As a young boy, Okokon Udo was known as “Mr. Fix It.” He possessed a natural, tactile brilliance, spending his days repairing shoes, mending zippers, and breathing life back into broken mechanical appliances. To everyone around him, his path was clear: he was a born engineer. Yet, as he stood on the precipice of applying for university, a profound internal shift occurred—a “call” that redirected his gaze from the mechanics of machines to the complexities of the human spirit.
Confused by this interruption of his plans, he sought the counsel of his father. The wisdom he received that day became the North Star of his life’s work.
“Son, nothing is going to change,” his father assured him.
“You are still going to be an engineer, but you will be an engineer of the soul.”
Today, Dr. Okokon Udo, CMC, CMS, PCC, CPCC, stands as a distinguished scholar-practitioner and the Director of the MA in Organization Development & Leadership at Fielding Graduate University. through his firm, Soul Engineering, LLC he has spent decades fulfilling that paternal prophecy—not by fixing parts, but by working at the level of meaning, relationship, and system, and getting to the heart of what it means to lead with humanity. This orientation would later evolve into what he describes as a transformational, decolonial, lived-philosophy approach to leadership and coaching.
From Mechanics to Meaning
Dr. Udo’s early years were defined by this intersection of technical precision and spiritual depth. While his peers saw a contradiction between his love for science and his sudden pull toward the seminary, Okokon saw a deeper synthesis. His education became a bridge between these worlds. He pursued a path that moved from chaplaincy and pastoral care into the rigorous academic study of psychology and conflict facilitation.
His academic formation includes a Master of Arts in Psychology with an emphasis on Conflict Facilitation from the Process Work Institute and a Diploma in Reflective Supervision from Cambridge, was never merely about credentials. It was about building a toolkit for the “Soul Engineer.” He learned to view organizations not as static hierarchies, but as living systems shaped by human emotion, cultural memory, and relational dynamics. This formative period instilled in him a foundational belief: leadership is not a set of behaviors to be memorized, but an ethical and cultural practice shaped by how we understand ourselves in relation to community.
Bridging the Gap in Leadership
As Dr. Udo moved into the corporate and academic boardrooms, he realized that traditional leadership models often focus on performance without sufficient attention to personhood. His ascent in the field was marked by a commitment to reintroducing the human element into high-stakes environments.
Whether serving as a staff associate at LeaderWise for over two decades or teaching at the University of St. Thomas’s Opus College of Business, Dr. Udo became a catalyst for “reflective leadership.” His work transitioned from individual coaching to systemic intervention, helping leaders navigate the “messy” middle of institutional change and intercultural complexity.
His peers quickly took note of this rare ability to blend intellectual rigor with emotional resonance. Dr. Joe Sertich, President/CEO of Longyear Inc., reflects on this impact: “I continue to be amazed at the vision, brilliance, and healing power he brings to our encounters and conversations. Clearly, Okokon is a special educator in a class of remarkable professionals constantly striving to make this a better world.”
This sentiment is echoed by Master Coach Ronnie Clifford, who notes, “This man is special. Okokon brings his heart and soul to his leadership work. He reminds us all that life is a journey and that we should be grateful for the experiences we are having.”
The Afro-Centric Coaching Revolution
Perhaps Dr. Udo’s most significant contribution to the global leadership landscape is the development of the Afro-Centric Coaching Process. Moving beyond the Western-centric focus on individual achievement, this framework draws from ancient African philosophical traditions Ubuntu (relational identity), Sankofa (learning from the past), Nommo (the power of the word), and Ma’at (truth and balance).
Through this lens, Dr. Udo challenges leaders to move from individual performance toward collective responsibility. He argues that leadership is a historically conscious act. By integrating these culturally grounded perspectives into mainstream coaching, he has provided a roadmap for leaders to navigate the globalized, diverse, and often fractured world of modern business.
At Fielding Graduate University, he now oversees programs that shape the next generation of evidence-based coaches. His impact is found in the “meaning-making” he facilitates—helping a CEO realize that their legacy is not their quarterly profit, but the flourishing of the people they serve.
A Legacy of Collective Flourishing
Dr. Udo’s vision remains as clear as the day his father spoke those transformative words. He sees a future where coaching is a tool for social justice and collective well-being rather than just corporate advancement. His current focus is on deepening the scholarship of relational leadership, continuing to write, and engaging with a global community of scholars who seek a more expansive understanding of what it means to lead.
He remains a “Soul Engineer” at heart someone who looks at a broken system not with despair, but with the curiosity of a builder who knows that with the right tools, any spirit can be restored.
“If my work contributes to more thoughtful, relational, and just forms of leadership,” Dr. Udo reflects, “that would be deeply meaningful.”
