Leadership Red Flags

In this post, I want to talk about red flags in leadership. 

If you hear a leader you know say one of these things, then you might want to take it as a sign that it’s time to find a new leader to follow.

Red Flag 1: “I’ve always done it this way.” 

This is a leader who doesn’t have vision. Vision is the “why” or purpose behind what you do. There are a lot of great reasons why you and your team should do certain things a certain way. However, just because you’ve always done something a certain way or you’ve done it for a long time doesn’t mean that you should continue doing it.

Red Flag 2: “Because I said so.” 

This is a leader who doesn’t have buy-in. Buy-in is when your team is invested in the vision or inspired by the leader. Simply bossing them around because you’re in charge is not going to help them have a personal commitment to the vision.

Red Flag 3: “Do as I say, not as I do.” 

This is a leader who doesn’t have integrity. Integrity is when your words and actions are congruent. You’ve likely heard the adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” As a leader, the loudest thing you can communicate to your team is to make sure your words and actions are saying the same thing.

Think about it: What are some other leadership red flags that you’ve seen?

_{Originally posted on November 23, 2021, 2025. Last updated on September 12, 2025.}

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Watch on the accompanying video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uP4rOTbeO3o