“The quality of what we do, whatever it may be, depends on the quality of who we are. I’m striving to be everything I am.” Dr. Fateme Banishoeib
Dr. Fateme Banishoeib, a visionary in organizational development, underscores the transformative power of cultivating empathy, care, and creativity within workplace environments. She highlights how facilitating open discussions enables teams to tap into diverse perspectives and insights, leading to more innovative solutions and inclusive decision-making processes. When leaders shift from focusing solely on metrics to considering employees' emotional and psychological needs, workplace satisfaction, resilience, and engagement improve.
Stephen Matini: You have two different cultures that have inspired your life. When people ask you, "Where's home?" what do you say?
Dr. Fateme Banishoeib: I don't actually have an answer to that. One of the reasons I have traveled so much and lived all over the world is that I don’t know where home is. I’ve come to the conclusion that home is a feeling, not a place. When I find myself in that feeling or can recreate it, then I know I’m at home.
I’ve been confused most of my life about where home is. On top of my bed, I actually have a beautiful painting of the world. Maya Angelou once said something like, "Freedom is being at home everywhere." So, I don’t know where home is. Home is wherever my cat is.
SM: How have your two backgrounds, as a scientist and an artist, influenced your professional choices and career path?
Dr. FB: I was born a highly artistic child, but of course, art is not always considered a job and is often seen as a frivolous hobby. Every time I said I wanted to be a poet or a designer, my parents would respond with, "No, no, no, no, that's not really a job. What do you really want to do to earn a living?" Another thing I said was that I wanted to be a "crazy scientist." I literally used those words.
They convinced me that art is not a job, and in some ways, they were right. Being an artist is a way of being. So, I became a scientist out of a deep love for science and a desire to understand how we work as human beings.
I also have always been passionate about curing people, a passion I’ve had since I was a child. There are family stories of me running to help whenever someone said they had a headache or cut their finger. I would make up something to cure them.
I’ve written about this in my first book, The Whisper. I wrote that I became a scientist to cure people and wrote poetry to save my life.
Rediscovering poetry has truly saved my life. Once I became aware of the artist within me again, which had been dormant while I was busy with my corporate career, I started seeing the world with different eyes.I began wanting to be all of who I am, not just the scientist or the artist.
I get equally upset or triggered when someone refers to me only as the scientist, executive, mentor, or artist. I want to be all of these things because I am all of them. I’ve spent the past years trying to bring harmony and equilibrium between these facets, which led me to redesign my career and found Renew Business.
I realized there was space for all of who I am, and I didn’t need to take a break from my corporate job to paint or do other things. For me, there is no switch; we can only be all of who we are.
This shift has changed not only what I do but also how I perceive life and how I can support or help others. For example, when someone calls on me for specific or technical tasks, I don’t forget that I’m an artist. I remember the sensitivity and unique perspective that come with it.
People often remark on how I see things differently, and it surprises me because I wonder why it isn’t the same for everyone. I believe that the quality of what we do, whatever it may be, depends on the quality of who we are. I’m striving to be everything I am.
SM: When did you realize that you could embrace both your scientific and artistic sides without having to choose between them?
Dr. FB: Society and the education system don't help us see that we can have different interests and that, if we want, we can pursue all of them or some of them. We live in a society and education system that really push us to specialize in something.
There are people who are very happy doing just that—they have a single passion or interest. So, this is often referred to as growing vertically or specializing deeply in one area.
Then there are people like me who can delve into different sectors, areas, and backgrounds. What I like to think is that we can act as a bridge between domains that may seem separate and different. I often use this example to help people understand, especially when they ask me what a chemist and a poet have in common. I always tell them that it’s the pursuit of truth.
Whether I was a chemist in the lab or now writing poems, that’s what I seek. There’s a poetic metaphor I like: brilliant alchemy is combining elements—whether they are material elements, molecules, atoms, or experiences and feelings—and creating something that didn’t exist before.
SM: Was there a specific event that made you decide to embrace what you had always known about yourself?
Dr. FB: A few years back, out of the blue, while I was still in my corporate job and not even thinking about writing or anything artistic, I decided to go to a writing retreat.
It was a particularly challenging moment in my life. I had moved to a new country, didn’t have any network, and faced several events that tested me significantly. Out of a desire to take a break and escape the chaos of my life, I booked myself into a writing retreat. It wasn’t too far from where I was; it just happened spontaneously, a moment of synchronicity.
At the retreat’s opening, the facilitator asked us to write something nobody knew about us. Without thinking, it just flowed from me. I wrote, “I run a manufacturing plant and I hate it.” At that moment, I didn’t fully realize the significance of what I had written; it felt foreign to me.
When the facilitator asked us to read our writing out loud, I remember the shock on everyone’s faces as I read my line. I realized that my revelation had shocked not only me but everyone else, especially since I wasn’t initially known as a writer. We hadn’t had time to introduce ourselves, so they were surprised to learn about my job.
That line triggered an unstoppable flow of poetry, and I ended up writing 200 pages of poems in one go. It came out as a stream, and it took me a while to process and understand what had emerged. That moment was pivotal and set things in motion. It took me a few years to comprehend what I had written, decide what to do next, and create a space for myself to contain all these multitudes.
SM: How do organizations react to your unique approach that combines your roles as a scientist and as a poet?
Dr. FB: People are curious and eager to experiment and try new things. When they reach out to me for help, they are open to trying something they may not have tried before.
What I notice consistently is a deep desire to find a space where someone or a team is truly listened to. This desire is understandable. We often don’t listen to others because we are too busy checking our phones, answering emails, or engaging in other tasks, especially in corporate environments. We are constantly in the middle of something.
Even during one-on-one meetings, we are interrupted by phone calls, email notifications, and other distractions. This constant distraction means we are not really listening and missing important clues. There is a profound need for everyone to feel heard. So, first, I create conditions that allow me to listen. Without listening to everything, I wouldn’t be able to propose anything.
I also create conditions for the organization to listen to itself, which is something that is often lacking. Another missing element is the freedom and safety to express what’s going on inside.
Neuroscience tells us that we first feel, then think, and only afterward act. However, we often neglect the feeling aspect. At best, we might notice our feelings, dismiss them, and push them aside. Most of the time, we don’t even have the words to express what we are feeling.
This leads to thinking and decision-making that happens in the dark, without understanding our feelings. When we don’t know what we are feeling and lack a way to express it, it’s impossible to understand others' feelings as well.
Trying to think clearly and act effectively without this understanding is like trying to balance on a three-legged stool while missing one leg.
We blame overthinking and actions taken without understanding the background, but what we don't know isn’t data—we are overwhelmed with data. What’s missing is the feeling. Even when we are aware of our feelings, we often lack a way to express them and may resort to shaming, suppressing, or denying them.
So, the second element I always bring is creating space for expression. Once this is established, things become clearer. I act as a bridge, guiding people or organizations in the direction they truly want to go, but in a more informed and aligned way. Alignment is crucial, and it’s impossible if we are blinded by something.
SM: Why is it that when we finally allow ourselves to feel and listen to our emotions, everything seems to become clearer?
Dr. FB: I don't know exactly why, but I have a feeling there is a sense of truth coming through.
Once we realize and are free to express our feelings—or even find a way to express them, and by "express," I don’t necessarily mean using words—things become clearer. Often, because it’s not linear or logical, it doesn’t involve the logical side of the brain. It may come through as an image, a sensation, or a sound.
We tap into art not to exploit it but to use it as a means to explore the fabric of what we are feeling, to understand its boundaries. Once we gain clarity about our feelings, we find the courage to confront them directly. For example, once we acknowledge tension, we cannot deny it anymore. Recognizing it makes it simpler to address, even if it’s not easy.
I have seen repeatedly that in even the worst conflicts, when people find a safe space to express their feelings without judgment or someone telling them how they should or shouldn’t feel, the situation improves.
Artistic expression is particularly powerful because it allows for a personal interpretation of feelings—no one can deny how you feel based on your artistic representation.
This openness creates more space to understand how others are feeling, leading to a dialogue. From my experience, the ability to face the truth of why we are in a particular situation or thinking and acting in a certain way opens us up to dialogue. And once we enter that space, things look very different.
SM: Feeling is speaking the truth, and art is what allows me to speak the truth.
Dr. FB: In a way, yes. But it’s more than that. It’s not just about expressing what is going on; it’s also about making sense of it and using it as raw material to create.
When we create, we enter a creative mode rather than a complaining mode. So, it’s more than just speaking the truth; it’s about creating with it, finding meaning, making sense of it, and transforming it.
SM: What do the words "creativity" and "artistry" mean to you today?
Dr. FB: To me, creativity and artistry are two different things.
Creativity is the act of creating with whatever I have—whether it’s words, emotions, or materials like glass. It’s innate to all of us; biology even says that creativity is a distinctive characteristic of our species. It’s not something we can associate only with creative professionals or artists.
Art, on the other hand, is different. While creativity is about creating something from the inside out with the input we have, art is more of a spiritual journey. It involves entering into dialogue with what is around us.
Too often, we associate art with a specific artwork or outcome, but I think of it differently. My work is devoted to evoking the artist within everyone. It doesn’t matter if you write poems, paint, or engage in other forms of expression.
Art is a way of being—an openness and sensitivity to the world and a capacity to participate in dialogue with others. In this sense, it is very inclusive.
SM: What have you observed over the years while working with organizations using your approach?
Dr. FB: What happens is that our empathy expands when we pay attention, as practicing art requires. As we pay attention, we start to care, and care is the first thing that truly develops.
Through empathy, we expand our caring, and when we care, things change. When we care, everything we do comes from a different place. So when we think about the reason for innovation, we need to ask ourselves: Do we want to innovate for a specific reason? Is it because we care about a problem, a solution, or someone’s needs? Care, I believe, is the shift that enables other things to happen.
Details no longer become a burden, and we become more courageous. Courage allows us to practice other virtues, such as integrity, because we have the bravery to do so. So, I think the key element that shifts is care.
SM: What would you say is the opposite of care?
Dr. FB: Entitlement?
SM: Your work seems very positive and hopeful. How do you stay optimistic given the current state of the world?
Dr. FB: I hope for the world to become a better place, where organizations and workplaces truly care about the well-being of their employees and customers. I genuinely do. At the same time, I also recognize that the current system is serving its intended purpose. The system, as it has been designed, is doing its job.
There are many people talking about a paradigm shift, and I also believe it is time for that change. From the number of interactions and conversations I have, it's clear that many of us want this shift. However, I can't definitively say whether I am optimistic or not.
I understand that the old system or processes won't change easily because they are designed to be resistant. So, before we see a complete shift, tension will likely arise, which is normal and physiological. It's up to us not to fall back when that happens but to create spaces for dialogue and participation. This way, we can work through the tension and conflict constructively rather than destructively.
SM: Is there a particular concept from our conversation that our readers should focus on?
Dr. FB: As I shared with you earlier, the quality of what we do depends on the quality of who we are and the quality of our being. So maybe it's time for all of us to focus more on being rather than doing. Perhaps it's the emphasis on doing that has led us into this situation. So, maybe it's time to shift our focus to being.
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Check Dr. Fateme Banishoeib’s book The Whisper: A Lyrical Conversation with the Multitudes, and use the affiliate link to support Pity Party Over at no additional cost to you. The Whisper is a poetic invitation to integrate the multitudes that make us whole and avoid our self-fragmentation, becoming leaders of ourselves before leading others.
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