Who Were The Worst Presidential Leaders Of All Time?

Sept. 6, 2008 - PRLog -- From George Washington to George Bush, 42 different men have held the office of President of the United States. Some were immensely popular during their time in office. Others, like the current leader of the free world, were not well-liked by their constituents.

In the wake of the November 4 Presidential elections, leadership development and management training weblog, AskTheManager.com, examined the management styles, leadership traits and true success of all 42 Presidents. While the Presidents have been repeatedly ranked by historians on the effectiveness of their respective Presidencies over the years, AskTheManager.com took a truly different approach.

How would any of the 42 US Presidents perform if they were put in charge of a Fortune 500 corporation today? Which ones possessed true leadership traits like integrity, humility and delegation, and which ones were egomaniacal do-nothings? Which Presidents had what it takes to be a successful business leader in today’s economy and which ones were too busy worrying about the next election?

George W. Bush Ranks in The Bottom Ten

While it’s always easy to attack the sitting President, the editors at AskTheManager were hard pressed to move President George W. Bush any higher on the list. Many Presidents have had low popularity ratings, though with Bush these low rankings seem to come from a definite lack of true leadership. His poor handling of the Iraq War (great leaders admit when they're wrong and they "fish or cut bait"), and the fact that only 10% of his top cabinet members appointed in 2001 are still with him, are among the many issues that show Bush deserves to be ranked as the 7th worst Presidential leader of all time.

The remainder of the Bottom Ten are distinguished by their inability to lead with integrity, humility and/or vision. Because of this, these ten Presidents deserve their own Leadership Hall of Shame, according to the editors of AskTheManager.com:

42. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
41. James Buchanan (1857-1861)
40. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
39. John Tyler (1841-1845)
38. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857)
37. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
36. George W. Bush (2001-2009)
35. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
34. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
33. James A. Garfield (1881)

Running the United States and running a large, for-profit corporation have more similarities than differences. Whom would you choose to run your company if you had your pick from the 42 men who served as President of the United States?

To read where the remaining thirty-two Presidents ranked, and to find out who made the Top Ten, visit AskTheManager.com.

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