The Neuropsychology of Power: What Happens to Your Brain When You Lead

Power changes everyone, especially leaders, whether they realize it or not. Discover the hidden neuroscience behind how authority rewires your brain, alters your behavior, and can transform you in ways you never expected.

In this episode, Ivan Palomino speaks with leadership expert Nick Kinley, a former forensic psychotherapist whose work spans prisons, boardrooms, and decades of research into power. Together, they unpack what really happens in the brain when people gain authority: why power can boost confidence while also reducing empathy, distorting decision-making, and making even strong leaders more vulnerable to blind spots.

You’ll learn:
- Why power affects everyone, not just “bad” leaders
- How authority changes brain structure, chemistry, and behavior
- Why leaders often overestimate how open people are with them
- The role culture and context play in amplifying power’s effects
- What organizations can do to detect and reduce the negative side of power

This conversation is especially relevant for founders, executives, managers, HR leaders, and anyone interested in leadership, psychology, and workplace culture. If you want to understand how power shapes behavior and how to lead without losing your values, this episode is for you.

Nick Kinley is the author of The Power Trap, an evidence-based look at how leadership changes people and what to do about it.

Listen now to explore the neuropsychology of power and what it means for the way you lead.

The latest book of Ivan Palomino on the psychology of the midlife is now available: Expired? https://a.co/d/0hV4tNnu