Kelly Byrnes

Founder/CEO | Works at the intersection of leadership, culture, and performance | MBA Professor | AI Roundtable Host | Author & Speaker | Loves engaging people & dogs ๐Ÿพ #CultureMatters

Kansas City, Missouri, United States

About

๐—š๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฏ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—น๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—บ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐˜โ€”๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—บ๐˜† ๐˜€๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐˜†. As the founder of Voyage Consulting Group and a former Chief Talent Officer, Iโ€™ve led from the inside. Unlike many consultants and executive coaches, Iโ€™ve sat in the seatโ€”building cultures, navigating senior leadership team dynamics, and delivering results in high-pressure, fast-growth environments. Today, executives, founders, and leadership teams rely on me to help strengthen the people-side of their businessโ€”the part that makes or breaks revenue, retention, and reputation. With 20+ years in senior roles across operations, marketing, and human resources, I understand how culture and leadership quietly shape everything. ๐—œ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—น๐˜† ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ผ๐—น๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ, ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ด๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐—ฎ๐—ณ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€. ๐—ข๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฐ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜‚๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฌ%. ๐—”๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ฝ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฏ๐˜† ๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿญ%. ๐—”๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—น๐—น๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—น๐—น๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜! ๐—œ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ณ๐˜๐˜€! Iโ€™ve taught as an adjunct MBA professor for more than a decade and was honored when Rockhurst University named me Adjunct Faculty of the Year. Iโ€™ve contributed to four bestselling books and have been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and The Wall Street Journal. ๐— ๐˜† ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ฏ๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ธ, ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—•๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐—”๐—œ (๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑ), ๐—ฒ๐—พ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฝ๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜๐—น๐˜† ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—”๐—œ, ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—ถ๐˜, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฐ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ด๐˜‚๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€. My client work is hands-on and high-trust. Clients describe my approach as strategic, grounded, and refreshingly candid. My role? To help leaders see beneath the surface, solve the right problems, and lead with clarity and courageโ€”so people ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ performance thrive. ๐—œ๐—ณ ๐—ฐ๐˜‚๐—น๐˜๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฝ ๐—บ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚, ๐˜„๐—ฒ'๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—น๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜† ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜โ€™๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜! Or just swap stories about culture, fulfillment, and how to keep both people and dogs engaged. ๐Ÿพ โ›ต๏ธHereโ€™s to smooth sailing ahead, Kelly #CultureMatters #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #HealthyCompanies #Dogs #AILeadership

Experience

  • Founder and CEO at Voyage Consulting Group LLC
    2016 - Present ยท 10 yrs 6 mos

    Voyage Consulting Group (VCG) was founded in 2016 to serve companies who want to lead their fields. Our clients are focused on purpose, performance, principles, and, of course, people. We support and advise CEOs, founders, and senior leaders who want to lead in alignment with their values as they build thriving companies their people and grandparents can be proud of. Through a proprietary multi-dimensional assessment, we help leaders see below the surface so they can nourish the good, evolve the outdated, and tackle anything thatโ€™s jeopardizing retention, revenue, and reputation. We are solution agnostic. We work with clients to understand and diagnosis first, then determine which solution would propel them forward the best. Of course, we are certified in several well-known assessments including LSI, DiSC, Hogan, Agile EQ, and more. Our deep experience, research, and education enables us to create original, contemporary resources too. We bring more than basic ideas you can find with a simple Google search, and our clients have results to show for it. Reach out for help navigating the waves of your leadership journey for a prosperous voyage. ๐Ÿ’ป www.voyagecg.com โœ‰ [email protected] ๐Ÿ“… https://calendly.com/kellybyrnes/30min_aboutyou

  • Adjunct MBA Faculty Member and EMBA Executive Coach at Rockhurst University
    2014 - Present ยท 12 yrs 6 mos

    Serve as the Executive Coach for all first-year students in the Executive MBA Program. Also, teach Organization Development and Leadership in the EMBA program. I teach the following in Rockhurst's MBA and doctoral programs: โ— Leadership โ— Strategic Career Management โ— Corporate Social Responsibility, Values, and Ethics โ— Organization Behavior I also have taught Principles of Management and Leadership and Organization Behavior in the undergraduate management program. Named Adjunct of the Year for the University's College of Business, Influence, and Information Analysis. If you would like to share your expertise or experiences as a guest speaker in one of the classes listed, please email me. โœ‰ [email protected]

  • AI Roundtable Founder and Facilitator at AI Roundtable
    2024 - Present ยท 2 yrs 6 mos

    The AI Roundtables bring together a dynamic community of professionals from across industries and locations, providing unique opportunities to explore AIโ€™s latest innovations, challenges, and practical applications. Each interactive virtual session is designed for business leaders, entrepreneurs, and tech-savvy professionals interested in staying ahead of AI advancements. Participants engage in breakout discussions, knowledge-sharing, and networking with like-minded individuals passionate (and curious!) about AIโ€™s impact on modern business. I created these in July 2024 and love bringing the AI community together! All are welcome!

  • Co-Lead of the Kansas City chapter at The AI Collective
    Aug 2025 - Present ยท 11 mos

  • Executive Coach / Writer at Forbes Coaches Council
    2017 - Present ยท 9 yrs 6 mos

    From the FCC page: Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for world-class business professionals in a variety of industries. Members, who are hand-selected by the Councilโ€™s community team, receive personalized introductions, access to solutions based on their specific needs, and requests to share thought leadership content on Forbes.com. _____ Membership in this community enables me to learn from and share with a broad network across the country (or world wherever Forbes.com can be seen). Here is a link to my author page on Forbes.com: https://profiles.forbes.com/members/coaches/profile/Kelly-Byrnes-Founder-CEO-Voyage-Consulting-Group/9f3a1710-2929-4c4a-93cd-206f6af5d8c2