Ep. 165: Nik Kinley on Rewriting Your Leadership Code and the Power Trap of Leadership

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This London-based psychologist and psychotherapist brings in a unique experience of having worked with royalty, criminals, CEOs, politicians, and children!

Meet the brilliant Nik Kinley, coach and consultant with 40 years of experience specializing in leadership and culture. He has worked with organizations such as BP, Barclays, YSC and Accenture, and has also worked over a decade in prisons as a forensic psychotherapist.

The leaders Nik has assessed and worked with includes the CEOs of national banks, the heads of national security, hedge-fund bosses, senior civil servants, and the leaders of children's care homes.

Nik has also published a highly successful series of books on leadership, and he has appeared regularly as an expert on the BBC, been interviewed by The Economist and The FT, and has lectured at some of the world’s most prestigious business schools, including regularly at IMD in Switzerland.

His most recent book was published in 2024, ‘Re-writing Your Leadership Code: How Your Childhood Made You The Leader You Are’ - a ground-breaking study of how our early experiences shape our workplace behaviours. His next book, ‘The Power Trap: How Leadership Changes People and What to Do About It’ is out in August 2025.

Vinay uncovers Nik’s own source code in this very riveting conversation – hit play

[3:16s] Origins story

[06:23s] From prison halls to corporate corridors: Genesis of ‘Rewriting Your Leadership Code’

[17:00s] On performative leadership and calling out the ‘corporate BS’

[29:08s] On ‘The Power Trap: How Leadership Changes People and What to Do About It’

[46:13s] Nik’s top tips for leaders to avoid the ‘power trap’

Our recommendation to must-read: ‘Re-writing Your Leadership Code’ by Nik Kinley and Shlomo Ben Hur

Pre-order Nik’s upcoming book ‘The Power Trap: How Leadership Changes People, and What To Do About It’

Connect with Nik on LinkedIn

Connect with Vinay on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn

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