diff --git a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/workflow/runner.go b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/workflow/runner.go
index 60cd89e980a..2a27b89971e 100644
--- a/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/workflow/runner.go
+++ b/cmd/kubeadm/app/cmd/phases/workflow/runner.go
@@ -338,8 +338,7 @@ func (e *Runner) BindToCommand(cmd *cobra.Command) {
 			RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 				// if the phase has subphases, print the help and exits
 				if len(p.Phases) > 0 {
-					cmd.Help()
-					return nil
+					return cmd.Help()
 				}
 
 				// overrides the command triggering the Runner using the phaseCmd