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Nik Kinley spent over a decade as a forensic psychotherapist in prisons before moving into business, and he has assessed and advised senior leaders ever since. In this conversation he explains why the moment you gain power over someone, they start filtering what they tell you, and why you are the last person in the room to notice it happening.
We get into what power actually does to judgment, why nice bosses often silence their teams more effectively than difficult ones, and why public praise is more dangerous to a leader than criticism. Nik also walks through the tells of cognitive overload, which almost nobody spots because the early symptoms feel like sharpness rather than strain.
The last section covers AI. Nik uses it heavily and is direct about what it is doing to information flow inside organizations, and to the quality of thinking that reaches the people making decisions.
YOU WILL LEARN
- Why people stop telling you the truth the moment you become their boss, and what that costs your decisions
- What power actually does to judgment, from overconfidence to how you process expert advice
- Why public praise damages a leader more than private criticism, and the exact words to deflect it
- The four early tells of cognitive overload, and why the first one feels like being on top of things
- Two prevention measures that work better than anything you can do in the moment
- Where a small amount of narcissism helps a leader, and where the line sits
- How AI is amplifying distorted information flow inside leadership teams
CHAPTERS
00:00 Who is Nik Kinley
02:36 "I don't have a mission"
05:54 What working in prisons teaches you
09:49 Why we turn people into monsters
13:00 Echo chambers and the pull of certainty
19:12 Why behavior change is so hard
24:45 What actually made one habit stick
28:26 Caring boss versus feeling cared for
30:11 The one trait that predicts real change
31:08 What senior leaders can't see in themselves
33:17 Power doesn't corrupt. It amplifies.
35:57 Why public praise is poison
40:02 How power degrades judgment
45:50 Close the gap: the countermeasure
49:41 How to refuse flattery without being rude
51:55 The tells of cognitive overload
56:10 Sleep and if-then rules
1:01:34 Why leaders need a little narcissism
1:06:49 Does AI amplify the distortion?
1:14:48 What drives eight books
1:17:01 What the work taught him about himself
ABOUT NIK KINLEY
Psychologist Nik Kinley is a leadership assessor, consultant and coach. With over 30 years' experience, he has worked with the CEOs of national banks and $90b businesses, hedge fund bosses, and engineering leads in Formula 1, as well as royalty, politicians, and heads of national security. Unusually, his background also includes forensic and clinical work with criminals, drug addicts, and children, helping shape his understanding of judgement and behaviour. He is the author of multiple internationally translated leadership books, has appeared as a leadership expert on major television networks, been featured in outlets such as The Economist, Forbes, and The Times, and regularly lectures at leading business schools including IMD in Switzerland.
His latest book is The Power Trap: How Leadership Changes People, and What to Do About It.
Get the book: https://a.co/d/0gNh6WfC
Website: https://nikkinley.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikkinley
Substack: https://substack.com/@nikkinley
RYAN WATTS
Website: https://ryanwattscoaching.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanwattsmba
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