CEO Interviews Dr. Constance Rice Norm Rice Susan Schuessler Randy Terashima Catherine Walker

CEO Interview-Dr Constance Rice View of Leadership Series of life passages and shifting roles –Facilitator –Follower –“lifted by others” –Self-propelled

CEO Interview-Dr Constance Rice Guiding Principals-Personal Strengths A “cause” person, everything she commits to must add value to community/world Continuously seeking new horizons –“Social Entrepreneur” –Her metaphor-“pollinator” Looks for common ground-using empathy as bridge Sustains and preserves relationships by giving

CEO Interview-Dr Constance Rice Life Story- Leadership Development Only child- working class family “Domineering” Mother, nurturing Father Even as a child possessed enormous self-confidence –“intellectual heavyweight”; “not to be messed with” Influenced by interaction with greatness –As a child -Leonard Bernstein/Ossie Davis –As a young adult-Margaret Mead/Whitney Young/Martin Luther King –More recently-Frank Geary/Nelson Mandella/ Desmond Tutu/Kofi Annan

CEO Interview-Dr. Constance Rice On Failure “Key is how you come up again” Resignation from position as Experience Music Project, Executive Director –Considers a “healthy failure” –EMP did not present a cause she believed in …learned she must always “have a cause” This now guides her life and career choices

CEO Interview-Dr. Constance Rice Recent Leadership Roles Community College Administration: –Fulfilled her passion for educating, especially those denied access in the past Executive Director, EMP –Recruited by Jody Allen –Discovered her need for a “cause” Currently, ED, Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation –Leadership Center - Capetown, South Africa - former Dutch Synod Bldg - highly symbolic African Academy leader –Winnie Mandella, “What are you doing for women and girls in Africa” –Brings technology training to young women, Swaziland and Maritius

CEO Interview-Dr. Constance Rice Impact/Impressions Grand charisma –“A whirlwind of passion and inspiration” Norm Rice Energy, commitment, confidence Very clear on self…gifts, calling and purpose Intent and accomplished at making a difference in the world

CEO Interview-Norm Rice View of Leadership Believes communicating and connecting are the biggest factors in leadership “As a leader, political maturity means connecting to people’s core values through understanding and demonstrating your own” –To mature requires reflection, intellectual honesty and communication –Acting through your values, however, does not necessarily mean you will make positive change in the world In the business world leadership demands the ability to think strategically and manage change

CEO Interview-Norm Rice Guiding Principals-Personal Strengths Strong work ethic, spirituality, “you can be anything” attitude since youth Believes social values must be imbedded in actions – change agent –Social Equity –Economic Opportunity Able to connect through values and personal experiences Public arena taught him to be nimble, creative, resourceful

CEO Interview-Norm Rice Life Story- Leadership Development Middle class family Life heroes- Mother and Grandmother; inculcated him with confidence, drive and spiritual depth Entered Public arena in high school-Student Body President City Government – 2 terms as Mayor of Seattle Entry into private sector a deliberate act to prove successful transition possible –Bring “values” as dominant force for business success

CEO Interview-Norm Rice On Failure Found key life and leadership learning from failure –“Devastating” defeat, Student Body President Learned to listen and relate to others Won next time without opposition by applying this learning –1985 campaign loss, Mayor of Seattle Was professional and well prepared but not politically mature- “When you need a script you’re not ready” Learned the essential element “to connect with people’s core values” Acting through his values brought political success and ability to respond and act in any situation – Use polls to understand how to say things not what to say

CEO Interview-Norm Rice Recent Leadership Roles Following his term as “CEO of Seattle”- choices: –Ambassador to New Zealand –Brookings Institute work –CEO, Federal Home Loan Bank Chose FHLB to bring his public sector leadership experience and social values to a private sector institution –Tangible not esoteric –Making a statement as an African-American CEO –Personal growth, ability to apply skills to public sector –Brought forth a wealth of learnings-himself and his staff

CEO Interview-Norm Rice Impact/Impressions Confident, knows himself Grounded in his values Gifted at seeing the big picture, systemic thinking Capable of accepting and learning from failure

CEO Interviews- Norm Rice On Diversity Norm Rice spoke of a personal mission to impact diversity at FHLB –Believes essential to recruit top diverse candidates and help them be successful –To be successful, diversity must be result of genuine learning not simply a “program” Asks his managers, who would you choose to host for dinner and would any of them be a person of color? Norm received the City of Seattle Diversity Award in 1995.

CEO Interviews- Dr. Constance Rice & Norm Rice Common Themes Common grounding in core values set by family matriarchs- Mothers, Grandmothers. Common elements of sacrifice-personal time/family time etc. –Mission permeates their lives of service Tremendous confidence, but sense of greater responsibility Both are public figures, very extroverted in nature. “Larger than life”… humility?