In an exclusive interview with Kemi Ogunkoya, granted Bayo Speaks as a face of the week. She revealed her background, career, way of life and achievements.

Kemi Ogunkoya, is a Leadership Development Strategist, Certified Management Consultant, Author, Creator of The Dozen Model Leadership Framework and a member of the prestigious Forbes Business Council.

 She is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rellies Works “A leadership and innovation hub” and LeaderX “A leadership development mobile application”, Co-Founder of SpeakersHQ, Chairman board of trustees of The PowerWoman Network and The Lead Africa Now Initiative.

Kemi Ogunkoya graduated from the University of Ibadan with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education & Economics and an MBA in Management Consultancy from the University of Wales, Cardiff UK.

She also has an Executive Leadership Certificate from the Said Business School, University of Oxford, a Masters Neuro-Linguistics Programming Practitioner Certification from the INLP Centre in California, USA and an Emotional Intelligence Specialist certification.

Kemi is a topnotch in her field and her effectiveness has been felt through transform of lives and businesses by enhancing the tools of leadership development.

Over the years she has been able to help corporate organizations enjoy seamless leadership transitions and executive onboarding to eliminate deficiencies which invariably minimize their costs and let them focus on growth.

She is Married with two Kids. And in her spare time, she loves going on adventure with her family, reading, playing tennis and swimming.

Background check;

May we get to meet you; who really is Kemi Ogunkoya?

I am Kemi Ogunkoya, a Leadership Development Strategist, Certified Management Consultant, Author, Creator of The Dozen Model Leadership Framework and a member of the prestigious, Forbes Business Council. I am also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rellies Works “A leadership and innovation hub” and LeaderX “A leadership development mobile application”, Co-Founder of SpeakersHQ, Chairman board of trustees of The PowerWoman Network and The Lead Africa Now Initiative.

 I am the convener of the Business Edge Workshop, Leadership Guardian Summit and the Aspire Conference.  For over a decade, I have conducted and facilitated high impact leadership development intervention across; Africa, North America and Asia.

 Over the years I have been able to help corporate organizations enjoy seamless leadership transitions and executive onboarding to eliminate deficiencies which invariably minimize their costs and let them focus on growth. I am also married and I have two amazing kids.

Can you please tell us about your background?

I began my corporate journey as a Business Officer at Afribank Plc “Now Mainstreet Bank”, before moving on to PowerPro as a Business Administrator. I subsequently moved to GIL Automation and Control services where I rose to becoming the Head of Human Resources. Afterwards, I joined HCT as a Business Consultant and rose to becoming a Business Partner within eight year.

Briefly tell us about your educational background?

I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Education & Economics from the University of Ibadan and an MBA in Management Consultancy from the University of Wales, Cardiff UK. I also have an executive leadership certificate from the Said Business School, University of Oxford, a Masters in Neuro-Linguistics Programming Practitioner certification from the INLP Centre in California, USA and an Emotional Intelligence Specialist certification.

What do you do for a living?

I transform lives and businesses through the tools of leadership development.

What career mistake has given you the biggest lesson?

The biggest career mistake I would say I made was not niching down our business services, and once we presented a proposal to a client and he said he wasn’t going to give us the job as we had an extended portfolio. What I learned from that was to niche and focus one key areas of competence. Ever since I niched, it has been a rewarding journey.

What dream did you have while growing up?

It’s interesting that growing up, I just knew I wanted to wear high heels (lol). I wouldn’t say I grew up having a clear picture of what I wanted to be. I tried and envisioned many possible futures, but I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor, that much I knew.

 However, as I began going through my journey through school, I began to develop a flair for people and process transformation, and I was particularly thrilled that I was someone people naturally wanted to speak with when they had a problem and age or experience was never a barrier. I gravitated towards this trajectory after the experience of interning in a finishing school. I loved the experience of facilitating and making a difference. So, I didn’t have a clear-cut dream growing up. I will say that I grew into my dreams.

Can you please tell us about your brand LeaderX?

LeaderX is an innovative 360° leadership lifestyle and transformation intervention that helps progressive individuals, professionals and entrepreneurs develop and adopt the lifestyle of effective leadership. At LeaderX, we strongly believe that people can only be better at what they do if they get better at who they are.

LeaderX, is designed for leaders at all levels to accelerate their leadership competence to help them become more successful in their personal lives, businesses and careers. We also provide an enterprise solution for organizations; small, medium or large corporations who are particular about developing the competence of their leaders and accelerating organizational performance.

Accessibility, time and affordability are the top three reasons why progressives and organizations have failed to bridge the widened leadership gaps, with leadership development becoming more and more imperative with LeaderX we have brought to light an unconventional approach to leadership development, and with as little as 10 minutes daily does the trick, users have access to curated content including; daily leadership quotes, nuggets, lessons, affirmations, podcasts; book summaries, mood music, fire classes ,games, analytics, and so much more, in fact users will be able to track their leadership progress and receive personalized feedback about their growth journey. We have the basic (free) and plus plan. LeaderX is pretty much leadership On-The-Go, In Real-Time, Without Breaking the Bank and it is available to download on playstore and coming soon to iOS.

How do you get to prepare a content before publication?

Preparation is very key for any publication. I prepare by first having clarity on the topic, draw my outline, put together resources, and run my first draft, after which I review and modify accordingly before releasing.

What was your first win that made you confident that you were doing the right thing?

Competence has a way bridging confidence, so the more I conducted training I became more confident in my ability, but my first confidence burst was when a big organization paid me for a training workshop and I had to train over 100 participants. That was definitely a confidence booster.

What do you like doing in your spare time?

In my spare time I love going on adventure with my family, reading, playing tennis and swimming.

Are in a relationship; if yes what advice would you give to young couple out there?

I am married for over 13 years and my advice for couples is to invest their time in self-awareness and grow together in Godly values.

Are you ever depressed and why?

From time to time I have experienced depressive states, losing close friends and relative has been a major trigger.

If you are to become the President of Nigeria, what would you do for the youth to deter them from immortality?

Provide quality education, drive social campaigns and create an enabling environment that supports entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation.

What are some of your achievements?

Being a mum to my children tops my list of achievements.

Where do you hope to be in the next four years?

In the next four years, I want to have bagged my PhD and have spread the message of Leadership across every country in the world.