Member since January 2025
Kellye Franklin-Nelson spent over two decades in technology leadership at Fortune 50 companies and government operations, including her roles as Chief of Staff and IT Program Management Office Leader at Boeing. She managed multi-billion-dollar budgets, ran business operations and program management for high-performing teams, and consistently delivered on strategic objectives most people would find overwhelming.
Now she's the Leadership Strategist and Performance Coach organizations call when their leadership teams aren't performing the way they should be, and nobody can quite pinpoint why. Kellye finds the hidden gaps. The ones buried under org charts and performance reviews that everyone senses but no one names. Then she fixes them.
Her sessions aren't polished motivational talks. They're candid, practical, and built from what actually worked in her own career navigating change, managing up, and turning around teams that had checked out. Leaders walk away with something they can use Monday morning, not just something they felt good about hearing.
Kellye works with emerging to mid-level managers across STEM, corporate, and government environments, and she's built her business on one belief: leaders don't need more information, they need someone who'll tell them the truth about what's actually stalling them.
My passion is helping leaders excel in their career without sacrificing their personal desires.
In 2023, I found myself in excruciating tooth pain that sent me rushing to the dentist. The diagnosis was swift: a root canal, scheduled immediately. As I sat in the chair, tears streaming down my face, they rattled off the costs, demanded payment, and prepared the room. The rush, the pressure—it overwhelmed me. My blood pressure spiked, and I ran out to the car, desperate to call my now-husband to process what was happening.
I explained to him how rushed and uneasy I felt, but against my better judgment, I went through with the procedure. During the root canal, the anesthesia wore off—twice. The sharp pain shot through me as the dentist muttered, “Oh, you feel that?” My body trembled, not just from pain but from a deep sense of betrayal. The dentist may have had the credentials, but they lacked something far more critical: empathy, effective communication, and the ability to adapt under pressure. My trust was shattered. I never went back.
Eventually, I found a dentist who treated me with care, transparency, and respect—a professional who made me feel safe and prioritized my well-being. That experience taught me a profound truth: trust is everything, and it’s earned through actions, not assumptions.
As a leader, this story reminds me of four powerful lessons:
▪️Clear communication builds trust. Like the dentist, leaders who fail to explain, listen, or address concerns leave people feeling unheard and uneasy. Taking the time to communicate clearly and empathetically makes all the difference.
▪️Empathy is non-negotiable. The dentist’s lack of compassion broke my sense of safety, just as leaders without empathy alienate their teams. Leadership isn’t just about the work—it’s about the people.
▪️Credentials don’t guarantee trust. Titles, degrees, and accolades mean nothing without integrity and professionalism. True leadership is about how you show up, not just what you know.
▪️Adaptability matters. When the anesthesia wore off, the dentist’s response was dismissive instead of proactive. Great leaders adapt, stay calm, and solve problems effectively, especially under pressure.
Leadership isn’t just about skill—it’s about connection, integrity, and trust. Your team and stakeholders won’t follow you because of your resume; they’ll follow you because they believe in how you lead.
Without trust, you risk losing good team members. With it, you can achieve the results you desire—and create a culture where everyone thrives.
Thirty years in corporate america roles, 15+ in leadership. I clocked 6-figures, won multiple awards, worked alongside various Senior Executives and C-Suites. My career was successful by anyone’s criteria but there was always something ‘left on the table’. I wasn’t fulfilled. In 2020, after assisting others with starting their business, I put my expertise to use outside of corporate america by starting my consulting business. In 2023, I realized their were many leaders like myself – successful but unfulfilled – and that all along I’d be supporting leaders in their development. That’s when I shifted the focus of my company from consulting small businesses on their operations to coaching and consulting leaders into marrying their personal vision with professional goals so they are impactful AND fulfilled.
Engineers, developers, and project professionals are trained to let the work speak for itself, and it rarely reaches the people making promotion decisions. Then review season arrives, a stretch role opens, or a reorg reshuffles the team, and they realize their impact never traveled past their own standups and sprint reviews. This session closes that gap with practical tools, real-talk frameworks, and ready-to-use language for translating technical contributions into business impact, so attendees can advocate for their work without feeling awkward or self-promotional.
Leaders Will Learn:
Ideal Audience: Middle Managers | First Level Managers | Project Leaders
Great for: Conferences | Leadership Series | Emerging Leader Cohorts
Session Options:
Format: Keynote, Interactive Workshop, Virtual
Duration: 60-75 minutes
Includes handouts
Every leader eventually ends up responsible for a team that isn't delivering. Maybe the last manager burned them out, a reorg gutted their trust, or they slowly stopped believing effort changes anything. You can feel it in the standups that go quiet and the work that ships with no life in it. The instinct is to push harder, replace people, or give a big speech. Kellye shows why each of those usually makes things worse, and what works instead.
Leaders Will Learn:
Ideal Audience: All management levels
Great for: Leadership Series | Manager programs | New Manager Cohorts
Session Options:
Format: Keynote, Interactive Workshop, Virtual
Duration: 30, 60, or 75 minutes
Includes handouts
You got promoted because you were the person who could solve the hard problems. A few years later, you're working longer hours, your team still brings everything to you, and the next opportunity keeps going to someone else. Kellye Franklin-Nelson, former Chief of Staff at Boeing Global Services, has watched this pattern play out across engineering, IT, and project organizations for more than 25 years. In this session, she breaks down the three shifts middle management requires that almost nobody explains, and why hard work and more technical training rarely fix the stall. Attendees will leave with specific moves for the next 30 days that raise their profile without burning out or waiting to be noticed.
Leaders Will Learn:
Ideal Audience: Middle Managers | First Level Managers
Great for: Conferences | Leadership Series | Emerging Leader Cohorts
Session Options:
Format: Keynote, Workshop, Virtual
Duration: 30, 60 or 90 minutes
Includes handouts
In 2023, I found myself in excruciating tooth pain that sent me rushing to the dentist. The diagnosis was swift: a root canal, scheduled immediately. As I sat in the chair, tears streaming down my face, they rattled off the costs, demanded payment, and prepared the room. The rush, the pressure—it overwhelmed me. My blood pressure spiked, and I ran out to the car, desperate to call my now-husband to process what was happening.
I explained to him how rushed and uneasy I felt, but against my better judgment, I went through with the procedure. During the root canal, the anesthesia wore off—twice. The sharp pain shot through me as the dentist muttered, “Oh, you feel that?” My body trembled, not just from pain but from a deep sense of betrayal. The dentist may have had the credentials, but they lacked something far more critical: empathy, effective communication, and the ability to adapt under pressure. My trust was shattered. I never went back.
Eventually, I found a dentist who treated me with care, transparency, and respect—a professional who made me feel safe and prioritized my well-being. That experience taught me a profound truth: trust is everything, and it’s earned through actions, not assumptions.
As a leader, this story reminds me of four powerful lessons:
▪️Clear communication builds trust. Like the dentist, leaders who fail to explain, listen, or address concerns leave people feeling unheard and uneasy. Taking the time to communicate clearly and empathetically makes all the difference.
▪️Empathy is non-negotiable. The dentist’s lack of compassion broke my sense of safety, just as leaders without empathy alienate their teams. Leadership isn’t just about the work—it’s about the people.
▪️Credentials don’t guarantee trust. Titles, degrees, and accolades mean nothing without integrity and professionalism. True leadership is about how you show up, not just what you know.
▪️Adaptability matters. When the anesthesia wore off, the dentist’s response was dismissive instead of proactive. Great leaders adapt, stay calm, and solve problems effectively, especially under pressure.
Leadership isn’t just about skill—it’s about connection, integrity, and trust. Your team and stakeholders won’t follow you because of your resume; they’ll follow you because they believe in how you lead.
Without trust, you risk losing good team members. With it, you can achieve the results you desire—and create a culture where everyone thrives.
Thirty years in corporate america roles, 15+ in leadership. I clocked 6-figures, won multiple awards, worked alongside various Senior Executives and C-Suites. My career was successful by anyone’s criteria but there was always something ‘left on the table’. I wasn’t fulfilled. In 2020, after assisting others with starting their business, I put my expertise to use outside of corporate america by starting my consulting business. In 2023, I realized their were many leaders like myself – successful but unfulfilled – and that all along I’d be supporting leaders in their development. That’s when I shifted the focus of my company from consulting small businesses on their operations to coaching and consulting leaders into marrying their personal vision with professional goals so they are impactful AND fulfilled.
Engineers, developers, and project professionals are trained to let the work speak for itself, and it rarely reaches the people making promotion decisions. Then review season arrives, a stretch role opens, or a reorg reshuffles the team, and they realize their impact never traveled past their own standups and sprint reviews. This session closes that gap with practical tools, real-talk frameworks, and ready-to-use language for translating technical contributions into business impact, so attendees can advocate for their work without feeling awkward or self-promotional.
Leaders Will Learn:
Ideal Audience: Middle Managers | First Level Managers | Project Leaders
Great for: Conferences | Leadership Series | Emerging Leader Cohorts
Session Options:
Format: Keynote, Interactive Workshop, Virtual
Duration: 60-75 minutes
Includes handouts
Every leader eventually ends up responsible for a team that isn't delivering. Maybe the last manager burned them out, a reorg gutted their trust, or they slowly stopped believing effort changes anything. You can feel it in the standups that go quiet and the work that ships with no life in it. The instinct is to push harder, replace people, or give a big speech. Kellye shows why each of those usually makes things worse, and what works instead.
Leaders Will Learn:
Ideal Audience: All management levels
Great for: Leadership Series | Manager programs | New Manager Cohorts
Session Options:
Format: Keynote, Interactive Workshop, Virtual
Duration: 30, 60, or 75 minutes
Includes handouts
You got promoted because you were the person who could solve the hard problems. A few years later, you're working longer hours, your team still brings everything to you, and the next opportunity keeps going to someone else. Kellye Franklin-Nelson, former Chief of Staff at Boeing Global Services, has watched this pattern play out across engineering, IT, and project organizations for more than 25 years. In this session, she breaks down the three shifts middle management requires that almost nobody explains, and why hard work and more technical training rarely fix the stall. Attendees will leave with specific moves for the next 30 days that raise their profile without burning out or waiting to be noticed.
Leaders Will Learn:
Ideal Audience: Middle Managers | First Level Managers
Great for: Conferences | Leadership Series | Emerging Leader Cohorts
Session Options:
Format: Keynote, Workshop, Virtual
Duration: 30, 60 or 90 minutes
Includes handouts
