12/04/2019
Haluk Bal: I arrived in a very high-quality environment and I did my best to preserve that. I prioritized delegation as a result of my personal experience and management style.
When the Mayor of Tuzla visited the campus, he talked about the number of people living in the municipality. I joked that I was the mayor of this town. Indeed, the food and beverage, transport, health and other services we provide to students and other people on campus are more than what the municipality provides.
The university had been teaching for six years when you started. In such a short time for a university, construction was complete and the system was running.
Wednesday Talks with Nesrin Balkan
The university was truly well-established on all fronts. I arrived in a thriving organization built on a strong foundation. But everything changes so quickly nowadays. New needs arise, as do new objectives and strategies. And Sabancı University is a dynamic place, so there is always a new project or initiative going on. During my time here, we opened new programs. We took strides in internationalization. Countless academic and administrative changes were made. I'll stop here because it's beginning to sound like self-promotion! Coming here at a time like this, I was able to translate my previous experience to the work that I do here. I'm in charge of a university when I had nothing of that sort on my mind. This is another lucky break in my career. After years in a commercial business, as I turned 50 and reached the top of my career, I was exceptionally lucky to start this job.
That's reasonable. You always say you were lucky in your career. How about your life outside work, your social life?
My life outside work consists of my home, my lovely wife Buket, and my son Sinan. At the cost of sounding cliché, I must say that I was more than lucky to have met and married Buket. I am truly happy; Buket and my happiness at home have played a large part in my career development.
That's lovely; I met Buket and Sinan at university events. It's obvious that you are a happy, peaceful family. And I agree that 50 is the zenith of your career. By that time, you are experienced and mature enough to convey your experiences to others. What do you think?
I agree. You have complete inner peace and confidence. You are also in tune with younger people. I had a great 8 years at the university so far, and I believe the rest will be just as great. Working in a university gives you an emotional satisfaction that other jobs don't have. My son is a student here, so I am also a Sabancı University parent. My friends from Darüşşafaka or IBM all have university-age children. My experience here made me chief advisor. Our house becomes a tea garden after each university exam. Friends, neighbors and anyone else whose child just sat the exam come over for advice and suggestions. I love helping candidates and their parents. I'm always in touch with our own students as well. My door is always open to them. We keep in touch after they graduate; they always call or visit. Here, I'm called "Hocam" or "Professor" as well. That's satisfaction on a different level; you know it as well as I do.
Working with young people, basking in their brilliance and positive energy is something that you can't find in another environment.
That's a big plus. Sometimes I work with our students too. We plan student club budgets and events together. I tell them about my experience in finding sponsors, preparing project submissions and such. Like a mentor, I sometimes tell them life lessons, and support them in operational matters. Sometimes they talk about their issues and I try to provide guidance. I can often see that I make a change for the better in their lives. My moment of bliss is when they come to me and say, "Hocam, thanks for all you've done for us." It's a huge pleasure. And that is the biggest plus in comparison to working in a company.
Compared to other universities, is the role of Secretary-General more critical here?
The responsibilities of a secretary-general varies between universities depending on the wishes of the founders and administrators. Sabancı is vastly different from other universities in terms of administration as well. I have contact and relationships with the secretary-generals of other universities and I can say that Sabancı gives the most responsibility to the function. I think this is the right structure. We provide all the administrative and financial support that our faculty and students require. There are advantages to providing these services as a team and under one structure: Our response time to issues and requirements is very quick. And this is not limited to the secretary-general's office; Sabancı University has an administrative structure that cannot be compared to any other university in terms of efficiency.
It's dynamic and fast.
This is partly due to the high regard our Board of Trustees Chair and the Sabancı Family have for the university. We can reach Güler Sabancı at any time and have regular monthly meetings with her. When something urgent comes up, she and other Board of Trustees members are always within reach. The university administration has healthy relationships both among itself and with the members of the Board of Trustees. Few institutions are blessed this way. We also work and get along really well with our President, Nihat Berker. This is important to me. I feel fortunate because of that.
Being secretary-general sounds like mayorship. It's not unlike managing a town of five thousand.
That's a good analogy. When the Mayor of Tuzla visited the campus, he talked about the number of people living in the municipality. I joked that I was the mayor of this town. Indeed, the food and beverage, transport, health and other services we provide to students and other people on campus are more than what the municipality provides. I told him that although I couldn't compete in numbers, the similarities were quite the same. He agreed.
Can you talk about personal plans?
I have some plans Nesrin, but I think I'll be around here for a few more years. I do complain about the pace of work sometimes. My son graduates in two years. After that, we might have different plans together. But I'm not planning too long into the future.
How about your hobbies? I know you love the sea.
Yes, I love it all right. I have recently begun to think that losing our father and sister in a sea accident compelled my brother and I to challenge the sea and refuse to be afraid of it. I remember from my childhood that our mother would beg and plead with us not to swim too far from the shore. She was deathly afraid that she would lose us to the sea as well. You know how I now feel about the sea? You can drop me in the middle of the ocean, blindfolded and in the dark, and I can survive. I won't panic or be afraid. Swimming, diving, boating and fishing are my favorite holiday activities. Buket is keen on cultural holidays. I like seeing nice places too, but I make sure that any holiday either begins or ends by the seaside.
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Well, you do need the sea for a proper holiday.
Exactly. For twenty years, I have always gone into the sea with my goggles and snorkel even if I had no means to catch fish. I swim while watching the bottom of the sea. I also play music. In fact, I did promise you a concert, and we'll pull it off some way. So when I have more time dedicated to myself, my first occupation will be the sea and fishing, and the second one, music. I play the guitar. I have a good ear for music. I can read music but I need to work on it. That will make me a better guitar player too. I have almost all string instruments at home, including the kanun. I even took kanun courses for a while but I didn't have enough time. You need to take two or three courses a week, and practice at home all the time. So I stopped playing for now. I intend to go back to it when I have time. Music, the sea, nature, gardening, flowers... they are all a pleasure to me. I'd like to have more time for those.
How about the plants on campus? The trees have grown over the years and we have some lovely plants.
Indeed they are awesome. Now I need to mention our founding president Tosun Terzioğlu and Nermin Hanım from Kartepe Peyzaj, who has been doing our landscaping since the beginning. You will know as Tosun Bey told everyone: The land here isn't fertile and water is an issue. Nevertheless, they made wonders here. That was possible thanks to Tosun Bey's support and Nermin Hanım's exceptional work. They prepared a great catalog of the plants on campus. I don't know all of their names, but I do love nature and plants. Sometimes, when I'm too frustrated by work or angry at someone, I remind myself to go for a walk. I climb the stairs, walk over to the Rectorate, and come back down. I forget all about what made me angry or frustrated as I walk among breathtaking flowers and plants, and arrive back in my office refreshed.
Any final thoughts?
I sometimes question what I have contributed to myself and the university while working here. The university was well designed from the beginning and being managed professionally. So, I cannot claim credit for having achieved this or that; besides, there is no need. I arrived in a very high-quality environment and I did my best to preserve that. I prioritized delegation as a result of my personal experience and management style. Instead of being a micro-manager who makes all decisions and checks every minute detail, I chose to have people take responsibility in their work, be accountable for results, make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes. I then built the same understanding into policies and procedures.
As a human-centric administrator, communication was always my top priority and my door was open at all times. Although I must admit that I am falling behind on this lately; I used to be more accessible. I valued personal contact with all employees, receiving their feedback, and adjusting my work accordingly. I held roundtable meetings. I created abundant training opportunities for employees ranging from English lessons to specialization in different fields. Together, we achieved great things. It was a pleasure to be a part of a well-built system that worked smoothly. I also believe that I improved many administrative processes that are critical to the future of the university during my time here. So I think I do have a legacy here.
As an employee, I'd like to add that your people skills are amazing. You have excellent dialog with everyone at all levels. I have an example. A server who had once worked in the Rectorate told me. Employees complained that the server could not be reached by phone when he was out serving beverages, and requested that he be given a portable telephone. At one point you became involved and told him "everyone has the right to take a breather from time to time."
That is true. You need to give people breathing room; you need to let some things slide.
We are all human after all.
Indeed.
Well, that wraps it up. Thank you very much.