December 16, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
How to stop issues from accruing by avoiding conflict.
Leadership debt refers to the ongoing cost of old mindsets, behaviors, and delayed decisions that lead to lasting problems in organizations, much like technical debt in software.
While the symptoms of leadership debt are universal, they might show up as:
- Delayed feedback
- Unresolved tension
- Accepting mediocrity
- Avoiding directness to seem “nice.”
Like technical debt, leadership debt compounds and, over time, erodes trust, weakens team culture, and undermines execution. So how can leaders work to avoid this scenario?
Why do leaders accumulate leadership debt?
Leadership debt isn’t brought on maliciously; most leaders have good intentions with their actions.
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December 16, 2025
