A Fortune worst leaders list was recently published in the magazine’s website has listed some of the most disappointing leaders in business and politics. Although it is far from being comprehensive and scientifically objective, readers would agree on almost all of the bad outcomes that resulted from the decisions made
Leadership is more of an art than an exact science because there is no formula or equation that can precisely describe and predict the outcomes of leadership. Most of the time, it is only when there is failure in leadership that we can see what ought to have been done.
According to the Fortune worst leaders, leadership is a matter of gamble and it is very difficult to predict with absolute certainty the consequences of certain decisions even if sufficient research is done. Personal biases, greed, arrogance and other forms of errors in judgment could set in.
Here are some of the most disappointing leaders in 2015 based on the list of Fortune magazine’s website.
Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan
The governor is expectedly included in the Fortune worst leaders list. When the issue of Flint water crisis is mentioned, Governor Rich Snyder of Michigan will always be the one who will have the largest blame because of negligence and lack of political decisiveness.
Martin Winterkorn, former chairman of Volkswagen
Winterkorn has become notorious because of the software scandal in the company’s diesel vehicles, faking emission results. VW engineers most likely installed the software with his permission since he is known for micromanagement.
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos
Her company offered less invasive blood testing method but this did not pass basic peer reviews and minimum standards of quality.
Martin Shkreli, founder and former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals
He jacked up the prices of cheap drugs that his company resold for several thousand times the original prices. He soon became one of the most hated faces in the world, epitomizing greed. He should be number one in the Fortune worst leaders list.
Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo
Mayer inadvertently made Yahoo a holding company of Alibaba as Yahoo’s value plummeted. She made frantic attempts to keep key employees but ended up making the company suffer for her mistakes.
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos
Hsieh has somewhat become synonymous with indecency and unprofessionalism in the office. He encouraged a culture of drinking and inappropriate behaviors that he himself have done. The employees of the company systematically cheated on mandatory training.
Michael Pearson, outgoing CEO of Valeant
Pearson is responsible for misrepresenting the company’s financial status. Although the company has recovered, its credibility has suffered related to a mail-order pharmacy.
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, former FIFA chiefs
These two high-ranking FIFA officials were banned from the organization and several other officers close to them were indicted by the U.S. federal government because of money laundering and racketeering.
Gustavo Martinez, former CEO J. Walter Thompson
Accusations of racism and sexism forced Martinez to step down. The company’s communications chief, Erin Johnson, filed lawsuits against him for indecent conduct.
Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey
After being one of the staunch critics and rival of Donald Trump for GOP nomination, he later became an endorser. This made him look like the ultimate lapdog of Trump.
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor of Chicago
Being unprincipled and without any consistent stand on any issues could best describe Rahm. He is notorious for totally changing his opinions on controversial issues, which included his opinion about the racially charged shooting of a black teenager.
Steve Ells and Montgomery Moran, co-CEOs, Chipotle
The company’s chain of restaurants could have been a healthier alternative to fast food. This reputation easily turned around after various bacterial and viral contaminations were discovered in the food that the company serves.
Al Giordano and Steve Nardizzi, former COO and CEO of the Wounded Warrior Project
Being the top officials of a charity organization for veterans, Giordano and Nardizzi are supposed to have high integrity but they instead have given themselves high salaries from the donations.
Jeff Smisek, former CEO of United Continental
The airline company under Smisek was found out to provide flight services between Newark and Columbia, S.C. despite of the lack of sufficient customer demand. As it turned out, Smisek was doing it as a special favor for the then-then chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Dilma Rousseff, president of Brazil
Dilma is now facing possible impeachment after lawmakers discovered that she has attempted to hide the true status of Brazil’s deficits. Being included in the Fortune worst leaders list does not look good in her political resume.
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