual inadequacy. Generally these patients are eager to have the symptoms (which are uncomfortable signs of weakness) removed and are not pressing to explore the underlying passivity or fear which the symptoms represent.
Occasionally some "11" types come to the clinic because of dissatisfaction with their interpersonal relationships with others. The competent wife puzzled by her errant husband has been mentioned. The compulsive, righteous husband frustrated by a rebellious wife, or by resentful children, is another example. Now and then compulsive patients come under pressure from their employers who threaten to fire them because of friction generated by their power strivings. A particularly sad variety of managerial operations is afforded by the masculine, driving woman who finds herself lonely and neglected by men and who hopes to find relief from her vague dissatisfaction with self without relinquishing her compulsive protections.
There is one exception to this generalization. Some highly intelligent, psychologically sophisticated individuals come to the clinic seeking intensive treatment or psychoanalysis. These patients are actually hoping to change their character structure. They may have some of the symptoms mentioned above and are insightful enough to want therapeutic help. These patients are intellectually (and not emotionally) motivated for psychotherapy. They will exhibit their power reflexes but have enough insight to ask for and remain in treatment. Such patients are usually referred to psychoanalysts or assigned to intensive psychotherapy.