Here's one of the biggest but quietest red flags I've seen from a manager:

Here's one of the biggest but quietest red flags I've seen from a manager:

My former start-up had a a set of core company values, and one stated, "we do the right thing." The company, and most people, interpreted this as to strive to do what is morally right and that we will always make ethical decisions... Well, not so for my direct manager, our Director of Product.

She interpreted this company value to mean that we always do the right work, meaning we should always be successful- not exceptions. She completely thought this value had nothing to do with moral or ethical decisions, and I quickly learned that this was probably because she truly lacked integrity as a leader. It was a foreign concept for her and not something she personally valued. She evaluated the product team members if they were 100% successful or not, which was highly unlikely for people jobs that require with experimentation and testing.

Over time, I realized she was completely uninterested in doing "the right thing," and wanted to win at all costs. As our product team leader, we should have looked to her for guidance on making the right decisions, but instead saw a ruthless boss who didn't care what we did as long as we made money. I saw her throw others under the bus, and make questionable or false claims to leaders. Our product team had a 250% turnover rate in one year. I realized that someone who can't understand a basic value around making ethically sound decisions probably shouldn't lead or manage others.

My advice to others: make sure to work with people who understand and value what it means to "do the right thing."