Counselling on business is her ‘Forte’

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Venturing into a different field and sustaining customer relationship is a commendable task. Rozaine Cooray has set an example of capturing modern day business opportunities where she had excelled in her chosen career. Her contribution to the development of business entities has benefited the country and her service is considered important in today’s context.

Cooray is the CEO of Forte and a business psychologist. She has worked with diverse groups of people from different levels in organizations in Sri Lanka, the UK, Australia and Dubai.

After completing a BSc in Psychology from the Deakin University in Melbourne, she worked under supervision as a trainee psychologist in the clinical sector. However, her particular fascination was with the psychology of work place and personal development, which eventually led to an MSc in Occupational Psychology (also termed as organizational, work or business psychology) at the London Metropolitan University (UK). Here, she carried out detailed research into the effectiveness of self-awareness on job satisfaction and job progression, and psychometrics in predicting job-performance.

She then joined MAS Holdings (MAS Intimates) soon afterwards, where she worked mainly in executive assessment and recruitment. She then embarked on her own as a freelance leadership coach and a work counsellor before setting up Forte.

Cooray has also lectured at the Post Graduate Institute of Management Colombo and Dubai and at the Institute of Personnel Management (Colombo) and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

She writes on contemporary issues in the workplace and has published her first novel Colours of the Sun in December 2010.

She was interviewed by Daily News Business.

Here are some excerpts of the interview:

Q. What is the business you are engaged in and how do you set about it?

A. I laughingly tell whoever asks me what it is, that what steroids are to sports, we are to human potential, especially in the corporate sector where performance is the key. It involves a consultancy for human resources, with its emphasis on personnel development, training, executive coaching, leadership profiling, organizational change, career guidance, and employee counselling. We also work with corporate clients and HR departments in designing and revamping recruitment processes, competency frameworks and reward structures.

Almost all our solutions are customized and are preceded by a needs-analysis. We also conduct organizational research on people-issues and align the recommendations depending on the findings.

I started Forte two years ago. I felt that my talent was underutilised in most of the organisations I have worked for and there was much red-tape to get an idea approved for implementation. I did not have much savings but strongly felt I should do my best in setting Forte up.

I was absolutely fortunate to have met my then business partner, Kumar and my parents were being very patient with my new ventures. There were two friends who helped me with my logo and website. Such acts of encouragement and moral support gave me an enormous amount of confidence.

I thought the best would be to start something on my own where I could work for many clients at the same time on a variety of projects. I value freedom and creativity at work, hence working for myself made sense.

This also allowed me to objectively analyze a client problem from a third person’s point of view. This in turn helped me to come up with solutions that were rarely undermined by biases and subjectivity that may have interfered as a result of being a part of the same company or working with the same people on a daily basis.

I started it small. My only mode of advertising was word of mouth and the articles I wrote. When you do a quality job, create and add value to your clients’ business thereby, ensuring value for money, your clients recommend you to others. Some of the clients require you to preserve confidentiality at all times, depending on the issue that is being addressed. Hence, sometimes I cannot even name some of the companies and individuals I work with. This is also a part of my profession as a business psychologist.

Q. How do you balance your life and business?

A. For me, my life comes before earning money. So, I make sure I enjoy what I do; simply, if I think I would not enjoy a project, I would not take it up. For me, work is play and this motto is important, as I believe that if I don’t enjoy something, I won’t give it 100 percent. My team and I give it our best shot when we design and implement our work. Writing gives me joy and I do keep scribbling things down whenever I am in the mood for a few creative lines. It is this habit that eventually paved the way to Colours of the Sun - my first novel.

Self-expression and change through writing had always been my first love and it is doubtful that I would neglect it due to other external pressures. I think we would always find the time for what we love. I also do some work with children with special needs and this too gives me a lot of satisfaction.

My team and I are not hesitant to take a bus at least once a week after work; in our opinion this gives us the reality check and much needed inspiration for the work we do with people.

Exercise and eating healthy are also in my routine. My family does come first and I constantly try and make sure that I fulfill my duties towards my parents.

I don’t think that balance in life comes naturally. It is rather something that we need to strive for in this busy corporate world.

Q. What were the challenges you faced?

A. The greatest challenge was to keep myself motivated and to keep my spirits high even when little was happening initially. It takes time for businesses to take off the ground, especially if you are relying only on word of mouth. I remember many people telling me to give up but I also remember some others telling me to be patient. I guess, when you are young you want to see quick results and some sort of success to constantly keep you motivated.

I am glad that someone told me that there are no short cuts to the game; that I alone can motivate myself. I read books, listen to speeches on YouTube and watched good movies to keep me inspired. I also started lecturing in an undergraduate psychology programme for a private university. On a personal note, I pledged to complete and publish Colours of the Sun, not necessarily to make money but to know that I am also taking steps to follow my passion for writing.

Q. What are your goals?

A. I don’t make plans for the far distant future. In terms of Forte, we are currently changing the entire look from the logo to the website. We are looking at promoting coaching for executives and managers and training that involve latest and unconventional methods of knowledge transfer. We have a few small and simple goals that extends to schools. These incorporate value frameworks for schools, under which we would have programmes for school children, teachers and parents. Forte is also looking at doing some general programmes for the public.

I am also working on a book that is related to psychology in the workplace, what would be a compilation of my articles under different work related themes. This hopefully will be out by early next year.

Q. What is your advice to women in business?

A. Most of us, do not really know who we are and have little interest in finding what our strengths are. Go visit some families from a rural village, a fishing village or even the estate workers and you would know why the woman is the heart of most of these families: from rearing children to bringing some money home. Sometimes, we think we are limited by the stereotype or the common notion that we have no equal rights in the workplace compared to a man.

This could be only half true. It is a self-fulfilling prophesy; if you think you are going to be limited or discriminated against because you are a woman, that just might happen. But if you go out there thinking that you will be treated equally and that sky is your limit, it is very much likely that this would be the case.

And, wherever you maybe or whatever you may chose to do, I think the greatest strength a woman has is her femininity. So, this quality has to be preserved, utilised and channelled appropriately whatever the job role is.

Q. What are your achievements?

A. I consider my achievements to be the relationships I have with my parents, sisters, extended family, friends, clients, students and readers. These relationships have made all the difference in the world and continue to keep me intact.

Q. What is your contribution to the society?

A. My contribution to the society is through my work at Forte, through teaching, writing and voluntary work. I like to challenge my clients, students and readers to always raise the bar of standards for themselves. Coaching involves a lot of commitment, encouragement and believing in the clients. And teaching is not only about lecturing; it is about stretching the students’ thinking, building their personalities and inspiring them to become the best in whatever they want to be. My wish is that they would carry this message and influence many more people to make a difference.