Professor Abe Bakhsheshy takes a compassion-first approach to the world of business

Dr. Abe Bakhsheshy is dressed in his signature attire: a tailored suit and university red tie. All cameras are on him as he participates in an interview to discuss why he is passionate about the University of Utah. He is polished and charming. Poignant and generous. He pauses midsentence as a hint of remembrance flashes across his eyes. He takes a few breaths, clears his throat. Smiles.

“That’s the difficulty when you talk from the heart,” he says. “Emotions take over.”

Dr. Abe, as his students call him, is heart. He wears it on his sleeve, brings it into his executive-level MBA classes at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business, and offers it to his students. He has spent over 25 years studying emotional intelligence and how it is relevant in the world of business, and he is unafraid of being vulnerable.

When he shares his experiences of immigrating to the United States to study at the University of Utah, Dr. Abe transports us to over 40 years ago, when he arrived in Salt Lake City alone. The plan was to pursue his education and return to Iran, where he would begin his career. But while in Utah, he learned that he could no longer receive funding for his education due to the change of government and political unrest in his home country.

“I went through a tremendous level of emotional turmoil,” Dr. Abe says. “At one point I wanted to end my life.”

In dark times, he found light in the kindness of others. Dr. Abe made the choice to stay alive and to pursue his education. He worked as a pot washer in a local hospital while attending classes, and soon the routine was enough to keep him going. He studied, and he worked. His commitment to both facets of his life led to two doctoral degrees, many awards, executive-level positions working overseas for multinational companies, and a classroom to pass this real-world experience onto MBA students.

Today, Dr. Abe is the University of Utah Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Professor (and director of the initiatives) as well as a professor and lecturer of organizational behavior. His accomplishments are vast, but Dr. Abe does not take all the credit. He proudly points to a community of support for giving him a home after the world as he had known it came crumbling down.

“Those individuals made a profound difference in my life for turning me into someone who is eagerly and passionately looking for ways that will make a difference,” he says. “One of the greatest lessons I learned in life is that you should do things for others. Not because of who they are and what they can do in return. Do it because of who you are.”

Who you are as a person translates into who you are as a business leader. Dr. Abe says that, in today’s business world, the ability to connect with employees through empathy and compassion has become increasingly important. Businesses looking to gain a competitive edge need to be able to go beyond implementing technical skills to convince consumers that they want a product. They need to connect with the heart—and they do this through emotional intelligence.

“What really defines us in terms of our success and prosperity is the manner by which we connect to people. In order to influence people, particularly multiple stakeholders, we have to connect to them on a human level,” Dr. Abe says.

Teaching emotional intelligence can be challenging because it relies less on a textbook and more on personal exploration. One way in which Dr. Abe navigates his students through the subject is by helping them analyze their personal interactions with family or friends and compare that with their professional interactions. He then provides insight into how some of the ways in which individuals navigate these personal experiences can be translated into the professional environment to encourage community-building and empathy.

His approach in the classroom has proven to be nothing short of inspiring.

“Dr. Abe is an extraordinary teacher,” says dean of David Eccles School of Business, Rachel Hayes. “It’s hard to convey just how amazing Dr. Abe is in the classroom, but one remarkable measure of his impact is the frequency with which his students describe his courses as ‘life-changing’ or ‘inspirational.’ This occurs year after year, in classes with demanding students who rate the course content itself as demanding. Dr. Abe has a rare gift for educating and inspiring everyone who is fortunate enough to take a class from him.”