Poor management and delegation skills rather than long working hours may have spelled early retirement for Tung Chee-hwa, who blamed 18-hour work days for his deteriorating health.
'We have quite a large government so something must be wrong if someone consistently works 16- to 18-hour days,' said Christine Houston, managing director of executive search firm ESGI.
Brian Renwick, a 40-year human resources veteran who met Mr Tung occasionally as a council member of the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, noted that, 'as a manager, let alone a chief executive, he tries to be too hands-on'.
Mr Renwick also observed that the outgoing leader 'tries to put his own style on too many things at the same time' and appeared not to delegate enough.
Mr Tung - who was affectionately known as 'Mr 7-11' for putting in regular long hours at the office - was often accused of being mired in details and lacking decisiveness, as was the case following the Sars outbreak in 2003.
Ms Houston also pointed to Mr Tung's accountability system, which was an 'abject failure', as an indication of his lack of leadership qualities. 'Not a lot of people see him as strong and decisive.'