Mohamed Baba, Chair of the Board at Haag Wonen: “You don’t have to keep trying to save everyone.”

What is your big dream?
That one day I can look back on a life that was useful, a life in which I made a difference. That I invested my time and energy in things that make me happy and that benefit others as well. That could be an affordable home, or a safe neighbourhood, because I believe that a good home is the foundation of a good life. I do not want to have spent my life selling paperclips.
This is something I was brought up with. Being aware of how privileged you are. My parents made a huge sacrifice by emigrating from Morocco so that we could have a better life and access to good education. My father was very capable academically, but he was never able to go to school. So he always told us: I did not get those opportunities, you have. That is why everything at home revolved around education. Education. Education.

Did that not put a lot of pressure on you?
No, because I am curious by nature and I want to keep developing myself. A turning point in my life came at the end of primary school. With the best intentions, my teacher had enrolled me in technical school. His assumption was: the Baba family will eventually return to Morocco, so Mohamed should learn a trade. After all, we were called guest workers for a reason. But my father said: Mohamed learns easily, I think he can go to HAVO. That is how I started, and eventually I progressed to university. My father stepping in at that moment was crucial.

What does housing mean to people?
Having a roof over your head is a basic necessity of life. Housing is a key part of the solution to many social issues. Once people have a home, they can focus on work or education. People who live in poor conditions have seven to fourteen fewer healthy years than those who live in better circumstances. If we make sure young people can find a home, they do not have to stay with their parents until their thirties, and they can focus on their studies and personal development.

What story do you never tell about yourself?
I actually feel like an open book. That is not always helpful. Sometimes you need to give the other person space to share their views and suspend your judgement. I had to learn that. You should not always want to be the service provider, or the one who saves everyone. For a board member, for a leader, that is extremely important.

When I had been at Haag Wonen for about three months, I asked my executive team how they felt things were going. We are glad you are here, they said, you bring a lot of energy, but could you stop managing? That was a wonderful moment, because what they were really asking was for me to govern, and to leave the day-to-day operations to them. My role was to create more entrepreneurial spirit and to invest in collaboration with partners. The daily management of the organisation was theirs. I have grown into that role over the past few years.

What was your first job?
Selling biscuits, for our downstairs neighbour Piet. Packaged biscuits, pretzels and spiced cookies. Piet bought in bulk, and my brother and I sold them with him at the market. This was in Bos en Lommer, back when it was still a traditional working-class neighbourhood in Amsterdam. Now it is very trendy, a beautiful mix. When I was young, it was a working-class area. I grew up among window cleaners and bus drivers. I took that world with me, and it shaped who I am.

What did you learn as a biscuit seller?
That half of the message is in the packaging. I am very focused on substance. What is something about, and does it matter? But how you present it is just as important. As a housing corporation, we do good work, but we mostly come into view when things go wrong. We are not at all used to proudly telling the story of what we achieve in neighbourhoods and communities every single day.

In which situation did you show real courage?
At the end of the 1990s, I was active as a volunteer. Many Dutch people with Moroccan roots had no network and little sense of career perspective. We, second-generation Moroccan Dutch, were working on empowerment. How do we find each other, how do we build a network? In the early 2000s, we decided to turn that into a company focused on diversity and integration issues. After the murder of Theo van Gogh in 2004, we stepped forward to show how much resilience Dutch society has. That this murder should not drive us apart. It was uncharted territory, in a highly explosive time.

Another moment was more recent, from the time when I myself was a member of an executive board. During a two-day offsite with several directors, we agreed that we would tell the board some hard truths. At the meeting the next morning, I stepped forward, assuming my fellow directors would do the same. But they stayed seated. I was furious. Colleagues who spoke endlessly about leadership and holding each other to account were now backing out. The beautiful part was that one colleague eventually did step forward, with tears in his eyes, and apologised. Only then did I tell my story. That was when I learned that you can give emotion space. I am analytically minded, very factual, but I do not shy away from showing my emotions.

If you could introduce one law, what would it be?
I would include a structural contribution for social housing in the national budget. There are too many regulations, and the nitrogen issue is a major challenge, but the real Achilles’ heel is the lack of funding. Housing is a complex problem that cuts across many policy areas. I am a strong advocate of public-private partnerships. Municipalities do not build homes. We do not build homes either without contractors, developers, investors, urban planners and architects. I have to look beyond the four walls of my own domain.

What is the best piece of leadership advice you have ever received?
When are you actually going to do something? I worked in and around Amsterdam for many years, and there we are very good at talking about many things. Everyone has an analysis or an opinion. At a certain point, I started working in a Rotterdam context. Two board members brought me into their executive team. After three weeks they said: you can talk the talk, but when are you going to actually do something?

That is my guiding principle now. Direction, space and backing. I set the direction, and I provide the space and the backing to get things done. We need to have an answer for Mrs Jansen, who lives on the third floor at the back, with a daughter who has been waiting for a home for ten years and cannot move out. She needs somewhere to live. That is my assignment. To think, to create the right conditions, and then to actually get to work