The London Business School had conducted interviews with WeChat for a business case study during which the company executives raised the concerns.
"As WeChat surpasses one billion users and plays host to more than one million mini-apps on its ecosystem, operations have finally become too big for him to oversee everything.
"How to stay agile and nimble in a rapidly changing social media landscape with a top-down approach for a 2,000-strong team, and what happens to strategy should Zhang one day leave or step back, were among the top issues on the minds of WeChat executives as the app enjoys its perch as China's most dominant super-app," the South China Morning Post reported late on Friday.
The extremely competitive social media landscape was also among the top issues on the minds of WeChat executives.
"I admit I am very dictatorial," Zhang, 49, told the London Business School for its case study, the report added.
WeChat was launched as a messaging tool in 2011. It has grown from a voice messaging platform into a truly ubiquitous app experience in China.
The platform now lets users pay bills, order meals, read news, and play games.
Owned by parent company Tencent Holdings, the WeChat app has over 900 million monthly active users.