Every now and then, someone walks into one of our leadership programs and I can just tell they’ll make a great leader. But what are the early signs?

Over the years, I've worked with countless leaders, teaching them the essential, human skills required for leadership fitness. In this time, I’ve developed a bit of a sixth sense for leadership potential. I can usually tell, within the first session, who’s going to make a great leader.

We’ve all experienced that overwhelming sense of exhaustion at the end of a workday. For some, this exhaustion persists even after taking a break, leaving them wondering why rest doesn’t seem to recharge their batteries.

We’ve all seen these. Some are subtle. Some are everywhere. None belong in great leadership.

Over the years, as a coach, psychologist, employee, and human who cringes just like you — I’ve collected a list of leadership behaviours that make me wince. Some are outdated habits. Others good-intentioned missteps. A few are still being glorified (unfortunately).

Here are my top 11 leadership icks - the habits we need to leave behind pronto if we’re serious about building strong culture and high-performing teams.