Nik Kinley is a renowned London-based leadership and culture expert with over 30 years’ experience assessing leaders, changing people’s behaviour, and evolving organisational cultures.
Nik started his career as a forensic psychotherapist, working in prisons for over a decade. Since then, he has applied his expertise in the fields of assessment and behaviour change to the business world, assessing over 1,000 senior executives primarily for CEO and C-Suite roles. He is an expert in understanding how a person will adapt to a new role and challenges they may face based on their personality traits and behaviours.
Formerly a Director at YSC, a global leadership strategy consultancy that forms part of Accenture, Nik’s professional background also features commercial and senior corporate positions including the Global Head of Assessment and Coaching for the BP Group and Global Head of Learning at Barclays.
As a consultant, Nik has worked with over 60% of the top 20 FTSE companies and has also coached boards and executive teams in organisations of all sizes, industries and regions, from founder-led portfolio companies to multinational businesses with over 100,000 employees and assets worth over $500bn. He is also a regular lecturer at some of the world’s most prestigious business schools, including University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School and the IMD Business School in Switzerland.
Acclaimed Business Author
Nik has published a successful series of books on leadership and talent management, including Changing Employee Behaviour: A Practical Guide for Managers and Leadership OS: The Operating System You Need To Succeed.
His most recent book, co-written with his long-time collaborator Professor Shlomo Ben-Hur, was published in 2024 titled Re-writing Your Leadership Code: How Your Childhood Made You The Leader You Are, And What You Can Do About It. A ground-breaking study of how our early experiences shape our workplace behaviours, the book is based on decades of research and shares a detailed analysis of how to better manage and utilise your underlying leadership instincts whilst working under pressure or stress. It was featured in Fast Company, Harper’s Bazaar, HR Magazine, and more.
