Kelvin A. Jenkins | Leadership Speaker for Manager Development
AP Business Collective

For HR, talent, and learning leaders developing managers

A great leadership event should change what happens on Monday.

Your managers know how to get the work done. But when every decision, difficult conversation, and team problem comes back to them, being good at the work isn’t enough.

I’m Kelvin Jenkins. I help new and middle managers recognize where they’re getting stuck and identify practical ways to coach, delegate, and build ownership in their teams.

Bring that conversation to your next leadership conference, manager gathering, or retreat.

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Kelvin A. Jenkins delivering a keynote on a conference main stage while an audience-discussion prompt is shown on the screen behind him
Kelvin A. JenkinsLeadership Development Strategist, Speaker & FounderAP Business Collective
  • CCSHRM ConferenceKeynote
  • ATD 2026Breakout session
  • ICF PCCProfessional Certified Coach

You need the session to matter after the room clears.

You’re choosing a speaker because something needs attention. Managers are stretched. Teams wait for answers. Conversations about performance get put off. And another presentation won’t help much if people can’t connect it to their actual work.

Kelvin brings a practical conversation about what leaders do every day and what their teams experience because of it.

  • 01

    Relevant to your managers

    Examples and discussion connect to the people in the room and the challenges you want the session to address.

  • 02

    Useful beyond the event

    Participants identify a leadership behavior they can take into their next one-on-one, team meeting, or difficult conversation.

  • 03

    Clear for you to plan

    The planning conversation covers your audience, goals, format, and agenda so the session has a clear purpose from the start.

Speaking topics

Start with the challenge your managers are facing.

These topics give us a starting point. We’ll discuss which one fits your audience and how to shape it for your event.

  • The Promotion Gap

    Great at the Work. Now What About Leading People?

    Best for new-manager cohorts, emerging leaders, and organizations promoting strong individual contributors.

    The skills that earn someone a promotion don’t automatically prepare them to lead people. This session explores the shift from being the person who gets the work done to becoming the leader who helps others succeed.

    Takeaways

    • Recognize the habits that help individual contributors succeed but can hold managers back.
    • Identify where doing the work has replaced developing someone else.
    • Choose one change to make in how they delegate, give feedback, or support their team.
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  • The Cycle of Stuck

    When the Leader Becomes the Bottleneck

    Best for managers who are carrying too much and teams that rely on their leader for every answer.

    The manager works harder. The team waits for direction. More work comes back to the manager. This session helps leaders recognize that cycle and consider how their everyday responses can build ownership instead.

    Takeaways

    • Spot where helping has become taking over.
    • Identify when a coaching question could be more useful than another answer.
    • Choose a conversation or responsibility where they can begin building greater ownership.
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  • The Leadership MAP

    Leadership Isn’t What You Know. It’s What People Experience.

    Best for manager gatherings and leadership teams working on feedback, accountability, trust, and communication.

    People experience leadership through conversations, decisions, and follow-through. Using Mindsets, Actions, and People, this session helps leaders examine the connection between their intentions and the experience they create for others.

    Takeaways

    • Connect a leadership mindset to the behavior it produces.
    • Examine how that behavior may be experienced by the team.
    • Identify one action to change in an upcoming leadership conversation.
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Not sure which topic fits? Tell me who’s in the room and what you want to be different afterward. We’ll start there.

Formats

Choose the format that fits the work.

  • 01

    Keynote

    Give your audience a shared way to understand a leadership challenge and something practical to take back to work.

  • 02

    Interactive workshop

    Give managers time to work with the ideas through discussion, application, and practice connected to their own situations.

  • 03

    Facilitated leadership session

    Help a team step back, examine a real leadership challenge, and discuss what needs to happen next.

For conferences, association events, manager gatherings, and leadership retreats. Session length and level of interaction are shaped around your audience and agenda.

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Portrait of Kelvin A. Jenkins, smiling, in glasses and a black shirt
Kelvin A. Jenkins, founder of AP Business Collective

About Kelvin

A leadership practitioner who brings the work into the room.

Kelvin A. Jenkins is the founder of AP Business Collective and an ICF Professional Certified Coach. His work spans leadership development, executive coaching, and facilitation.

He focuses on the moments where leadership becomes visible: feedback, accountability, delegation, conflict, and the development of others. His sessions help managers connect those everyday moments to the experience they create for their teams.

Kelvin brings a facilitator’s instincts to the stage: reading the room, asking useful questions, and making space for people to connect the ideas to their own work.

Kelvin’s purpose

“Every person deserves a leader who sees, supports, challenges, and helps them grow.”

Kelvin A. Jenkins
  • Kelvin A. Jenkins on stage at the CCSHRM conference beside a closing slide with his contact details
    KeynoteCCSHRM Conference
  • Kelvin A. Jenkins presenting to a seated audience in a conference breakout room at ATD 2026
    Breakout sessionATD 2026
  • Kelvin A. Jenkins facilitating a leadership session for an organizational audience seated at round tables
    FacilitationLeadership session for an organizational audience

Organizations Kelvin has worked with

Across leadership development, training, facilitation, coaching, and speaking. Inclusion does not imply endorsement.

  • Harvard University
  • Kaiser Permanente
  • SHRM Central California
  • County of San Diego
  • Napa County
  • City of San Luis Obispo
  • San Francisco State University

Help the conversation continue after the event.

A keynote can introduce a new way of thinking. Workshops and follow-up sessions give managers time to practice it.

If your event is part of a larger development effort, we can discuss how to connect the session to the work your managers need to do next.

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Speaking inquiry

Let’s talk about your event.

Tell me who’s in the room, what you’re planning, and what you want people to take back to work. You don’t need every detail figured out to start the conversation.

  1. Share the basics.Send your audience, timeframe, and goals.
  2. I’ll review the fit.I’ll follow up by email about your event and the next step.
  3. We’ll discuss the details.Topic, format, scope, fees, and availability are confirmed together.

Required fields are marked. Approximate dates and early plans are welcome.

Submitting an inquiry does not reserve a date. Availability and booking terms are confirmed separately.

Something to share with your planning team.

Review Kelvin’s speaking topics, audience fit, and takeaways in a one-page overview you can print or share.

View the Speaking Topics Overview

Questions

Planning questions.

Who are these sessions designed for?

New and middle managers, emerging leaders preparing to manage others, and people responsible for developing leaders. During planning, we’ll discuss the experience level of your audience and the challenges the session should address.

Can you tailor a session to our event?

Yes. We’ll discuss your audience, event goals, and leadership context, then agree on the examples, emphasis, and level of interaction that fit.

Can we combine a keynote with a workshop?

Yes. A keynote can establish a shared idea, and a workshop can give people time to apply it. We’ll discuss whether that combination fits your goals and agenda.

What if we haven’t chosen a topic or date?

That’s fine. Share the audience, the change you want to support, and an approximate timeframe. Those details are enough to begin the conversation.

How long are the sessions?

Session length depends on the format and what you want participants to do. Include your available time or agenda slot in the inquiry, and we’ll discuss an appropriate scope.

Do you offer virtual sessions?

Virtual and hybrid options can be discussed. Include your preferred format in the inquiry so we can determine what fits the audience and experience.

How are fees determined?

Fees depend on the format, session length, preparation, customization, and travel. Share a budget range if you have one, and we’ll discuss scope and pricing.

What happens after we inquire?

I’ll review your event details and follow up by email. We’ll discuss fit, availability, and next steps. Submitting the form does not reserve a date.

What do you want your managers to do differently on Monday?

Tell me about your audience. Let’s discuss a session that connects to the work they’re actually doing.

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Lead Like It Matters.