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...'

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