-- Forward Training & Consulting FZE, a UAE-based leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational development firm, has been named a recipient of a 2026 Global Recognition Award in the Innovation, Leadership, and Service category. The recognition reflects the firm's behavioral-science-grounded approach to leadership development across organizations operating in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
Photo Courtesy of Forward Training & Consulting FZE
Founded by Dr. Soha Chahine, an organizational psychologist with a doctorate focused on talent and culture transformation, the firm works with senior leaders and organizations across the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman. Its client base spans private sector companies, government and semi-government entities, multinational corporations, and large family-held businesses across all major industries including banking and financial services to retail, FMCG, energy, healthcare, real estate, automotive, pharmaceuticals, aviation, conglomerate, government, logistics, professional services, hospitality and technology
Gallup's most recent State of the Global Workplace report places global employee engagement at 21 percent in 2024, down from 23 percent the year before the first annual decline since the pandemic, at an estimated cost of $438 billion in lost global productivity. Forward Training & Consulting FZE's argument, reflected across its work with senior leaders in the region, is that engagement is not principally a morale problem. It is a leadership and behavioral systems problem, and one that requires methodology rather than motivation to address.
A Behavioral Science Approach to Leadership Development
Forward Training & Consulting positions itself as a behavioral-science-led practice rather than a conventional corporate training provider. The firm's programs combine validated psychometric instruments the EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 emotional intelligence assessments, the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP), and the Resilience at Work (R@W) model with proprietary leadership and behavioral frameworks developed internally by Dr. Soha Chahine and her team.
The firm's programs are designed to be experiential rather than instructional. Sessions are built around scenario-based simulations, business case immersions, role-plays, structured group dialogues, reflective practice, and creative methods including but not limited to LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, selected and combined according to the leadership challenge at hand. The methodology focuses on the behaviors that matter most inside complex organizations: decision-making under pressure, difficult conversations, stakeholder influence, accountability, and resilience during structural change.
"Most leadership programs measure what people learn," Dr. Chahine said. "Far fewer measure what people actually do differently afterwards. That gap is where leadership development either holds or breaks down."
A Founder Working at the Intersection of Science and Practice
Dr. Soha Chahine holds a doctorate in organizational psychology with a focus on talent and culture transformation, and is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC). She is a TEDx speaker, co-author of The Talent Matrix (Global Influencers Publishing House, 2025) and Shaken, Stirred but Not Deterred, Vol. 2 (Global Influencers Publishing House, 2023), and a contributor author to Harvard Business Review Arabia and Economy Middle East.
"A capable executive coach can run a good session anywhere," Dr. Chahine said. "A capable methodology has to survive the difference between a sovereign-backed entity and a third-generation family business in the same working week."
Evaluation and Recognition
Global Recognition Awards evaluates nominees through a multi-stage review process based on innovation, leadership, service, sustainability, and social responsibility. Shortlisted applicants are scored using the Rasch model, a measurement approach that allows fair comparison across different categories of contribution.
"Forward Training & Consulting FZE has built systems that change how people lead, not just how they talk about leadership," said Alex Sterling, spokesperson for Global Recognition Awards. "That distinction is what set this submission apart."
A Regional Argument
Forward Training & Consulting's longer-term thesis implicit in its work, explicit in Dr. Soha Chahine's published work is that organizational performance in the GCC over the next decade will depend less on what leaders know and more on how they behave when information is incomplete, stakes are high, and the room is watching. Workforce nationalization, AI-driven role redesign, and generational transition inside family-held businesses are each, in their own way, pressure tests for that thesis.
"The economies in this region are moving faster than the leadership infrastructure inside most organizations was built for," Dr. Chahine said. "You can rebuild the infrastructure, or you can keep paying the cost of running advanced strategies on outdated behavioral systems. The cost is not always visible on a balance sheet, but it is real."
About Dr. Soha Chahine
Dr. Soha Chahine is the founder of Forward Training & Consulting FZE. She holds a doctorate in organizational psychology with a focus on talent and culture transformation, and is an International Coach Federation (ICF) Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and TEDx speaker. She is the co-author of The Talent Matrix (2025) and Shaken, Stirred but Not Deterred, Vol. 2 (2023), and a contributor author to Harvard Business Review Arabia and Economy Middle East.
About Forward Training & Consulting FZE
Forward Training & Consulting FZE is a UAE-based leadership development, executive coaching, organizational development, and corporate training firm. Founded by Dr. Soha Chahine, the firm serves clients across the United Arab Emirates and the wider GCC including private sector organizations, government and semi-government entities, multinational corporations, and family-held enterprises with practice areas spanning executive coaching, leadership development, emotional intelligence, resilience at work, psychometric assessments, team development, and human-centered organizational transformation.
About Global Recognition Awards
Global Recognition Awards is an international organization that recognizes exceptional companies and individuals who have significantly contributed to their industry.
Contact Info:
Name: Alexander Sterling
Email: Send Email
Organization: Global Recognition Awards
Website: https://globalrecognitionawards.org
Release ID: 89193761
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