#TheEngineRoom with Dr. Elikem Tamaklo, Managing Director of Nyaho Healthcare Centre

·59 min·5 clips

Dr. Elikem Tamaklo explains why inheriting a family business requires personal mission alignment, not just bloodline.

The episode is an interview format where host Albert Ocran engages Dr. Elikem Tamaklo about leading Nyaho Healthcare Centre, a 53-year-old family business. Tamaklo begins by describing growing up immersed in the business and the humility of leading an organization older than himself. He details the leadership transitions: from founder father Dr. Kwame Nyaho Tamaklo to his non-clinical mother Janet Tamaklo, who established key departments, then to himself. Tamaklo explains he initially pursued medicine in the UK to avoid perceived nepotism and worked with NHS and Doctors Without Borders before aligning his personal mission with the family business. A key theme is the contrast between UK medical training with its guardrails and Ghana's early-exposure approach that fosters problem-solving but carries risks. Tamaklo shares how he deliberately prepared for leadership by shadowing the CEO of Royal Liverpool Hospital while working locum shifts, transitioning fully from clinical to administrative roles. He distinguishes clinical competencies from leadership skills like finance and HR, stressing the need for board accountability and personal development audits. The conversation explores healthcare's evolution from doctor-centric to specialist-collaborative models, aided by technology and data. Tamaklo advocates for both generalists as patient relationship managers and specialists for complex cases, warning against fragmentation in patient data across facilities. He addresses assertive patients, viewing them as partners with rights, and discusses ethical communication within medical advertising constraints. The episode concludes with Tamaklo's vision for Ghana: emphasizing education reform, sustainable leadership beyond short-term cycles, and multi-generational thinking inspired by 25-generation companies abroad.

As heard by us

A grounded leadership conversation on succession, accountability, and the feedback needed to keep improving.

A healthcare practice becomes a focused study of succession, leadership, and the patient work of keeping an institution useful across generations.

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Why you'd press play

Press play when succession questions meet the unglamorous work of leadership feedback.

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