Leadership Trap
Why Smart Leaders Fail and How to Break Free
New Book Reveals Hidden Patterns That Cause Experienced Leaders to Self-Destruct and Provides Proven Frameworks for Breaking Free
Cambridge, United Kingdom – January 2026
Author and technologist Aravind Sakthivel will release his new book, The Leadership Trap: Why Smart Leaders Fail and How to Break Free, in Feb 2026 via Amazon.
Drawing on research showing that nearly two-thirds of Fortune 500 CEO failures stem from predictable internal behaviors, the book exposes the hidden traps that turn intelligence into self-sabotage.
Aravind's signature framework, "Why Smart Leaders Fail and How to Break Free," reveals how smart leaders unknowingly fall into recurring patterns organized into three destructive spirals:
"Research shows that leadership failure rarely arrives as a single catastrophe," says Aravind. "It builds quietly, through patterns of thought and action that feel rational in the moment. This book exposes those traps and provides field-tested frameworks for escape."
Launch Date 3rd Feb 2026
What Readers Will Learn
The Leadership Trap is structured as both a diagnostic tool and a survival manual, providing:
Detailed examination of each recurring failure pattern with real-world case studies
Early warning signs before traps cause irreversible damage
Practical Diagnostic Tools
Leadership Trap Diagnostic to assess organizational health
Leadership Checklists to identify active traps & Scoring system
Who Should read This Book?
C-suite executives and board directors navigating organizational complexity
Senior managers experiencing team performance issues or cultural erosion
HR professionals and executive coaches working with struggling leaders
Business owners building sustainable, high-trust cultures
FAQs
What is a leadership trap?
Leadership traps are invisible behavioral and cognitive patterns that even experienced, intelligent leaders fall into without realizing it. The book identifies specific traps organized into three "death spirals"—self-reinforcing traps that gradually erode judgment, trust, and effectiveness until significant damage occurs.
What are the trap ?
Where can I buy it?
Is there an author bio?
Why do smart leaders fall into these traps?
Preorder is available in Amazon. For review copies, interviews, or speaking engagements, connect with Aravind Sakthivel on LinkedIn
Leadership traps exploit universal human tendencies around ego, pressure, and decision-making. The book shows how success can make leaders more vulnerable—confidence becomes overconfidence, and proven strategies stop working when environments change. Each trap feels rational in the moment but builds quietly into systemic failure.
The three death spirals are: (1)traps of silence and illusion that hide reality, (2) The traps of culture and exhaustion that glorify pain over merit, and (3) traps of transformation theatre and churn that confuse optics with progress.
Aravind Sakthivel is an author, technologist, Chief Information Officer, and Chief AI Officer who writes about the intersection of AI and leadership. With 22+ years of technology leadership experience, he served as CIO at major companies and operates as a Fractional CIO and Chief AI Officer through London AI Studio and Value Astra Ltd.
Based in Cambridge, UK, his research focuses on why intelligent, experienced leaders fall into leadership traps and how behavioral science can prevent executive derailment. His signature framework, "The Leadership Traps and the 3 Death Spirals," reveals the self-reinforcing traps that pull leaders off course and provides proven methods for breaking free before real damage occurs.
Aravind holds an MBA from Nyenrode Business Universiteit and completed executive education at Harvard Business School. He is actively involved in corporate social responsibility, including coaching refugees in Europe and mentoring through Women in Tech initiatives.
