Man at the
top
16
talking heads
Bert Steketee is a great believer in balance - per-
haps that is why he is the bank's risk management
man. But he also admits that finding it is not always
easy. We talk to him about the importance of
family, his home, work and the work ethic, and how
he tries to create a balance between them a11
Both Steketee and his wife would prefer to
separate work and family life as much as
possible. 'But that is very hard,' he says.
'The driving force behind our whole pattern
of life is my diary for the bank. The priority
is always what the bank needs; it has always
been that way.' In the past two or three
years, he has begun to think his focus on the
bank is rather extreme. 'What I came to un-
derstand was that you not only have to or-
ganize your time in the bank, you also have
to organize time away from it. Otherwise,
the work is like a wave that washes over
you. So family time has to be planned well
in advance. The disadvantage is that you
can rarely do anything spontaneously.'
Family time is essential for him. 'We have
two daughters,' he says, 'they're 25 and 27
and they have, of course, left home. For-
tunately, they still come home a lot. Their
rooms are still their rooms - so they are not
visitors - in the home my wife and I have
created. Some of our friends have second
homes elsewhere. But when you have two
choices, you're always asking yourself:
where do I want to be? Where is my favour-
ite book, here or there? Our home is our
place. And that includes the garden. What I
mean is that we have tried to create a
balance between the outside and the inside -
they are both parts of a whole. The outside
part of our 'place' is also reflected indoors.
We have around 140 plants all over the
house - they're everywhere. There's some-
thing about gardens that I love. My
favourite painter is Monet, not least because
I love the garden he created around his
home,' he adds, pointing to a snapshot
among the collage he keeps close to his desk.
His family is here, too, in smiling, relaxed
holiday pictures. 'Our vacations were holy
when the children were small. And now my
wife and I try to get away for short breaks
as well as our annual holiday. We were in
Cyprus recently, with my brother. It was a
very relaxing time, but we also combine
these trips with looking at old churches,
visiting museums. Again, it's a balance you
try to find. I think I'm always looking for
that balance.'
Steketee thinks his need for equilibrium may
be related to the work ethic that was instil-
led in him as a child. 'My father was a doc
tor and director of an institution for men-
tally handicapped children - a huge place
with 1,400 patients. We grew up there and I
actually studied medicine until I had to
admit I couldn't stand the sight of blood.
Holland update")-
36-HOUR WEEK
PILOT LAUNCHED
The trade risk manage
ment department is the
first CBS unit to intro
ducé the 36-hour
working week agreed
earlier this year by the
so-called social part
ners in banking, ie. em-
ployers' and employ
ees' organizations.
Most staff now work
nine-hour, four-day
weeks, thus increasing
the department's acces-
sibility by one hour.
The efficiency of the
new system will be
evaluated in the new
year.
ISO IN THE BANK
Member bank Hoog-
vliet-Poortugaal is the
first-ever Dutch bank
to receive an ISO certi-
ficate for total service.
The member bank was
obliged to go through a
stringent procedure
covering all its services
before it was awarded
the highly-desirable
certificate. Says direc
tor John Vroeginde-
wey: 'It's a real boost
for us. Many of our
existing business clients
have a similar certifi
cate, so they know just
how hard it is to get
one. And we're
convinced it was worth
all the effort put in by
our 32 people here be
cause it's going to open
a lot of doors for us.'
Anyway, the institution was a protestant or-
ganization and, later on had the same num-
ber of personnel as patients. The care was
the protestant, even Calvinist, view of how
this should be done. And there's a lot of that
Calvinistic upbringing still in me. We were
instilled with the work ethic from an early
age - you can only do nice, fun things if you
work hard for them. You have to work. My
wife and I have always accepted that as part
of our lives. At the same time, you have to
find the right balance. And that balance is
not always the same in every phase of your
life. It's something you work to create and
maintain.'
At this phase in his life, he sees instilling the
work ethic into younger people as a major
task. 'Although we say we want to delegate,
we don't do it enough,' he says. 'We don't
give young people enough responsibility.'
Could this perhaps have something to do
with managers who have reached the top
wanting to stay there? 'This may sound ar
rogant, and I certainly don't mean it that
way, but I think I've passed that phase. If
you're fortunate enough to have reached a
position where you can match your challen-
ges with what you'd like to do, then your
ego doesn't keep getting in the way. A lot of
people come in asking for my approval for
something. I try to respond by saying: What
do you think? What do you recommend.
My daughters always tease me with: If we
ask you a question, we never get just a yes
or a no. I think part of me likes to teach and
the best way of teaching is to open up a dia-
logue. That's also how you get the best out
of people.'
Through dialogue, Steketee believes you can
also reach a more harmonious environment
- 'this is all starting to sound a bit deep,' he
says self-depreciatingly. 'But I truly believe if
you work on balance in your life, you're
better both at work and at home. Perhaps
what I really mean here is you also have to
have the nerve to be away from work. To
think: anything can happen and I won't be
around, and actually be at peace with that
thought...'