After more than 20 years working in product design, one of the biggest lessons I've learned is that bad leadership rarely reveals itself immediately. Most leaders make a great first impression. They're friendly, articulate, and excited about the future. It's only after weeks or months that recurring behaviors begin to surface, shaping the culture, slowing down teams, and affecting the quality of the work.

I've been fortunate to work with exceptional leaders who trusted their teams, encouraged growth, and created environments where great ideas could thrive. I've also worked with leaders who, despite good intentions, created unnecessary friction and made it difficult for designers to do their best work.

Looking back, there were always warning signs. Here are five patterns I've learned to recognize much earlier in my career.

1. They only know one way of working

There's absolutely nothing wrong with spending a long time at one company. In fact, long tenure often comes with valuable institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of the business. The problem begins when that experience turns into tunnel vision.

Some leaders become so accustomed to one company's culture, processes, and way of solving problems that they assume it's the only correct approach. Every suggestion that comes from outside is met with resistance because "that's not how we do things here." Instead of exploring new ideas, they're focused on protecting existing ones.

The strongest leaders remain students of the industry. They stay curious, learn from other organizations, and aren't afraid to adapt their thinking. Experience should broaden your perspective, not narrow it.

2. They micromanage the craft instead of leading the strategy

One experience from earlier in my career has always stayed with me. At a previous tech agency in Quebec, the company president showed too much involvement in stages of the design process. Unfortunately, that involvement wasn't focused on business goals, customer problems, or product strategy. Instead, comments would start appearing directly in my Figma files while I was still designing. The work hadn't even reached a point where I was ready to present it for feedback, yet there were already notes telling me to move elements, add more spacing, or adjust layouts.

That wasn't collaboration. It was micromanagement.

Design is an iterative process. Early explorations are intentionally rough because they're meant to test ideas before refining the details. Jumping into unfinished work to critique spacing or alignment skips over the most important questions. Are we solving the right problem? Are we exploring the best solution? Does this direction support the user and the business?

Great leaders understand that timing matters. They trust designers to explore, iterate, and refine before stepping in with feedback. Their role isn't to review every screen as it's being created. Their role is to provide strategic guidance, remove obstacles, and create an environment where designers can do their best work.

3. Their feedback has little to do with your actual work

Constructive feedback should always connect back to outcomes. It should help you become a better designer, collaborator, communicator, or problem solver. Unfortunately, some leaders focus on everything except the quality of the work being delivered.

Instead of discussing how effectively you facilitated a workshop, validated a solution, or improved a user experience, they become fixated on personal observations that have little bearing on your performance. Maybe it's how you speak in meetings, how expressive you are, or other subjective traits that don't impact the value of your work.

When feedback becomes personal rather than professional, growth becomes difficult. You stop improving your craft and instead spend your energy trying to satisfy someone's personal preferences. Strong leaders evaluate results and behaviors that influence those results, not arbitrary characteristics that have nothing to do with delivering great products.

4. Their 1-on-1s feel like they're winging it

One-on-one meetings should be one of the most valuable conversations you have throughout your career. They're an opportunity to discuss progress, career development, challenges, and goals. Unfortunately, I've experienced managers who show up completely unprepared.

The meeting starts with a vague, "So... what's new?" and from there, the conversation drifts aimlessly. There are no follow-ups from previous discussions, no meaningful coaching, no thoughtful questions, and no clear agenda. Thirty minutes pass, and both people leave without any sense that something useful was accomplished.

A good leader invests time before the meeting even begins. They review previous notes, think about your development, identify blockers, and create space for meaningful discussion. Consistently unstructured one-on-ones are often a sign that your growth isn't being managed with intention.

The best one-on-ones leave you with clarity, direction, and a better understanding of where you're heading. They shouldn't feel like another meeting to get through.

5. They don't advocate for their team

One of the clearest signs of leadership isn't how someone behaves inside their own department. It's how they represent their team across the organization.

Company-wide meetings are an opportunity for leaders to celebrate accomplishments, recognize great work, communicate direction, and make sure their teams have visibility. I've watched leaders from engineering, product, sales, and customer success proudly share wins, highlight the work their teams have accomplished, and explain how their departments are contributing to the company's goals.

I've also seen Design Directors who have almost nothing to say.

When a Design Director remains silent during annual company meetings while every other department leader is actively representing their teams, it sends an unfortunate message. Whether intentional or not, it suggests that design isn't making meaningful contributions or isn't worth talking about. More importantly, it's a missed opportunity to showcase the impact of design, celebrate the people behind the work, and reinforce design's value across the organization.

Leadership isn't just about managing designers or reviewing work. It's also about being an advocate. A great Design Director gives design a voice, champions the team's successes, and makes sure the rest of the company understands the impact design has on the business. When leaders fail to do that, the team loses visibility, recognition, and influence.

Final thoughts

The best leaders I've worked with all shared one thing in common. They trusted the people they hired. They asked thoughtful questions instead of giving immediate answers. They focused on outcomes instead of control. They prepared for conversations, encouraged growth, and consistently represented their teams across the organization.

The less effective leaders taught me valuable lessons too, not because I wanted to emulate them, but because they showed me exactly what healthy leadership shouldn't look like.

If you're interviewing for your next role, don't spend all your energy evaluating the product, the benefits, or the salary. Spend time evaluating the people you'll be working for. Ask questions about how they give feedback, how often they meet with their teams, how decisions are made, and how they support career growth.

Products change. Companies pivot. Teams reorganize. The quality of your leader, however, will shape your experience every single day.