Sources of inspiration
In which a partner of De Bestuurskamer shares sources of knowledge that inspire him or her.
Jan Berent Heukensfeldt Jansen: “I still use the book Intercultural Management by psychologist and author Prof. Geert Hofstede, because of the book's eloquence when it comes to diversity. The traditional dividing line between men and women is rather arbitrary, I've always found. After all, you have feminine and masculine traits in every person. This is also how Hofstede describes entire countries — as more or less masculine or feminine. By the way, his Model of Culture consists of six dimensions, which show how essential culture is as a success factor in the workplace and, more broadly, in life.”
“Someone who goes beyond the flat division of sexes is also organizational developer and author Daniel Ofman. He wrote a great book about people's core values: I often use Ofman's core quadrant model. He distinguishes four dimensions where you can value interactions: core quality, pitfall, challenge and allergy. These are qualities that you can control and improve in the context of personal development and personal leadership. For example, your core quality — your natural positive trait — can “go too far” and be directly opposed to someone's behavior that you're allergic to — that's your pitfall. In that case, there are challenging ways to change your behavior.”
“Thirdly, Stephen Covey is always a source of knowledge. His attention to the question of what you ultimately want to mean as a person is a starting point for real conversations.”
“One of the concepts I designed during my Volvo Ocean Race directorate on behalf of ABN Bank is a circle of engagement built on fostering enthusiasm. It is loosely based on the AIDA direct marketing model: attention, interest, desire and action. First of all, we both need to get excited about each other — even if we didn't know each other before. This leads to involvement in entering into all kinds of collaborations and these in turn lead to creation. We tell others about that, which further fuels enthusiasm and results in a good execution — we either celebrate that, or things don't go well, and we learn from that. Both success and learning curves lead to enthusiasm again, which completes that 'circle of engagement'.”
The request for advice
In which a partner from De Bestuurskamer talks about a specific assignment and the chosen approach.
John Jaakke: “Recently, I was approached by the director of a medium-sized, thriving company. The man is also half a shareholder. His Supervisory Board includes the other 50% shareholder, with whom he built the company. The two started thinking about the business future of their company: selling or investing, and found that they had different ideas about it. How should I deal with that, the director asked me. I am a shareholder, but also a director, and I have to report to my other shareholder who is also on my Supervisory Board and who has a different vision. I feel like the dog in the hot dog — I notice I've fallen into a split.”
“An interesting case that is about yourself but also about the case. First of all: people often think they've ended up in a unique experience, of course that's not the case. You are unique, but your situation is often not.”
“Of course, there are rules in the statutes about conflicting interests. I helped him deal with those different interests and responsibilities. I introduced him to an advisor who could help him with advice about his share package. In this way, the problem could be professionally remote from his role as director.”
“I always tell my clients: is this Jinek-proof? Can your arguments stand up at a talk show table when you're asked about certain behaviors or decisions?”
“I spend a lot of time with such processes for De Ondernemingskamer. This usually involves conflictive situations and the tension between, for example, the family versus the company. The trick then is to find the way out. The process is very important here. Not to protect my position, but to be able to explain clearly and sincerely afterwards why I took which step and when. This way, decisions are better understood — which makes possible conflicts easier to handle.”
“I always tell my clients: is this Jinek-proof? Can your arguments stand up at a talk show table when you're asked about certain behaviors or decisions? If all is well, the story outwardly matches the story you believe in. There should be no difference between John Jaakke sitting at home and working. Based on your own experience and insight, it is great to be able to offer help as a director and supervisor, to be able to map out alternative routes. We share the cases within The Board of Directors regularly, and the intervision, combined with our combined experience, I think provides solid advice.”
Three relevant questions
In which a partner from De Bestuurskamer answers three questions about current trends in the business labor market.
What challenge do you see for directors around major social themes?
Dries van der Vossen: “ESG, sustainability, pressure on social relations: our advisory work is mainly about how to master these themes as a director. Directors can fulfil their responsibilities along three lines. First: respect the facts and thus prevent dreaming and wishful thinking. Second, give direction: where are we going and what does that mean for everyone? And third, talk to people about their responsibilities and live up to that behavior.”
“As Dutch people, we are very good at planning but bad at executing. We are quite hesitant to actually implement our plans, even within the rather overwhelming theme mentioned. My advice: if it doesn't work out the way it should, just do it as it can. With small steps that do make an impact. Start as a driver in your own environment, which you can more or less control. Motivate your people to be part of the change. By telling them what “we can do as a company”. Not as a vicar, but by nudging. Young generations need purpose — but it's up to you as a director to give substance to it. A great example: Achmea gives all its full-time employees their own climate budget. Free to spend, but on something that contributes to a better world.”
The driver as a kind of steward 2.0?
“A good term, yes. There is a lot of value in optimizing all kinds of market mechanisms, but let's not make the mistake of limiting them to securing profit optimization and shareholder value. One of the biggest problems that bother us is the enormous crisis of trust between business and government. What can you do as a director now to help close that gap? We often talk about the concept of “citizenship” in our country, which involves trust in each other, in social order. It is an enormous task for directors to cultivate new citizenship and understanding the different opinions and backgrounds of the employees. You can help employees develop themselves in citizenship just as much as they can in terms of technical and organizational skills.”
“Recently, I met the CEO of a major industrial manufacturer. He said, among many other things, that a quarter of his workforce could not write and read. One in four was illiterate. His question: what do I do with that? The data was not so important for the company's output. But he did struggle with his social responsibility.”
“That line of thought inspired me. Let's take an example from top Dutch entrepreneurs like Frits Philips, who long ago realized that their employees would be better off if they really felt at home in the company. This led to schools, staff homes and sports clubs — PSV is a late echo of that. Of course, Philips was not the only entrepreneur who acted as a committed father familias for his people. Unfortunately, we have lost that kind of entrepreneurship in globalization, the flexibilization of the labor market and the rationalization of all kinds of production processes. Time for a revival, in a way that suits today, as far as I'm concerned.”
“This entrepreneur could invite people to in-house writing and language courses, voluntarily and whether or not from a fixed part of the staff budget paid by the company — I'm convinced that many people overcome their shame and sign up. In the long run, this will not only result in better-educated employees, but also enormous loyalty, which in turn translates into motivation and results.”
“Young generations need purpose - but it's up to you as a director to give substance to it.”
Should directors free up money for the citizenship development of their employees?
“Back to that Achmea example: we could provide good advice from De Bestuurskamer on setting a budget per employee for citizenship development. Nowadays, a director has a wider task than just ensuring good grades. After all, socially engaged entrepreneurship involves more than trying to meet ESG goals in reporting, which the camera is currently focusing quite a bit on. It's also a matter of engaging with your team, from the heart, with the conviction that small, concrete, human steps can have a huge impact.”
The world outside
In which a partner from De Bestuurskamer provides some personal suggestions that help make life even more beautiful.
Inge Brakman: “David Hockney has always inspired me enormously. Not only because of his use of colors, but especially because he looks very closely. For him, these observations always lead to different perspectives — he turns around the normal perspective with a vanishing point. That's what I also try to do with coaching: to let people look at their own story with a different perspective, to revise their own behavior. Of course, observation is not just about words: when I supervise a self-assessment, I notice what happens between people, both verbally — you can get more information from intermediate sentences than in main sentences, that's where it happens — as well as non-verbal.”
“Hockney works with mixed media — photography, collages, paint. Composing over and over again, watching, studying material and perspective. Take a look at his work 'The Arrival of Spring', a series of 'paintings' he made on his iPad when he was stuck in Normandy due to corona.”
“Until October, a spectacular exhibition of Hockney's work will be on display at The Lightroom, in London; he himself has guided that imagination. I need to and will see that spectacular manifestation of his art in three-dimensional space.” www.lightroom.uk
