Obi James Consultancy

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Obi James Consultancy

I specialise in creating inclusive cultures of shared leadership and empowered relationships where every individual can thrive. These are unprecedented times.

Author of #1 Amazon bestseller, Let Go Leadership - how inclusive leaders share power to drive high performance. Tough global events have not only impacted our everyday lives but also the way we work. The way you rise to this challenge, as a leader, will determine your people's engagement levels, the survival of your relationships, and whether or not you are successful on the other side of the crisis. This is where I help. I am a Finnish-Nigerian Leadership Expert committed to creating inclusive cultures of shared leadership and empowered relationships, where every individual can thrive. For the past 15 years I have successfully trained, mentored and coached clients - individuals, leaders, partnerships and teams - through periods of extreme change and uncertainty. The programmes I facilitate range from individual to large-scale such as leadership development, relationship coaching, team development, outplacement support, client service, culture shifts, pre- and post-M&A integration. I understand the overwhelming challenges that leaders face during these ambiguous times.. In the workplace, there is the double whammy of needing to support your people, while also maintaining excellent service levels. There is often the need to adjust your business model to get more out of existing systems - without additional resources. So, what's the answer? If I've learnt anything, it’s that no one person has all the answers. Although often as a leader, you feel that weight of expectation. I've found that the key lies in shaping inclusive cultures that are fuelled by constructive conversations, collaboration and even, healthy conflict. I work with business leaders, partnerships and teams to embed culture-shaping programmes which strengthen relationships and engage the power of the collective. My programmes looks beyond individual agendas and pull you together to achieve a common goal. When you effectively listen, invite and welcome different perspectives, you motivate and empower everyone. Leadership becomes a hat everyone can and will wear. This shared leadership approach builds trust, fuels creativity and takes pressure off you. Silos are broken down, people collaborate and you have more innovation. This creates efficiencies that save time, cut costs, and consistently increase meaningful output. Strong relationships = sustainable success. To reset your leadership and relationships, get in touch: www.obijames.com

05/01/2026

My LinkedIn & Instagram tells you I’m confident, established, and intentional.

Here’s what it won’t tell you.

► I moved to London from Finland knowing no one.
New city. New life. Zero safety net.

► I failed my first-year chemistry exam.
Not because I wasn’t capable - but because I loved London, new friends, halls, freedom… and forgot the A-levels curriculum was different.
Reality forced me to buckle down.

► I missed my UCL graduation.
No family here. No celebration.
I was working a temp shift on a hospital ward because I needed the money.

► I was rejected from my first job application.
Planet Hollywood.
Waitress.
“No.”

► I hated public speaking. Avoided it wherever I could - even while working at Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Northern Trust.
Confidence wasn’t something I recognised in myself.

► At 33, I lost one of my best friends.
And everything shifted.
Life suddenly felt fragile. Finite.
I started questioning what I was prioritising - and why.

So,...

► I got divorced when my daughters were 4 and 6.
I was terrified the decision would ruin us.
I spoke to multiple family therapists before I could even give myself permission to choose differently.

► I quit my corporate role after my request for part-time work was declined.
I wanted to be present. Available.
For my girls - and for my life.

► I was a Vice President when I left to build a coaching business.
My accountant said it was a mistake.
Others asked, “Do you know how many coaches survive the first year?”

They weren’t wrong.
They were just measuring success by safety, not values.

Here’s what I know now:

Fear doesn’t mean stop.
It means this matters.

There is no dress rehearsal.
No perfect timing.
No version of life where you get everything you want by playing it safe.

You feel the fear -
and you do it anyway.

👇🏾
So, what are you still putting off because you’re scared of the consequences?

(And what’s the cost of waiting?)

04/01/2026

If you disappeared tomorrow, your calendar would be cleared before your inbox.
The work would move on.
The meetings would continue.

Start leading accordingly.

This past week - from the silence of Lapland to an overnight reset in the Kent countryside - reminded me of a truth many leaders avoid:

🔥 Busyness is not the same as importance.
🔥 Productivity is not the same as impact.
🔥 Success without intention is just slow burnout.

So here’s what intentional leadership is asking of us now:

1. Protect your energy, not just your output

2. Design your career - don’t assume it builds itself

3. Choose intentionality over constant urgency

4. Lead humans, not headcount

5. Build trust before transactions

6. Invest in self-care like it’s a business asset (because it is)

7. Stop waiting for “after this quarter”

8. Remember: the organisation will replace you - your loved ones won’t

This quarter is already full for my team and me:

- complex M&A culture work
- senior leadership and team coaching
- executive coaching under real pressure
- travel and global leadership conversations across contexts and;
- an established leadership programme now opening cross-organisationally

Not because leaders need more to do -
but because they need space to lead with intention.

If you’re leading a team or organisation and know - perhaps quietly - that it’s time to:

☑️ take your self-care seriously
☑️ accelerate your career and leadership journey
☑️ and stop running on adrenaline

📩 Send me a PM to book a complimentary 30-minute conversation.

A pause.
A pulse-check.
A reset.

Because the leaders who matter most next
are the ones brave enough to choose differently now.

❓What are you pretending is ‘temporary’ that’s actually become your default?

02/01/2026

Someone asked last night:
“If you had to describe your 2025 in one sentence, what would it be?”

Mine surprised even me:

“Every year since 2017 has been much better than the one before - a steady move from surviving, to existing, to living, and now, thriving.”

2017 was the year I learned what rock bottom actually feels like.
What it means to survive when stopping sometimes felt like it would’ve made sense.

My best friend once said,
“I don’t know how you went through all of that and didn’t look like what you were carrying.”

The truth?

I was terrified to stop and feel.
Terrified that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to pull myself back up.

So I kept moving.
Building.
Choosing to stay.

Nothing I’ve built since then has been accidental.

As I set my intentions for this year, I’m clear on this:

The real work doesn’t happen in the breakthrough moment.
It happens in the crossing.

And the crossing is rarely loud.

It doesn’t look dramatic from the outside.
It often looks like calm, competence, and “having it together.”

Inside?

It’s a reckoning.

That space between who you had to be to survive
and who you’re finally ready to become.

Most leaders and teams who are playing smaller than they’re capable of aren’t lacking ability.

They’re standing at the edge,
and they’re afraid of what it will cost to step forward.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “I should be further along by now,”
you’re probably closer than you think.

You don’t cross when you’re fearless.
You cross when you’re honest.

And once you cross, you don’t go back.

👇 If you know a leader standing at the edge right now, share this with them.
💬 If this feels like it was written for you, say so - even one word is enough.
📩 And if you’re standing there yourself, my DMs are open.

28/12/2025

Oh, Kemi! ❄️🥶🇫🇮❤️

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas from Kemi! 🙏🏽☃️❄️🎄🥰🇫🇮

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas from Kemi, Lapland❄️🇫🇮

Freezing.
Crisp.
That kind of cold that clears your head and slows everything down.

We’re celebrating today - the 24th - wrapped up with family, rosy cheeks, and that quiet kind of joy that comes from being fully present.

This home feels like a deep breath. Still. Pale winter light. Snow holding everything gently in place.

And while today is full for my heart, I’m very aware that Christmas doesn’t land the same way for everyone.

I still remember one Christmas I spent on my own.
No noise.
No plans.
Just space - and a lot of feelings.

So today, I’m recognising that too.

🙏🏽 For those celebrating with loved ones - I hope there’s warmth, laughter, and ease.
🙏🏽 For those spending today quietly or alone - I hope there’s gentleness and peace.
🙏🏽 For those for whom today is just another day - I hope it’s calm and kind to you.
🙏🏽 And for those who don’t celebrate Christmas at all - I hope this season still brings moments of light, rest, and renewal.

My girls and I are wishing you: ✨ warmth - in whatever form you need it
✨ connection - with others and/or with yourself and;
✨ peace - the kind that doesn’t ask anything of you.

May this festive season bring love to you in whatever way feels right for you.

Season's Greetings from Finland❤️

22/12/2025

As leaders plan for 2026, the real question is this:
Are your people ready for what’s next?

Leadership development can’t be an afterthought or a tick-box exercise. The most effective leaders are already planning with their people intentionally, strategically, and with the future in mind.

When leaders shift from directing performance to developing capability, everything changes:
✨ Leaders at all levels start building real leadership confidence
✨ Teams become more resilient, accountable, and adaptable
✨ Potential is unlocked before it becomes a retention risk

2026 will demand leaders who can think critically, lead through complexity, and bring others with them. That doesn’t happen by chance — it happens through focused development.

Now is the time to:
• Identify your next generation of leaders
• Have meaningful development conversations
• Embed leadership growth into your 2026 people plans

Our Leadership Catalyst Programme is designed to support leaders and their teams to move from potential to impact, creating leadership capability that lasts.

If leadership development is part of your 2026 priorities, it’s time to start the conversation.

FutureReadyTeams

18/12/2025

When leaders don’t coach, pipelines fail.
Succession doesn’t happen by accident.

💡 Leadership pipelines aren’t built in talent reviews or succession spreadsheets. They’re built in everyday conversations.

When leaders coach:
• potential is identified early
• capability is developed deliberately
• future leaders are prepared, not rushed

When they don’t, talent stalls, succession weakens, and organisations scramble.

Coaching isn’t an add-on.
It’s how leaders grow leaders and;
How succession actually works.

-
SuccessionPLanning TalentDevelopment

12/12/2025

Tonight, on this December evening in the UK, there is nowhere else I would rather have been. ✨

At the (Royal African Society) Winter Party, I close a beautiful chapter - my final day as a Trustee and Chair of the Nominations & Governance Committee after 6.5 extraordinary years on the Board.

Serving on the ExCo of a 125-year-old charity that amplifies Africa’s voice has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.

The joys were immense; the challenges were real.

Governance stretches you - it asks for judgement, courage, patience and care.

Over these six years, I’ve learned how to steward legacy while building for the future, how to balance heart with rigour, and how to lead without clinging.

These lessons travel with me into every board role I step into next.

Tonight, I am especially full of gratitude for our Chair, Arunma Oteh - my big sister for life, my greatest mentor and guide.

Her leadership is generous, principled and deeply human. Her public words this evening moved me, but her private counsel over the years has shaped me in ways I will always carry.

To be led, supported and celebrated by Arunma has been a gift beyond measure. She is my big sister for life. A real blessing!🙏🏼❤️

I step back not because the work is done, but because this is a seasonal decision - rooted in intention, presence and values.

Making space. Creating room. Trusting an institution I love enough to let it soar without me.

This is 'Let Go Leadership' in practice - leaving on a high, with joy, pride and gratitude.

I leave knowing the Royal African Society is in the most capable of hands - with our brilliant CEO & Director Stella Nse Okuzu & her wonderful team, an outstanding ExCo, and Council Member colleagues who have become family.

Special love to my ExCo colleague Jide Olanrewaju - a friendship that began over 20 years ago at IBD Morgan Stanley and has become one for life.

This is not goodbye.

I remain a lifelong champion of this beautiful 125-year-old organisation and of Africa - its excellence, its creativity, its voice.

Tonight is a celebration. Tomorrow is onward and as connected as ever.

With love and gratitude🙏🏼❤️

12/12/2025

Recent research from McKinsey shows that 70% of transformation efforts fail not because of poor strategy, but because people resist or disengage.

This is exactly where our SHARE Leadership model makes the difference.

We recently supported a leadership team facing major organisational change. They had a clear plan, strong technical expertise, and a compelling business case - yet progress kept stalling. Teams weren’t resisting the change; they were resisting the way the change was being led.

Once leaders began using the SHARE approach, things shifted:

🔹 Seek Feedback - Teams were invited into the conversation early, not informed once decisions were final.
🔹 Have Accountability - Leaders modelled transparency and owned their impact, positive and negative.
🔹 Adapt - Plans became flexible, allowing space for learning rather than rigid ex*****on.
🔹 Reconnect - Relationships were prioritised, not sidelined, so people felt seen rather than managed.
🔹 Empower - Ownership was shared. Decision-making widened. Confidence grew.

And with that, commitment replaced compliance.

Because when people feel heard and involved in shaping the journey, they don’t just follow the change. They fuel it.
💡
Control creates compliance.
Inclusion creates ownership.

Change doesn’t need more speed.
It needs more trust.

11/12/2025

The best leaders don’t give all the answers. They ask the right questions.
Coaching-style leadership builds trust, accountability, and growth from the inside out.

Because when you coach, you don’t just manage performance -
You develop people and build your succession pipeline.

💭 Which of these five signs feels most like your leadership style right now?”

10/12/2025

As some organisations step back from DEI initiatives, we’re seeing something important emerge: the need for inclusive leadership hasn’t diminished. It’s evolved.

Recently, we partnered with an organisation where DEI fatigue had quietly set in. Leaders felt pressured, teams felt disillusioned, and the energy that once fuelled their inclusion efforts had faded.

But one senior leader approached the challenge differently.

Instead of pushing more initiatives or rewriting policies, she started by changing how decisions were made.
She began inviting diverse voices into early conversations.
She encouraged challenge, not just consensus.
She made inclusion a behaviour - not a banner.

The impact was subtle at first… then undeniable.
Engagement rose.
Collaboration strengthened.
People felt seen again.

This is the opportunity many leaders miss:
Diversity invites talent in; inclusion keeps it growing.

Our role is to develop leaders and organisations to move beyond performative DEI to something far more powerful - everyday inclusive leadership that shapes culture, not just compliance. How is your leadership evolving to meet this moment?

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http://www.obijames.com/

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