Toxic Leadership: How to Recognise It and Start Leading Better Today
The Behaviour Shift
Thought-leadership and insights about your people
Linkedin newsletter
Realising you're the reason behind a toxic work culture is a tough but powerful turning point—and it's the focus of this edition of my Linkedin newsletter The Behaviour Shift. Whether it comes after a sleepless night, a colleague’s comment, or an honest look in the mirror, that moment of awareness can trigger genuine, positive change.
Toxic leadership doesn’t always stem from malice—it often grows from stress, outdated habits, or a lack of awareness. But if your team avoids you, constantly operates in fear, or keeps quitting, something has to give.
I’m Luke Fenwick, leadership coach and behaviour strategist, and in this newsletter I explore the red flags to watch for: micromanaging, ignoring feedback, prioritising output over people, and failing to develop others.
This issue challenges leaders to separate fact from fiction. Is your inner critic taking over, or are the patterns showing up in real feedback? Luke walks through a practical process of journaling, gathering team input, and asking for direct feedback to get clear on reality.
From there, the shift begins. The path to better leadership includes small but powerful actions: apologise without defensiveness, start listening more, empower your team through trust, and recognise effort consistently. Most importantly, Luke reminds us that leadership is about people—not just performance. Prioritising well-being and growth leads to stronger results and deeper trust.
This isn’t about guilt. It’s about responsibility. If you want to be remembered as someone who lifted others, not drained them, the time to change is now. And as always, Luke’s message lands where it matters most: your legacy as a leader is built through your daily actions.
Want to improve? Start today.
👉 Read the full newsletter on LinkedIn to get the complete breakdown and next steps for evolving from toxic habits to transformational leadership.
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