<B>A special style of leadership </B>

“According to my contract, I have three years to spend in Mauritius. What I want is for, within those three years, Barclays to become the second biggest bank in Mauritius! I am a professional expatriate! I get to move every three to four years because I like to build businesses. I leave it for somebody else to take them to an even higher level.”

In these words, Karl Stumke explains what he intends to do for Barclays bank in Mauritius. But this is not his only objective as he has many others. Indeed, another is to set up a very strong executive team. With all his energy, enthusiasm and dynamism, everyone in his working environment would agree that he has the calibre to succeed. In fact, if you ask nd staff focused.

But this does not prevent him from working as a teller sometimes in the branches. “I do go down and work as a normal employee on a monthly basis. I want to set the example for my staff and I want to know what they experience on a daily basis. I will never ask my staff to do something I cannot do myself! In the mean time, I want my customers to know that they can easily interact with the Managing Director.”

Furthermore, he believes in inspiring and motivating staff and is committed to their development and maximising their full potential. By ensuring that the office environment is relaxed, he wants all his employees to enjoy their work. This is the reason why he set up a concept called the “Risk Free Zone”. It is a project or task that the person responsible for it, is allowed to fail. In other words, Karl set up this concept just to make sure that his employees feel more freedom to try things out.

“People are too scared of failure. I got the concept of the risk-free zone from an old management theory. It is primarily to encourage more creativity from my staff! If you have to do something, just do it without any fear! If it does not work, it does not matter! So what? As long you have tried!”

When Karl is not in his office, he has many other ways of spending his time. Either he is playing golf or doing some diving. However, his favourite hobby remains travelling. Indeed, he has travelled across many countries for both work and holidays.

Karl was born on 10th January 1965 in Durban, South Africa. After having completed school in 1980, he did his military service. But his studies never ended. For example, he has just completed an Advanced Management program at the Insee University, in Fontainebleau (France). But if you have a look at his CV, you will see that it is impossible to enumerate his qualifications. He has thousands of them! He started his professional career in 1984 and worked for Nedbank. Up to now, he has worked in several banks. More importantly, Karl has been able to experience all the departments of a bank.

So far, Karl is enjoying life in Mauritius and even its food. He really wants to give of himself for Barclays Bank Ltd. He just hopes to make the most of his mission and then get ready for other challenges in the future…