Uma Desai Ramrekha : “A leader should choose awareness over ego, genuine energy over rehearsed responses”

For this week’s interview, we reached out to the founder of FocusU Mauritius. Uma Desai Ramrekha explains why being unconventional matters, the importance of taking a pause, refocus and shares her views about the modern leader in a fast-changing world. Extracts.

What is FocusU? Tell us the story from Day I to date. 
"Six years ago, FocusU was born from a very clear observation: traditional corporate training often falls short. In my own experience, particularly within sales, I encountered clients who expressed frustration. They invested in training programs and yet struggled to see a tangible return on that investment. 

I felt a disconnect, a sense that we were filling quotas rather than truly addressing the core needs of organizations. This realization sparked a fundamental shift in my perspective. I knew there had to be a more effective way to bridge the gap between learning and real-world application. That's why I founded FocusU Mauritius. 

Our mission is to redefine corporate learning through experiential methodologies. We wanted to bring a platform where participants learn by doing, and a safe place to express their challenges and queries rather than a top down! 

We prioritize creating immersive, engaging experiences that drive lasting behavioral change. Whether it's through team building, leadership development, or skill enhancement, our programs are designed to be customized, culturally relevant, and results-oriented.

From our bases in Mauritius and India, we've had the privilege of working with a diverse range of clients, from small teams to large corporations. At FocusU, we're not just about training; we're about fostering genuine transformation. We aim to provide tools that create lasting impact for our clients."

In a world where performance often replaces presence and manipulation masquerades as charm, being real is a quiet kind of rebellion.”

Agreed that we are living in a fast-paced environment where results - higher revenue, more profits - matter more. Why do we need to pause and reflect about who we are as a corporate, SME or sole trader?
The world's changing so fast, huh? We've got AI and Gen Z, and it's a crazy, unpredictable world – adapt or die, right? So, I think we need to hit pause and refocus! 

Many businesses go obsolete - the Kodak effect - as many of us do not take that moment to reflect. What’s next? And what else? It only comes when you have a clear lens and ensure a holistic perspective. At the end, our mission is #webeforeme, and this goes in our strategic vision. 

On a personal basis, a pause is even more crucial when things are chaotic; otherwise, you're just running on a wheel! I learned this the hard way – burned out early on, from pure passion! I wouldn't wish that emptiness on anyone.

If we don't pause, we're running on fumes, and that can make us irrelevant, even disappear, and disrupt how your team around you feel, as well as all your interactions with clients. 

How does it help to restart with fresh, novel views?
It's not about new ideas, it's about how we feel about things – either challenges, or opportunities.  Its more about raising our awareness. It's a total shift in thinking. We're all just surviving, not really living. This is causing a terrible cycle of work, no life, and illness! We talk a lot about AI, but we've all become robots in our daily lives. 

How many of us really enjoy quality time with family? Many do it out of obligation, not because they enjoy it! 

It's good that AI will make our lives easier by handling tough tasks, and that might help us get back a sense of abundance. Then we can create differently, working with purpose and building our legacy.

It is important we balance empathy with efficiency, purpose with profits, and also connection over just algorithms!  This can only happen when we start to respond rather than react! 

And believe me the profit is much more, in the long run, even personally. 

Often, we come across stories about companies telling the wellness stories of their staff, showing pictures of team building events, lots of laughter, high energy. Why should that be the way forward? If not, why not?
The question we need to ask ourselves is how impactful our initiatives are for our employees. A day out – wellness or team building – only makes an impact if the team returns with a key takeaway, a reality check, an "aha" moment, or a perspective shift towards self-growth. 

Changes should happen on social media and within the organization – transformation from within, spreading outwards! The way forward is connection!

All initiatives should connect employees to themselves, others, and the organization. With AI automating tasks, employees will ask two questions when it comes to Employer brand: "What are you doing to make my tasks easier? What are you doing to let me connect?" 

The employer brand will be dictated by level of AI integration and team connecting to each other! The way forward is connection. 

A day out – wellness or team building – only makes an impact if the team returns with a key takeaway, a reality check”

In your opinion, based on your experience, is the ideal caring leader and the required skills, traits?
One of the initial errors we make is establishing ideals and convincing others that perfection is attainable. And we keep chasing, rather than attracting! Therefore, authenticity is a fundamental attribute of leadership; ideals are unnecessary. 

Before guiding others, a leader's most crucial task is self-mastery.  As the saying goes, we should strive to embody the change we wish to see. 

In the near future, artificial intelligence may diminish the significance of years of experience and expertise.  Therefore, inspiration will increasingly depend on charisma and storytelling.

For me leaders of tomorrows, should in essence. In a world where performance often replaces presence and manipulation masquerades as charm, being real is a quiet kind of rebellion. Because most people are still wrapped in ego games—trying to be liked, trying to win, trying to stay safe behind the walls they’ve built to survive. 

A leader should choose awareness over ego, genuine energy over rehearsed responses!  It doesn’t require perfection. It doesn’t require constant intensity. It simply asks for one thing: authenticity. To say what you mean. To feel without shame. To be who you are, not who the world expects you to be.

Does it matter to be unconventional today?
If we wish to make impact, yes unconventional matters! If we wish to stick to our mission of #webeforeme, yes unconventional matters!

CHOPS are our values, where we say we Care, we are Humble, and we take Ownership, and we are Passionate as we provide Safety to both our employees and our clients. So, if we live by our values, I think we definitely need to be unconventional! 

Else it means we don’t care for the changes in the world, or the needs of learners! Else it also means that we are not humble to change, and so proud of our way of doing! Of course, it means not taking ownership of impact, change, and experience of our learners or needs of our clients!

If we are not passionate, then we would shy way to dare to create new things and do things differently for a learner to enjoy a new experience! Safety goes without saying that all we do unconventionally is tested and well thought of, though not all works! 

The FocusU team is wired as unconventional as if we are in the learning industry, it means we need to model the way in always learning and reinventing, and it keeps our team as crazy as they are!