the tail is too big to wag—leadership rendered ineffectual by recalcitrant subordinates; [of an organization] too cumbersome to be effective ? 末大必折，～，君可知也。(《左傳·昭十一年》)Great branches are sure to break the roots; a great tail cannot be moved about:—this is what you know.
尾大不掉wei da bu diao
the tail wagging the dog
尾大不掉wěi dà bù diào
掉：搖動。尾巴太大，就不好搖動。比喻部屬勢力過分強(qiáng)大，不服從指揮調(diào)度；也比喻機(jī)構(gòu)龐大，難以駕馱。too cumbersome to be effective, leadership rendered ineffectual by recalcitrant subordinates