He liked to dominate meetings and it was because of him that many people started skipping morning meetings that had always been enjoyed by employees before Fester joined the lab.

Knowlton's mistake

Knowlton was felt so threatened by Fester that he totally blinded himself to his obvious flaws. Had Knowlton been more secure and sure of himself, he would have talked to Jerrold and pointed those flaws. It would have then become easier to see that Fester could never replace Knowlton as the leader because Knowlton was a true team player- a key trait of a good leader and a pre-requisite for becoming a leader in the first place.

Recommendation:

He already knew that he couldn't possibly know about everything but he was a good leader who could use his people's strengths to his advantage. He would have challenged Fester on various occasions to make him see that there were things that he was wrong about. But instead of challenging him, Knowlton would remain quiet and then praise Fester in meetings or gatherings. He should have spoken to Jerrold about the problems he could spot in Fester's character. Knowlton jumped to conclusions too fast and combined with some insecurity and possible threat of replacement, he took drastic actions and the results were disastrous.