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CONFIDENTIAL

PORT OF
SEATTLE
2016 CEO
EVALUATION
Survey of Commissioners and
Executives

Conducted by Neil McReynolds,


Independent Outside Consultant
TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Background 1

II. The Evaluation Process 2

III. Executive Summary 3

IV. Individual Elements 8

Overall Leadership 8

Strategy 13

Integrity 16

Succession Planning 19

Transforming Organization 21

Performance 24

Stakeholders 26

CEO-Commission Relations 28

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page i


I. BACKGROUND
This section of the report identifies for the purposes of the CEO Evaluation and those who were
invited to participate in the process for 2016.

The Commission for the Port of Seattle reviews the performance of the Chief Executive Officer
to:

Ensure accountability and to provide a thoughtfully-constructed process for


continuous improvement of the performance of the CEO and the Port.

Maintain an ongoing dialogue between the Commission and the CEO about
governance matters.

Review and discuss the Ports previous years performance as well as


strategic directions for the coming year.

The Commission, under the leadership of John Creighton, is responsible for designing and
overseeing this review.

The Commissioners are:

Tom Albro
Stephanie Bowman
John Creighton
Fred Felleman
Courtney Gregoire

Eighteen executives were invited to participate in the evaluation.

Borgan Anderson Dave McFadden


Rudy Caluza Lance Lyttle
Julie Collins Elizabeth Morrison
Paula Edelstein Lindsay Pulsifer
Larry Ehl Dave Soike
Dave Freiboth Dan Thomas
Clare Gallagher Jeffrey Utterback
Skip Himes Craig Watson
Stuart Mathews Tammy Woodard

One of the purposes of using an independent, outside consultant is to ensure the confidentiality
of the evaluation process and the anonymity of the respondents. McReynolds Associates sends
and receives all evaluations directly and prepares this report for Commission information and
use.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 1


II. THE EVALUATION PROCESS

This section of the report describes the process through which Port of Seattle Commissioners
and Executives evaluate Ted J. Fick in his role as Chief Executive Officer.

To provide background for the evaluators, the CEO prepared a comprehensive self-evaluation
along with: a report on progress toward the Ports 2016 goals and other accomplishments and
his CEO-proposed goals for the Port for 2017.

The same survey was sent to the Commissioners and Executives.

The following 1-5 rating scale for all quantitative questions.

1 = BELOW Performance needs to be improved in several major areas. Did not meet
all standards.

2 = MARGINAL There are gaps in some performance areas. Expectations


occasionally not met. Corrective action is required.

3 = MEETS A solid, consistent performance. Meets most standards and exceeds


some.

4 = EXEMPLARY Performance frequently exceeds, and always meets, all


expectations.

5 = EXCEEDS Performance consistently and significantly exceeds all expectations.

In addition to providing a rating, evaluators were asked to offer written comments to amplify
their rating.

The response rates were as follows: the Commissioners (100%), the Executives (83.3%).

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 2


III. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This section of the report provides a brief condensation of the performance ratings and selected
written comments offered by Commissioners and executives of the Port.

Ted Fick is producing many of the results that the Port Commission wanted when he was hired
2 years ago, based on the feedback from the Commissioners and executives in the second
annual CEO evaluation survey. Examples cited by individual Commissioners:

The organization performed well in 2016 and Ted did provide the leadership that
enabled it. He has been pushing financial discipline and forcing greater scrutiny of
wasteful processes and expenses.
His One Port strategy has helped break down silos which needed to happen.
New executives are consistently of high quality. They are well received by the
Commission. I am excited by the new energy that the new people have brought to the
Port.
He has really adopted the Commissions Century Agenda that was developed before he
joined the Port and is working hard to accomplish the goals much sooner than we had
planned.
There has been good progress on certain tactical/operational areas: airport capital
program (IAF, NorthStar, baggage optimization), Pier 66 renovation, bio-fuels study
completed, remote baggage handling at P91, reduction in TSA wait times.

Executives agreed in terms of rankings and positive comments about accomplishment of goals.
As one executive wrote:

Ted is focused on achieving the defined goals. The good news is that he really drives
the organization to achieve the goals.

Overall, his composite average rating from the Commissioners is up over last year (3.80
compared to 3.58). On the individual elements, his ratings were up on nine of the twelve
compared to a year ago. From the Executives, his composite average rating is down slightly
from (3.56 compared to 3.65) but his individual ratings were up on five of twelve elements.

However, Fick has two elements that he needs to address based on the feedback from both the
Commissioners and the executives: CEO-Commission Relations and integrity.

This years lowest rated individual item by the Commissioners was CEO-Commission Relations,
which was also the lowest last year but the rating dropped even further, from 2.75 to 2.50 on
the scale of 1-5. But the biggest decrease in the Commissioners ratings was on the Integrity
issue. It was the highest rated element last year at 4.50 and dropped this year to 2.60, making
it the second lowest rated item by the Commissioners. The Executives also gave Ted a low
rating on Integrity, their lowest rated element this year at 2.93. Last year it was the second
highest rated element at 3.76.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 3


Another theme that was reflected throughout the survey although it was not the subject of a
separate question is Ficks need to better understand the difference between how things are
done and viewed in the public and the private sectors. As one Commissioner offered one piece
of advice:

Ted needs to internalize that leading a public agency is living in a fish bowl.

Another Commissioner wrote in response to the question on Overall Leadership:

He (Ted) doesnt understand the public and political nature of his job and the political
implications of what he is proposing to do.

In terms of areas of improvement for Fick, the element for CEO-Commission Relations
needs attention as the lowest rated item again this year. The Commissioners offered comments
and suggestions as well expressing their frustrations about the working relationship. Executives
also offered comments of concern. An example of a comment from one Commissioner:

We have seen some improvement over the past year. As stated in Teds personal
assessment, I do believe he put renewed energy and time in more communication with
the Commission. My concern is the quality of some of those communications, and
whether Ted has deep grasp of the proposals to understand nuances that impact
strategy. Recent facts brought to light indicate a lack of complete transparency over
important ethical questions/issues and unfortunately, that speaks to a more fundamental
of issues---trust.

Another Commissioner wrote:

The commission shares equal blame for any tension in CEO-Commission relations.. I
believe the Commission has a lot of work to do on how we collectively view our roles
and responsibilities as a board and as board members.

Several Executives in their responses to a number of questions expressed concern about the
CEO-Commission Relationship. As one Executive commented:

There is a lot of room for improvement here.on the both sides of the aisle. Ted and
the Commissioners need to figure out how to meet half way.especially on the small
stuff.

Secondly, the dramatic drop in the rating for the Integrity element warrants immediate
attention. Four of the five Commissioners provided written comments expressing concerns and
cited several different examples to illustrate lack of transparency and failure to seek approval.
Two of the comments:

His actions relating to the December 2015 one-time payment and changes to the gift
policy to allow his acceptance of event tickets without clear, timely, over, and explicit
disclosure to the Commission and authorization by it violates the Port ethics policy in my
opinion.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 4


The Commission is not as concerned as much as Teds DUI as it was about his thinking
on how to deal with the issue It took a lot of Commission effort to convince him that
he needed to tell his staff and make a public statement right away.

Executives also significantly lowered Ficks rating on the Integrity element but cited different
reasons. One executive wrote:

He doesnt always walk the talk. He is ethical, and doesnt cross the line---but
sometimes doesnt appreciate that standing close to the line is less acceptable for a
public agency leader in the eyes of many.

The composite average ratings for all elements were as follows: Commissioners 3.80 and
Executives 3.56.

2016 RANKING

COMMISSIONERS EXECUTIVE
Rank Element Composite Composite
Average Average

1 6- CEOs leadership team is 4.80 3.80


collectively of high quality.
2 10- Port also made good progress 4.75 4.07
toward goals of its Century
Agenda.

3 9- Port performed well in 2016, 4.50 3.93


meeting both financial and non-
financial goals such as
environmental stewardship,
diversity and stronger community
relations.
4 7- Pipeline of leaders ensures 4.25 3.47
continuity for the future and the
CEO appropriately addresses
succession, continuity and
development of talent for the
organization.
5T 1- CEO leads the Port with a vision 4.00 3.47
and philosophy which is well
understood, consistently applied
and effectively implemented.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 5


2016 RANKING

COMMISSIONERS EXECUTIVE
Rank Element Composite Composite
Average Average

5T 1- CEO leads the Port with a vision 4.00 3.47


and philosophy which is well
understood, consistently applied
and effectively implemented.
5T 11- CEO interacts effectively with the 4.00 4.00
leaders of Northwest Seaport
Alliance, other governmental
agencies, foreign trading
partners, the business
community, labor and numerous
other stakeholders who are key
to the success of the Port.
7 2- Staff responds to the CEOs 3.80 3.27
effectiveness as a leader and
team builder, including diversity
of the workforce and leadership
team, listening to employees
and providing clear direction to
motivate employees to higher
performance.
8 3- Ports strategy is well-conceived 3.60 3.53
and focused.
9 8- CEO has transformed the 3.40 3.67
organization appropriately,
demonstrating ability to
strategize and execute
organizational change.
10 4- Short-term and long-term moves 3.40 3.53
of the CEO are appropriately
balanced.
11 5- CEO sets the tone for the 2.60 2.93
organization by exemplifying
consistent values of high ethical
awareness, honesty, fairness and
courage.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 6


2016 RANKING

COMMISSIONERS EXECUTIVE
Rank Element Composite Composite
Average Average

12 12- CEO and the Commissioners 2.50 3.00


have an effective working
relationship and have open
communication. CEO keeps the
Commissioners fully informed on
all important Issues facing the
Port (internal and external).

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 7


IV. INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS

OVERALL LEADERSHIP

1. CEO leads the Port with a vision and philosophy which is well understood,
consistently applied and effectively implemented.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 3 1 4.00
Executives 2 4 9 3.47

2. Staff responds to the CEOs effectiveness as a leader and team builder,


including diversity of the workforce and leadership team, listening to
employees and providing clear direction to motivate employees to higher
performance.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 2 2 1 3.80
Executives 2 8 4 1 3.27

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Questions #1 and 2


Ted is doing the best job that he can. He is playing on his individual strengths,
focusing on tactical operational concerns (such as reducing workplace injuries, an area
he knows well from his manufacturing days). The problem: he doesnt understand the
public and political nature of his job and he political implications of what he is
proposing to do. Examples: Initial handing of DUI arrest; lack of transparency to
Commission on providing himself with a lump sum payment that was always intended
for rank-and-file employees; his insistence on joining a for-profit board even though all
five of the Commissioners asked him not to do so. He does seem to know or care
about how these decisions will affect the publics perception of the port and therefore
inhibit our ability as an institution to accomplish our goals.

In general, Ted and the Commission are on the same page on tactical issues.
However, strategic issues are coming up. Example: the recapitalization of the fishing
fleet. We could be facing a disagreement with Ted. He needs to engage us earlier in
the decision process than he has in the past. He should be doing that on the other big
issues as well.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 8


Ted is doing a better job of listening. We have big arguments with him over issues,
but once the Commission decides what it wants to do, he generally accepts the result
and moves to make it happen.

The Commission is generally working as a team. Were all trying to go the same
direction. We have our silos as individuals, but no one is bringing us together on
issues. Ideally the CEO would be helping us do to that as he drives strategy.

Ted is doing well. He is hitting his stride after going through the transition period. He
has been on a steep learning curve as he moved from the private to the public sector.
Hes not a port lifer and as a result, brings out-of-the-box thinking to the job which
has helped more than it has hindered him.

His One Port strategy has helped break down silos which needed to happen. There
has been anxiety among staff because his approach is new and different. Some Port
leaders have been reluctant to go along but they are beginning to see the advantage.
Leadership is buying into his approach. Now we need continued evangelizing from him
to get the rank-and-file employees to understand and buy-in to his approach. Thats a
slower process.

Ted takes direction from the Commission well. He considers the Commission as a
partner, which is different than his predecessors who looked at the Commission in
many ways more as a hurdle. Prior CEOs couldnt take constructive criticism, but Ted
does. Ted understands his role and the role of the board. He is passionate about the
Ports role and its role in the community. He is learning that being the head of a public
agency is a lot different than the private sector.

After two years on the job, the Commission has approved his request to sit on a board
of a private company and be compensated. Its a small private company in New York
and he is paid $25,000 a year. The company is in the trucking business, which aligns
with Teds experience at PACCAR. He takes PTO to attend board meetings. The
Commission took more time to approve his request than Ted had expected even
though a board position was allowed in his contract, but as a public agency board and
with past public scrutiny of CEO board positions we needed to do our due diligence.

Ted recognizes who is boss. POSITIVES: 1. He has really adopted the Commissions
Century Agenda that was developed before he joined the Port and is working hard to
accomplish the goals much sooner than planned. 2. When Ted presents a proposal to
the Commission and gets over-ruled by the Commissioners, he accepts the
Commissions decision and moves to implement it. Example of an issue: Security
screening jobs at the airport. (I have since learned there has been push back). I was
impressed. 3. He has done a remarkable job in his hires, especially recruiting Lance to
run the airport.

I know that some of my fellow commissioners have buyers remorse in their hiring of
Ted. I think they are getting what they should have expected in bringing in someone
from the business world with no public sector experience. Teds major problem is that
he is not attuned to the political aspect of the Ports role and its decisions it has to

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 9


make. We need someone as CEO who is at least educable but I am beginning to
question that due to a recent series of decisions.

Four examples of his lack of political sensitivity/transparency:


1. The Port was talking about a new use for Terminal 46 during the basketball
stadium controversy as we were trying to get the city and county to side with us
on the stadium issue. It was an older issue that Ted made reference to at a bad
time.
2. The way he handled his DUI. Ted was embarrassed and considered the DUI a
personal matter because he was not on Port business when it occurred. I am
sure that he was personally mortified; it was out of character for him. I think the
other Commissioners were much more upset with him than I was. Though I
recognize it will be poorly received by the public.
3. The recent revelation that he knowingly made a salary adjustment for port
employees, that included himself, without first disclosing to the Commission the
obvious conflict of interest it posed. This is an ethical lapse that lends question to
his judgment.
4. He has accepted numerous free tickets from port-related businesses despite
policies to the contrary and poor optics of such behavior. He has subsequently
modified the Ports gift rules to allow for such activities. We have our own credit
cards that enable us to partake in social /professional events without any
appearance of conflict of interest.
5. I am particularly concerned about what appears to be a sexual harassment
complaint. As CEO he should be particularly sensitive to the potential for any
misunderstandings.

Areas Ted needs to work on: How to deploy the Commissioners in dealing with
external issues. I think he should be using elected officials to deal with elected
officials, especially when Commissioners know the other elected officials. Ted needs to
know how and when to use politicians, not the bureaucrats. In my case, I am one of
the few Commissioners who can have constructive conversations with Mike OBrien
and Kshama Sawant.

Ted acknowledges that the Commissioners have a time problem because we are
serving on a part-time basis. Its a limitation in trying to use the Commissioners to
make political contacts at key times but that does not need to stop him from inquiring
as to our availability when making appointments.

In 2016 Ted solidified the ports implementation of the Century Agenda and
operationalized it through the creation and commission adoption of the five years Long
Range Plan (LRP). This and the One Port approach have been very positive steps
toward driving Teds and the Commissions vision and philosophy into the daily work of
the Port. If we build on it by continuing to emphasize centers of expertise (part of
the One Port organizational approach) and annual refinement and updating of the
LRP, then over time the vision and philosophy will be very well understood,
consistently applied, and effectively implemented.

I dont have a sufficiently transparent view of the work dynamics of Teds team to

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 10


have any basis to effectively rate his ability to build and motivate his Executive
Leadership Team (ELT). I have, however, observed a clear embracing of personal
diversity on his ELT. What I do not know is if he embraces and tolerates diversity of
opinion. My observation of the port during my 7 years of being a commissioner is that
ELT (and all staff members) are extremely reluctant to speak frankly and disagree with
the CEO. My bet is there is considerable work ahead to create an atmosphere where
varying and conflicting points of view are shared openly during the decision making
process.

I am concerned with Teds ability to motivate his team in particular and all port
employees generally. I have come to the realization, brought into focus by the new
knowledge I received last month about ELT pay that Ted relies heavily on
compensation as a motivational tool. I certainly agree it is an important one, but
believe that there are many others and that helping the organization see the
importance of the work (individually and collectively) is the most effective tool of all.
Ted has made good progress in the past year. He is open to constructive criticism. He
is constructive in how he approaches challenges that have been identified. He took last
years evaluation and comments to heart and has focused on areas where he needed
to improve. Example: more and expanded communications with the Commission.
However, he continues to fail to communicate effectively with the Commission
including several examples of misinformation and what may have been intentionally
omitted information. Additionally, there are too many examples where he fails to heed
Commissioners advice and counsel.

I respect the CEOs commitment and time devoted to employee communication.


Example: All-hands meeting. Ted also responded meaningfully to diversity training. He
heard the concerns last year and is moving the organization in the right direction.

Teds has also dedicated significant time to culture change towards a true OnePort
approach with many positive results. However, my concerns over the incentive pay
program have grown participate in 2016 when staff have presented incentive pay
goals that I would consider standard performance requirements, and by no means
exceptional performance. If we are going to move an organization from good to
great, clear definitions of minimum requirements, good performance, and
exceptional performance are needed.

Executive comments:

Teds style sometimes clashes with the Port culture. He rarely praises, and often is
critical. Longtime Port staff in particular have a hard time with this. This style
sometimes can inhibit team building and motivation.
Vision is well understood, implementation and team building needs improvement.
Example - in some cases, COEs and matrix reporting have caused confusion and
unclear roles and responsibilities. Collaboration has improved in some cases, but not in
others.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 11


Ted is very clear about the vision and philosophy and consistently ties work to the
vision. Staff is doing better to execute, but the relative newness of the approach and
the high rate of change - re-organization, new departments and new missions, new
leadership - has been a lot to process.
The CEO has assembled a very strong team making up the ELT. This is a strength of
his. That said, often my experience with the CEO is that he talks the talk, but does not
walk the talk. He has built a more diverse leadership team, and a very strong one.
That team shows great talent, but at times does not appear to operate as a smooth
running cohesive team yet. We often end up putting out fires and hopping from one
artificial crisis to another. I also feel many of our initiatives that have been brought
forward are great ideas, but lack depth. We appear to be trying to do everything at
once, and are not getting opportunities to bring our best to any of the initiatives. Many
of our initiatives are a mile wide, but an inch deep.
Ted is a good communicator and has worked hard to reach out to employees in both
large and small groups to share his vision for the Port and to get input and hear
employee concerns. He appears to have genuinely embraced diversity as a value.
1. Teds vision often reflects private sector priorities that are, from time to time,
disconnected from the realities of the work of a public sector institution. Having said
that his vision, in terms of business sense, are well thought out and insightful. 2.
When Ted is on he is a very effective leader. His knowledge and capabilities are
impressive and inspiring at times. When he is off he is a temperamental Type A
who goes looking for victims when mistakes are made.
Vision and philosophy are not consistently applied. In particular, Ted is known for
behavior that is not consistent with what he says he values. His occasional behavior is
broadly discussed and actually reinforces the organizational behavior (risk aversion)
we are trying to change. Ted has put a lot of effort into meeting with employees,
which is appreciated. ELT is not functioning on the level it could. I appreciated Teds
leadership in inviting the ELT to Undoing Institutional Racism.
The webcasts, roundtables, etc. that Ted has implemented give employees a direct
connection to him and other executives. This permits employees to ask questions,
receive direct answers and also share ideas. The Ports vision and philosophy is more
clear than it has been in a very long time, and is comprehensive rather than
fragmented by operating division as weve had in the past.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 12


STRATEGY

3. Ports strategy is well-conceived and focused.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 2 2 3.60
Executives 1 7 5 2 3.53

4. Short-term and long-term moves of the CEO are appropriately balanced.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 2 1 1 3.40
Executives 8 6 1 3.53

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Questions #3 and 4


Ted provides the appropriate balance between short-term and long-term strategy but
he needs to do a better job of connecting the dots---linking the short-term activities
with the longer-term goals when framing his asks of the Commission.

Teds OnePort Strategy is the right for us at this time. Ted and I do not work directly
very often but it does appear that he does with the President. Other Commissioners
seem to initiate more direct dealings with him. I do not know the degree to which they
feel they have been able to shape policy. The recent incident involving his salary
increase bodes poorly on his sense of transparently and was a lapse in ethical
behavior. Ted has effectively organized the Port to implement strategies and hires
good people to make it work.

Ted is settling in. Were not going to get a big vision or strategy out of him, but he will
do a good job of implementing what we decide to do on issues. In terms of balance,
the bigger question is how he will handle long-term strategy because short-term is
tactical and he likes that.

SODO arena issue --- 100 percent commission engagement but Ted not involved at all.
He hasnt attended meetings but it is a significant strategic issue for the Port. He is
more involved with pushing the incentive pay program.
The overarching strategic objectives for the Port were established prior to Teds hiring.
That said, he has embraced them fully and set in place key initiatives to help focus
work within the Port to bring them to reality (LRP, One Port, etc.).

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 13


He seems to struggle though when it comes to organizing the ports efforts into
strategic themes, where individual elements of work would take on new meaning
because the connection (whether help or hindrance) to the other work elements within
the theme could be more easily recognized. The consequence of this is that issues of
similar nature, but happening in different parts of the Port, get handled differently.
This ad hoc approach is counterproductive and causes frustration, confusion, and
sometimes ill will. It prevents the Port from applying a principled approach that would
have the exact opposite effect. An example of this is how the Port approaches labor,
which asserts its interests regularly.

Ted would benefit himself, the Port and Commission if he took some time to identify
the key strategic themes and bring forward recommended principals to be applied for
Commission consideration and endorsement.

Ted certainly keeps his schedule full and in that way he has good time management
skills but my observation is that his activities lack cohesion and often are not
synergistic as a group or with other Port priorities. This comment may be a little
unfair, because my view is less that complete. Still, his work style seems overly
frenetic, going from task to task, and insufficiently contemplative and collaborative. I
get the feeling that the daily To Do list is over emphasized and a good day is
determined by how many items get checked off. If this remotely accurate, it would
greatly undermine his ability to provide strategic leadership (especially over time) and
appropriately balance the short and long term moves he needs to be identifying and
leading.
Well done for both commercial and financial aspects of the Port. Count me in as a
supporter of a growth plan for the Port as a way to expand our economic impact. We
should be a partner in regional economic growth. As a Commission, we are
bombarded by project ideas and the Port needs to be able to respond. Ted should be
asking himself the strategic direction he needs from the Commission when he meets
with them. He needs to allow enough time with the Commission to have a meaningful
discussion with him that focuses on the strategy, not the tactics.

Question #3: In 2011 we developed the Century Agenda, which is our 25-year
strategic plan. Mid-course corrections were always contemplated however. Ted came
in and thought we could accomplish the plan in 10 more years after the original 5
years, or a total of only 15 years. So we are making progress faster than we had
planned. The need now is to prioritizewhats most importantand then help Ted to
focus on these highest priority items. In addition to the Century Agenda, Ted has
moved ahead in developing a real estate strategic plan, a Fishermans Terminal
strategic plan and a growth plan of finance. The next step is to tie all this together
into one strategy and vision.

Question #4. Commission has encouraged him to step back and focus on strategy and
not so much on implementation. He has lots of balls in the area.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 14


Executive comments:
Strategic implementation, and long term moves are often hampered by having to
respond to one-offs from Commissioners that can be very time-consuming.
The CEOs attention can be hyper-focused at times on issues that are seemingly very
insignificant while seeming to ignore issues that have longer-term impacts for the Port.
Many strategies being pursued as once makes focus and balance difficult.
Development of LRPs is helpful.
There is still some issues in the short term between the Commissions direction, which
is not always aligned, and the CEOs actions.
Please see my answers to the previous question. I am concerned that many of our
strategies lack depth and the appropriate resources to move them forward. All are well
intended and provide great opportunities going forward, but lack the depth and follow-
through. An example is the Long Range Plan, specifically the High Performance
Organization portion of that plan. Since it was presented to commission, I have heard
no further actions going forward. The plan is good, but nothing is happening.
Ted has created a solid focus on the Ports Century Agenda as the centerpiece of the
Ports strategic direction, along with developing a high performance organization. At
times, however, the organization is handed new, urgent priorities and initiatives, many
of which are Commission driven. Lack of prioritization of these competing initiatives
dilutes staffs effectiveness, creates confusion and affects morale.
3. Priorities originate from a couple of sources, the CEO and the Commission (with
each individual Commissioner, at times, pushing their own priority). So there are times
when the strategy is razor sharp and clear. At other times the strategy appears a bit
misaligned with likely outcomes. 4. In this area Ted does well ... it is an area he excels
in: keeping a perspective of long term and short term priorities.
Ted has made sure we are aligned to implement the Century Agenda. It would be
strategic for the Commission to revisit the Century Agenda and consider certain
updates at an appropriate time.
The strategy is fairly focused. Whether well-conceived or not depends on the area of
business. I think that there is still some significant disconnect related to the difference
between private and government sectors. Much process we are held to by law is
frustrating to Ted and can lead to venting of that frustration. Ted has flashes of real
brilliance but little understanding of the damage occurring deep in the organization
when ever-increasing demands are made without commensurate resources applied.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 15


INTEGRITY

5. CEO sets the tone for the organization by exemplifying consistent values of
high ethical awareness, honesty, fairness and courage.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 2 1 1 2.60
Executives 5 7 2 1 2.93

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Question #5
Unfortunately, my concerns in this area have grown significantly over the course of the
year. Ted still fails to recognize the ethical standards to which we hold all Port
employees, and of which I believe our public demands and deserves from public
leadership. Teds decision to extend the one-time payment authorized by the
Commission to address rank-and-file employee concerns related to
leadership/administrative changes implemented to himself and the ELT strains logic,
and the record reflects a failure to provide full and complete information to the
Commission. [The record also reflects rushed decision-making by CEO Fick and his
leadership team including cut corners that are deeply concerning]. New facts have
come to light that Ted also took gifts from entities that have direct dealings with the
Port with rise to the level of an appearance of conflict if not an outright conflict. I
would have expected Ted to be honest and open about this with the Commission, but
these facts only came to light after directly asking for documentation from our General
Counsel.

Finally, regarding the DUI, Ted did not understand the public implication of his action.
Everyone can make mistakes, but his actions immediately following the citation
indicate that he didnt understand his responsibilities to the employees, Commission,
and public as a leader of a public organization.
This is my greatest area of displeasure. Truthfully, his behavior is completely
unacceptable and has caused me to loose trust in him. For me, it calls into question
his remaining CEO. As a Commissioner, I rely on transparency and forthrightness. Our
processes and Commission oversight depend on it, which is why the Port has a Code
of Ethics and Workplace Responsibility policy.

As a public agency, it is vital that we have the public trust (which is why that is called
out frequently in our Code of Ethics and Workplace Responsibility policy). With public
trust, we can be amazingly impactful. Without it, we risk everything.

His actions relating to the December 2015 one-time payment and changes to the gift
policy to allow his acceptance of event tickets without clear, timely, overt and explicit
disclosure to the Commission and authorization by it violates the Port ethics policy in
my opinion. He clearly had a conflict of interest as both common sense and the Ports

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 16


policy document define. His lack of transparency and failure to seek approval are
unacceptable.
The Commission is not as concerned as much about Teds DUI as it was about his
thinking on how to deal with the issue. He was going to go on a planned vacation and
wait to deal with the DUI when he returned. He is not used to being a public figure. It
took a lot of Commission effort to convince him that he needed to tell his staff and
make a public statement right away. Another example: When bringing forward his
request to serve on a for-profit board, Ted did not disclose to the Commission until
asked directly in the 2nd presentation what the value of his equity stake would be
($250,000). Instead, he chose to describe his compensation as merely the $25,000
annual stipend. This made it appear that the value of his board position was minimal.
He could have chosen instead to be forthright about the full dollar value of his
compensation, but did not do so until asked specifically. This makes me question
whether hes telling us the full story on other similar issues.
Regarding his DUI, he was concerned and embarrassed but ultimately did the right
thing for himself and the organization in getting ahead of it and issuing a statement
shortly after the occurrence.

Executive comments:
As with a number of people, he doesnt always walk the talk. He is ethical, and doesnt
cross the line - but sometimes doesnt appreciate that standing close to the line is less
acceptable for a public agency leader in the eyes of many.
The DUI was a lapse, but Teds management of the issue was transparent and
forthright. I believe he maintains good access and availability to the staff and works to
model accessible, direct behavior.
Ted sets high standards of performance for himself and others and generally
exemplifies the Ports values. A few occasions have been observed, however, when he
hast lost his patience with staff in front of others.
Ted is fearless when it comes to making tough decisions. He prides himself in being
decisive and it shows. His courage level is very high. In terms of honesty, he can be
honest to a fault making observations that, while honest, are not tempered with
compassion and therefore can come across as hostel. He struggles at times with
fairness sometimes blaming subordinates for situations they had little or no control
over. His ethics should be a strong point except for the unfortunate DUI episode. That
there was no visible consequence for that mistake and it continues to be a sore point
for many employees.
Ted is conscientious, honest and courageous. He isnt always a consistent role model
for the type of culture he is trying to establish at the Port.
I do not agree with this statement. This is the area that is the biggest challenge for
Ted. He is working on it.
Ted has high expectations for employees and he makes it clear that creative and
innovative (the good kind!) thinking is expected to find new and more effective ways
to do our work. This is part of the tone he has set, as is his approach to working
rapidly without sacrificing quality or values. Operating within these expectations

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 17


require courage - his to set them and ours to meet them, as they are different and can
be somewhat risky.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 18


SUCCESSION PLANNING

6. CEOs leadership team is collectively of high quality.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 4 4.80
Executives 5 8 2 3.80

7. Pipeline of leaders ensures continuity for the future and the CEO appropriately
addresses succession, continuity and development of talent for the
organization.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 1 2 1 4.25
Executives 2 5 7 1 3.47

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Questions #6 and #7


Ted has done an excellent job in hiring and has put a great deal of emphasis on
developing a pipeline of leaders. This area is clearly one of his strengths.
Ted has shown a particular talent at hiring very good people. It is one of his clear
strengths. I dont have as clear a view of the pipeline development, but know it is an
area of focus for him. I know that this focus was new for the Port and give him the
credit for bringing it about.
Ted has made the some excellent executive hires in the past year---Lance, Dave Soike
and Julie Collins.
Ted has put together a topnotch executive team. Now he needs to focus on
developing the bench strength. People who are not team players are not going to last
long. Ted is moving out under-performing employees. Also, he is trying to re-purpose
employees rather than lay them off. Under Ted, staff is much more responsive.
New executives are consistently of high quality. They are well received by the
Commission. I am very excited by the new energy that the new people have brought
to the Port.

Executive comments:

I rate him exemplary on #7 because he is putting into motion a process for developing
the bench.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 19


Ted has done an excellent job of getting the ELT focus on succession development.
This is a very valuable cultural shift.
Yes, collectively of high quality and working to deliver good product. I do feel there is
insufficient cohesion around overall port goals - department heads are sometimes
working primarily to accomplish their work program goals, rather than asking how
accomplishing their goals can also strengthen other departments success. With so
many initiatives underway, I dont know if there is enough being done to ask how one
goal or initiative supports or detracts from another goal. That is happening; it would
be more effective for the organization if there were more visibility given to it.
This is an area where I see the CEO performing very well. I am very impressed with
his selections for his executive leadership team, and his interest in building an
organization that can develop that necessary talent in-house if necessary, or
effectively recruit it from outside the organization.
Ted has assembled an extremely high quality leadership team and has placed a strong
focus on succession planning for the ELT. Much work has been done this year on
identifying high potential candidates for most ELT positions, although work remains to
be done in developing the talent pipeline for some positions.
Question 6. Ted has a nose for talent and has surrounded himself with a mix of
outside and inside talent. He is very supportive of his executive team regularly
expressing support and appreciation. Having said that he is temperamental sometimes
expressing exasperation in less than constructive ways. 7. This is a priority that
showcases Teds business acumen. The executive team has been led through a
comprehensive succession planning exercise where internal candidates were identified.
This area has received maximum support from the CEO.
The work has begun to identify a pool of candidates to develop and understand the
health of the talent pipeline. This has not been a priority until this year. It will take
time to build a bench.
Ted does a great job acquiring and developing talent. His focus on succession planning
and leadership development are significant positive investments for the Port.
This is one of the conundrums with Ted - I think he has selected an unusually smart,
diverse and committed group of executives who are intent on delivering high quality
product. As we work on the pipeline, it is important to recognize that prior to Teds
arrival, the organization had no focus on succession, rather, it had been flattened and
it prized subject matter experts above broad experience. Ted should not be held fully
accountable for full pipelines yet. There is an opportunity to create more development
for strong staff.
The leadership team combines the best of the public and private sector. I see longer
term executives intimately familiar with the unique regulations related to our position
as a public employer and the newer employees bringing private industry and different
public sector experiences to the table for the good of the Port, its employees and the
community we serve. This is not without tension, but the appreciation of different
perspectives and willingness to learn from them is beneficial on many fronts. Ted has
brought formalized succession planning to the Port and while the work still new it is a
needed step in the right direction to ensure a strong pipeline of leaders to continue
moving the Port forward.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 20


TRANSFORMING ORGANIZATION

8. CEO has transformed the organization appropriately, demonstrating ability to


strategize and execute organizational change.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 1 2 1 3.40
Executives 1 5 7 2 3.67

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Question #8
Ted has given the OnePort strategy high priority and its working.
Ted has brought fresh thinking to the organization and set about to change the
organization through the strategic plan/achieving goals/alignment (my concerns about
incentive pay stated above, however, still apply).
The changes that Ted is making within the Port, including breaking down silos
between departments, are making us a better functioning organization.
Usually, in assessing this area of performance I would focus my thinking on elements
like the One Port reorganization, the Ports ongoing Lean efforts, the embracing of
economic development as a core purpose, shifting to the 40 hour work week, and
attempting to accelerate the achievement of the Century Agenda. If these were all I
considered I would give Ted a high mark.

Given what I learned over the last month, however, I am forced to also use a different
lens that of leading the organization to be transparent, forthcoming, and mindful of
how individual actions may impact public trust.

Above, when I commented on his integrity I described my concerns relating to his


ethical behavior. Here, I want to describe a slightly different (but related) area of
concern his judgment.

Several of Teds actions of which I recently learned cause me to question Teds


judgment and understanding of his role leading a public institution. Examples include
referring his father to a Port maintenance employee as a potential supplier; accepting
gifts from key Port tenants, even though of relatively minor value; and requesting the
personal phone number from a female working for a third party that was catering a
Port event and in a way that made her very uncomfortable. These all speak to poor
judgment when it comes to his personal behavior and the perceptions those behaviors
can create. They fundamentally risk his ability to be an effective CEO and undermine
public trust in the Port.

A managerial example ties back to a point I raised in my answer about integrity


regarding the change to port administrative policy. While it seems that the policy

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 21


change was primarily focused on allowing Ted to accept event tickets, it was more
broadly worded and allowed senior managers (not defined that I know of) to do so
under the same circumstances as well. To me, that risks inviting unacceptable
behavior because the language in the policy change is so ambiguous. Ted, in making
that change, introduced risk to the organization that had not been there before and
which could enable behaviors that undermine public trust and potentially put Port
employees in compromising positions.

Given that the CEO sets the example for all and needs to be the change himself and
the historic challenges of the Port, his behavior not only jeopardizes public trust and
his ability to lead, it risks leading the organization in completely the wrong direction.
News of personal actions get around quickly and the average employee would be
natural to ask if the CEO can do it why cant I? Thats not the transformation we are
looking for.
Ted is moving ahead with his OnePort strategy, but we are still experiencing silos.
Example: cutting down the trees at SeaTac Airport. It was a very siloed approach and
there was not adequate focus on how the neighboring community might (and did)
respond. As a result this turned into a fire drill with protests at the Commission
meeting, a hastily funded new program and still yet community concerns. In all of this
Ted was not present and instead left it to the Commission to deal with.

Executive comments:
It takes a while to change a corporate culture. The degree to which change has not
occurred is not due to lack of trying on Teds part. It is also hard to change the culture
when the Commission often acts in ways counter to productive change.
The ability for the Port to be transformed remains hindered as long as there are still
so many fire drills that could be avoided with better communication and shared
strategic vision between the CEO and Commission.
Yes, there has been a lot of change. It largely has been well-implemented, and when
the need, goal or vision is consistently communicated, people are able to be a part of
it and feel they can make a contribution. Ted has put an emphasis on communication
around change; sometimes the drivers are not as visible to staff.
There has been a great deal of change within the organization. Some of that change
has been performed effectively, and in other areas, less than effectively. I think the
CEO has the ability to strategize well in the traditional private sector business sense,
but he has struggled in areas related to working in the public sector environment.
Centers of Expertise/Matrix Organization is a good step towards breaking down silos,
but has created some confusion in the organization. Additional work remains to refine
and clarify expectations.
Ted has driven the organization to reflect his priorities. Some of the effort has been
disruptive but, overall effective in terms of fostering a One Port perspective.
Ted has brought a higher sense of urgency to the Port. He has elevated the Ports
focus on customer service and effectively pushed the organization to perform at
extraordinary levels.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 22


This is related to a previous answer. There seems to be no recognition of the chaos
that has been created in some of the changes implemented. Centers of Expertise have
some real potential. The constant demand for critical and already over-worked staff to
participate in activities not planned for or budgeted is stressing the organization
significantly. (Work with BCG, LEAN activities etc.) The demand has introduced a new
view of how quickly to organization might be able to respond, but people are wilting
under the stress.
The Port of today is very different from the Port of two years ago. There is a stronger
sense of being a Port of Seattle employee rather than an airport or seaport employee.
The Long Range Plan helps employees connect to the Port and the Century Agenda,
and the focus and visibility on a strong and competitive pay and benefits package
helps employees want to stay and continue contributing their very best work. And the
focus on employee safety, on employees going home safely to their families at the end
of the day is a refreshing change.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 23


PERFORMANCE

9. Port performed well in 2016, meeting both financial and non-financial goals
such as environmental stewardship, diversity and stronger community
relations.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 2 2 4.50*
Executives 5 6 4 3.93
* = NO ANSWER

10. Port also made good progress toward goals of its Century Agenda.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 3 4.75*
Executives 3 8 4 4.07
* = NO ANSWER

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Questions #8 and #9


The organization performed well in 2016 and Ted did provide the leadership that
enabled it. He has been pushing financial discipline and forcing greater scrutiny of
wasteful processes and expenses. He has been laying the groundwork for future
initiatives through exploration (fishing vessel recapitalization and biofuel for the
airport), strategic planning (Fishermens Terminal and SAMP), and organizational
strengthening (economic development and development of LRP).

Ted has also embraced a greatly expanded and impactful internship program and an
economic development grant program for cities within King County.
Financially the Port did very well in the past year. In terms of community relations, we
are stronger as result of the public affairs restructuring and numerous good hires by
Julie Collins.

Executive comments:
A remarkable list of achievements. Many of which are due to Ted prodding us.
Ted has does a good job of developing a list of priorities (annual goals) for the
organization that are reflective of commission priorities and the long range plans.
These are translated into division goals which helps make sure the organization is
aligned.
Emphasis on century agenda is clear.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 24


The port performed very well financially, but did not meet expectations in some of the
non-financial goals, such as the utilization of small and disadvantaged businesses, and
customer satisfaction. I believe this is mostly due to the late recognition and adoption
of these areas as goals for 2016. The late adoption made the organization poorly
prepared to meet those goals for 2016. I believe the organization became more aware
as a whole of the Century Agenda goals as the year progressed, but that awareness
took most of the year. As such I believe we are poised to make strides in in 2017, but
I struggle to say we made good progress towards those goals in 2016.
The Port has had significant accomplishments in 2016 as outlined in Teds self-
assessment.
9. Had the non-financial goals been more realistic in terms of Commission expectations
(small business) we could have scored better. I rate this as meeting expectations in
terms of how realistic expectations were given that Commission expectations gave Ted
little latitude in terms of a realistic approach to goal setting. 10. In this case Ted was
very effective in ramping up awareness and effort to achieve Century Agenda goals.
A very successful year... Did not meet pay for performance goals but they were
beyond reach to begin with.
The work done in these areas was, of course, performed by other staff, not Ted. His
focus on the goals is unifying.
Progress has certainly been made, and the discussion on goals has demonstrated the
need for the Port to be more data driven and utilize metrics and analytics to determine
appropriate goals and measure progress against them. Teds leadership on the Centers
of Expertise has helped bring this focus to work across the organization. And we still
have lots of opportunity in this area.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 25


STAKEHOLDERS

11. CEO interacts effectively with the leaders of the Northwest Seaport Alliance,
other governmental agencies, foreign trading partners, the business
community, labor and numerous other stakeholders who are key to the success
of the Port.

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 2 1 2 4.00
Executives 1 8 1 5 4.00

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Question #11:

The effectiveness of Teds interactions with stakeholders depends on stakeholder


group. He does very well with customers and stakeholders within the business
community. He has made significant efforts to build bridges with labor, but has also
had a few stumbles. Ted has a passable relationship with the NWSA theres some
natural tension here as clearer lines of responsibility get established so I consider
passable here good for now. He has worked extremely had to reach out to all the
cities of King County and made efforts to engage with other ports around the state
here I give him high marks. He does not seem to have engaged with environmental
stakeholders, which he should.
We have been getting good feedback from business leaders who like his openness and
collaborative engagement. Ted has made a great effort to meet with elected leaders
across the entire county (although I think the organization would be better served by
a government affairs team fostering those relationships directly with our elected
leaders Commissioners). On the other hand, he has struggled to create a meaningful
relationship with the labor community. Last year he made a significant outreach to
labor and hired a Senior Director for Labor Relations. But the labor community
understandably views many of his proposals with skepticism and has stated an
unwillingness for CEO Fick to engage in true constructive engagement.
I am very impressed with the way Ted is handling the relationship with the Northwest
Seaport alliance. It is very awkward for him and for the Port of Seattle at times when
decisions are made that have a big financial impact on Seattle and our CEO and his
key executives arent even in the room when the decision is made.
Ted and John Wolfe have regularly scheduled phone calls, but it appears they are not
on the same page. They seem to be talking but not communicating. The relationship
between the two is critical going forward.

Regarding Teds other stakeholder contacts, I dont know how to evaluate their
effectiveness because we dont know what has come up in those conversations; he

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 26


doesnt communicate with us about what he does on a regular basis. They offer a
great opportunity to the Port so it would be good to know what is Ted is hearing.
Developing effective relationship with a variety of stakeholders takes a continuous
effort. Ted is making progress. The Seaport Alliance relationship started out rocky but
it is getting better. Ted has recognized the importance to the board and to the
community that we as a public agency have good labor relations. Ted views labor as
an important stakeholder and prioritizes labor relations much more than his
predecessors he hired a leading labor leader in the labor relations head role and he
listens to him.

Executive comments:

Again, a remarkable list of outreach meetings achieved over the year. Many of which
led to connecting disconnected parties, and led to new ideas being implemented.
Ted places significant emphasis on building external relationships and has achieved
good progress in this regard during 2016.
Much more progress than past years. Will always be somewhat of a challenge in how
the Port is perceived and operates in King County.
Ted has made community outreach a high priority, probably more so than any Port
CEO in recent memory.
11. Ted has totally internalized this priority. He expects his executive team to support
this goal (where applicable) and demands results.
Ted represents the Port capably and professionally.
I have a limited view of his interactions with several of those mentioned. For the ones
about which I do know, Ted meets the goal.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 27


CEO-COMMISSION RELATIONS

12. CEO and the Commissioners have an effective working relationship and have
open communication. CEO keeps the Commissioners fully informed on all
important Issues facing the Port (internal and external).

1 2 3 4 5 DNK Composite
Below Marginal Meets Exemplary Exceeds Average
Commissioners 1 1 1 1 2.50*
Executives 5 4 3 1 2 3.00
* = NO ANSWER

Commissioner comments:

Comments on Question #12:

Ted is trying to keep the Commission up to date on all the things going on at the Port.
When I first arrived, I really appreciated his invitation to have lunch with his executive
team. I got a chance to meet them and learn about their issues. It has not happened
since and I believe there needs to be more direct interaction or longer ones when they
occur. To get Commissioners support for what he wants to do, Ted needs to keep
them in the loop along the way. He faces the limitations of our availability as part-time
Commissioners and the open meeting law. Ted should better know each
Commissioners interests and political needs. He should understand the political
realities of their situation.
I had felt that CEO-Commission relations were getting better on balance (varied
somewhat by issue and commissioner). Unfortunately, with the recent discovery of
issues relating to his ethics, transparency, and judgment, we are now at a new low in
my estimation. Speaking for myself, the working relationship between Ted and me is
now completely compromised.
Ted needs to be proactive in communicating with the Commission. He should be
taking the initiative. He should pick up the phone and call us. It doesnt have to be an
urgent issue, but I think it is a way to keep us posted as new issues emerge or there
are new developments on ongoing issues. Current example: the State Auditors report
criticizing some things that the Port has done. I just heard about it from one of the
other Commissioners, but the Audit Committee and staff have been dealing with the
issue for a couple of weeks. A phone call from Ted would have been a great way to
alert us to the State Auditors report and the potential problems it creates for the Port.

Ted seems to think that I am trying to embarrass him by asking probing questions in
front of his staff or the audience at a public meeting, but I just want to get some
information on issues that were addressing. I would prefer to do it in private, but our
private sessions with Ted have been cut out except for those with the Commission
President. My only alternative is to ask the questions in public session.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 28


The Commission has regular contact with Ted. Its face to face contact with the chair
and he relies more on phone calls to give periodic updates to other commissioners.
The flow of information is good.
We have seen some improvement over the past year. As stated in Teds personal
assessment, I do believe he put renewed energy and time in more communication
with the Commission. My concern is the quality of some of those communications, and
whether Ted has deep grasp on the proposals to understand nuances that impact
strategy. As mentioned elsewhere, recent facts brought to light indicate a lack of
complete transparency over important ethical questions/issues and, unfortunately, that
speaks to the more fundamental of issues trust.
The commission shares equal blame for any tension in CEO-commission relations.
Some commissioners have developed a habit of privately and publicly chastising staff if
staff is not moving forward with the commissioners pet projects or items, even before
that commissioner has put in the work to socialize the project or item with/seek the
support of all fellow commissioners.

In my one-on-one with Ted early in the year, he would often start off by saying
something like "here are the five projects I am working on for Commissioner X." I had
to remind him that no matter the force of personality of any one commissioner, he
needs to be working on *commission* priorities, not those of any one commissioner.

I believe the Commission has a lot of work to do on what we collectively view our roles
and responsibilities as a board and as board members.

Recent issues with the SAO I largely attribute to staff moving forward too quickly with
commissioner ideas without first fully vetting them.

Executive comments:
Its not for lack of trying on Teds part. Two Commissioners schedule calls and
meetings and then dont show up or call, and dont even bother to inform us of the
cancellation (this has gotten better toward the end of the year). Its very difficult to
get a CEO meeting with Commissioners. They often dont respond to his emails or calls
or texts. Commissioners tend to treat Ted as an Executive Director doing their bidding
instead of a CEO empowered to run the Port.
My sense is that there is very good communication between Ted and the commission
and that the commissions interests are communicated by Ted to his direct reports and
through them to the organization.
The CEO puts an emphasis on this. It may be hindered by the individual
commissioners interests and relationships, in which the CEO does not participate, so
the full read of an important issue may not seem as fully informed as an individual
commissioner may want, but I think there is a handicap in the commissioners having
very broad agendas beyond what is entailed in the ports daily operations and
activities.
I believe processes are being put into place that allow the CEO to be better prepared
to keep the commission informed. This allowed for a more informed commission and

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 29


CEO, but has added process, slowing the progress of our day to day business
activities.
From all appearances the CEO-Commission relationship is working well, with frequent
communication and more rigorous review and managing of the Commission meeting
agenda. The biggest issues seem to be clarity of roles and responsibilities, which has
been a focus of the Alignment work.
This dynamic is a challenge for Ted. To be fair I believe the Commission were less
than clear in terms of expectations when Ted was hired. For his part Ted struggles to
internalize what effective commission support entails often producing a disconnected
and misaligned effort. To the degree that this is evident in public sessions (as
represented in the comments of some Commissioners) is unfortunate and speaks as
much to Commission deficiencies as it does to issues with the CEO.
My observation is Ted keeps Commission fully informed on important issues.
Commission reaches below the policy level and at times its unclear whether the
request or standing is of one commissioner and should be acted upon or not. Ive
observed instances where commission provides direction and then reverses direction
which is confusing and leaves staff uncertain.
There is a lot of room for improvement here.... on both sides of the aisle. Ted and the
Commissioners need to figure out how to meet half way ... especially on the small
stuff.
There is observable stress between Ted and the Commission. We all participate in
trying to make sure Ted has the info he needs to keep Commission informed, but to
be fair, Commission is way too involved in minutia and seems to really jerk his
attention around.
I dont have lots of visibility in this area, but I have had opportunities to hear Ted talk
about how I and others need to present information to Commissioners and why. He
has really come to understand what it takes for employees to make effective
presentations to Commissioners and he, and his team, are helping all of us get better
at understanding what is needed to ensure Commissioners have the information they
need to provide the approvals or direction we need. My exceeds choice on this item is
based only on my observations of Teds relationship with Commissioners.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 30


13. Based on the self-evaluation of the CEOs work for the past 12 months, which
he has provided, please offer your comments on his leadership on the
achievement of goals.

Commissioner comments:

Our divide between Commission direction and how projects are brought before us.
There has been good progress on certain tactical / operational areas:
Airport capital program (IAF, NorthStar, Baggage optimization)
Pier 66 renovation
Bio-fuels study completed
Remote baggage handling at P 91
Reduction in TSA wait times

The progress on strategic goals (tourism grants, economic development grants,


internship program) was impressive work by staff, but I feel its important to note that
these were all ideas generated by the Commission, not by the CEO or senior staff.
I dont agree with the statement that the Strategic Growth Plan of Finance was
developed and socialized with the Commission.
I am unaware of the work having been done on Implementing talent development
and succession planning, which was to be concluded by Q4.
Overall, I believe Ted performs well on implementation of a plan or project that is
presented to him. He has not shown interest or strong capabilities in creating a vision
or strategic thinking. This is manageable if he lets the Commission come up with the
vision and then communicates with more regularity about the implementation.
Personal Goals: Very impressed by Teds focus on grasping opportunities to expand his
learning on best practices for diversity and inclusion. I think this speaks to a
fundamentally important quality of leadership commitment to lifelong learning. As
mentioned elsewhere, I also believe Ted invested in new ways to communicate with
employees to support his positive cultural changes to OnePort and, in general, I
believe those have been very well-received by employees. Finally, I think the CEO and
Commission started some of the important work to improve Commission meetings and
planning. The addition of the CEO report at the top of Commission meetings provides
important context for organization priorities for both the Commission and the public.
We collectively still have more work to go in this regard how do we communicate
the important and valuable work the Port does clearly, effectively and efficiently to the
public?

Organizational Goals: There is no question that we have a significant number of major


infrastructure projects underway and, overall, I think the progress has been strong. I
hope that we have seen our last delay in NorthStar, and that CEO continues to
monitor how we communicate effectively to the public about temporary
inconveniences and longer-term deliverables in real-time.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 31


In terms of strategy for fishing vessel replacement, I do not think we have a realistic
plan. The time for brainstorming and dreaming was 2+ years ago, and this goal was
about delivering a realistic short-term and long-term tactical plan to achieve our goal
of incentivizing ship-building within our region. The team did not achieve goal #3.

Great work on fisherman terminal strategic plan. We should share this with Seattle
City Council through series of briefings. Goal achieved. Good progress on
environmental scorecard, and credit for elevating the role of environmental leadership
at the Port too early to tell, but this has a good chance of strengthening alignment
across the business units on this priority. (Recognizing lots more work will be needed
in 2017 to approve new recommendations in this area).

Workforce development goals are not indicative of the Commission-approved strategy;


these two programs were one-off tactics (intern program and coreplus). Pleased about
the execution of these two programs, but this is not the appropriate way to measure
success. Goals should be # of individuals served by our overall program, # of those
who advanced their education/career.

Executive comments:

Ted has very high standards and is demanding. Ted also sees a somewhat under-
achieving staff, sees the talent we have, and pushes to accomplish more than we think
we can. Many people are not used to this kind of leadership. Ted can be hard on
people who fall short - its sort of a tough love approach; he could deal with people in
a less emotional, confrontation way and perhaps be more effective.
Ted is very focused on achieving the defined goals. The good news is that he really
drives the organization to achieve the goals.
Ted has advanced the goals of the Port.
Appreciate CEOs energy and drive to make progress on multiple goals. Respect for
staff has improved. Appreciate CEOs reflection on racism and white privilege.
I think Ted has kept these goals front of mind and done a very good job of focusing
on these deliverables.
I believe the CEO accurately portrayed the achievements of the organization in 2016.
Much of that achievement goes to the strong staff he has in place. His drive to push
us in a number of areas has been a change that is positive for the organization. He
has us thinking more critically as we make business decisions.
Ted has captured the most significant accomplishments for the year, which are
numerous.
Ted is a talented leader that, while gifted in technical knowledge of executive
leadership, creates more work for himself with the style in which he operates. At times
he is finds he needs to force an issue due to inconsistent leadership. He is, however,
producing results and while not achieving all his goals certainly address them all and
moves the bar in terms of progress forward.
Strong leadership, goals are focused.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 32


Ted is genuine in his expressed to desire to understand diversity and inclusion at a
deeper level and I believe hes taken steps towards doing that this year. The
executives are strong performers and leaders. I would encourage Ted to empower
them more to lead their organizations.
A very successful year... outstanding accomplishments across the board
A huge amount of work has been done. Some if it directly related to his initiatives, but
most related to our core businesses. He, as CEO, gets to claim the accomplishments.
Teds leadership provides me with clear direction that I can in turn share with my
team. As a result of Teds leadership I have a deeper understanding of goals and
objectives across the organization than Ive had before. The goals for this year were
significant, and they were accomplished and then some.

14. Are there any other areas that, in your opinion, should receive priority
attention in the coming year?
Commissioner comments:

A plan for increasing small business and minority contracting opportunities.


Implementing a plan for T 91 uplands.
Need to synthesize Port goals with regional strategies and the political environment to
enable the Commission to discuss more strategies. Its a way our external relationships
can benefit the Port.
Ted should use commissioners with specific background on an area to help him deal
with issues.
We need an over-arching vision and plan that fits all of the key new plans together
(the real estate, fishermans terminal and finance growth plans) with the Century
Agenda.

Executive comments:

Ted has a tendency to focus on shortcomings, and things like typos, and ignore
broader achievements. A well-written briefing paper is called out for a typo, not for
being a good briefing. A little more positive recognition to the troops could go a long
way.
Building strong CEO-Commission relationships should continue to be a priority.
I think its important to understand the relationship between cost-accomplishment-
priority-customer service-values. I dont think the Port can deliver equally on all these
areas, but we often head that direction and then have to compromise when were
faced with conflicting issues. Sometimes that means were responding to the loudest
voices, and we set aside business performance or cost targets. I think this conflict or
choice should be looked at clearly before an issue arises, so that we can understand
what choices were making about our own values. That will help senior managers and
directors to support the direction more consistently.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 33


No added areas. I believe we need to focus on providing depth and more substance to
the existing areas of attention.
Refining and providing more clarity on the matrix/COE structure.
Commission communication. Ted needs to develop a manner of understanding the
nuances to Commissions direction. Dealing with political leaders is different from
dealing with business leaders. Issues and challenges are less straight forward. Solving
public sector problems requires a dexterity that doesnt appear to come naturally to
the CEO.
One Port - creating cohesion and synergy between divisions.
CEO/Commission congruence.
I think there is an emotional intelligence development opportunity. To get to truly
demonstrating the values we espouse, we all need to make sure we are behaving in
ways consistent with our stated values. Ted, especially, as CEO.

15. How might the CEO modify or improve on the proposed goals for the coming
year?
Commissioner comments:

Again, Ted deserves credit for driving a rigorous process to link Port-wide goals and
strategies with the Century Agenda. The entire organization would benefit by
continuing to internalize these long-term strategies and directly link
proposals/conversations with executive leadership and the Commission in these terms.
Too often, Im asked to weigh in on a one-off project (waste fuel here, couple solar
panels there) and my impression the team is being reactive and havent spent the time
to link these projects to longer-term strategies (or at least need better
communications skills to explain how they have done so).

Workforce development goals should be aligned with overall strategy the Commission
adopted as presented by Marie Kuroseand directly linked to those strategies including
improved impact of Airport Jobs/University; improved regional collaboration. Goals
should be # of individuals served by our overall program, # of those who advanced
their education/career.

Support changing our goal on small and disadvantaged businesses to better measure
our impact would welcome CEO sharing when new proposal will be delivered.
No comment at this time.
Ted needs to work with management on prioritizing goals. We have work to do in
energizing staff (beyond the executives). They need to understand why the
organizational change makes sense and why the vision make sense and how they fit
together.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 34


Executive comments:

I think the proposed goals could be a little more specific. I believe the goals are
philosophically and strategically adequate.
I think we have too many goals in 2016. Having fewer goals would provide greater
clarity of priorities to staff.
The CEO should focus on identifying shared goals with the Port Commission to better
unify the organization.
Diversity and inclusion should start with a deeper personal understanding, not just
rolling out workshops. The inner circle continues to be primarily white men. Appreciate
CEOs interest in improving in this area.
I dont think I have seen the 2017 goals. I will see if I can correct that and comment.
Push to provide depth and substance within the current initiatives.
ELT is currently working on refining the 2017 goals.
I dont know.
I recommend adding a safety goal.
Align goals to Century Agenda/LRP so that it drives congruence with Commission
priorities and public relations opportunities.
I think those goals are challenging and could return real value when achieved.
Continue to engage staff in developing and refining metrics as well as a solid
understanding of the metrics and how we can use them to get better at planning so
that we can continue to do great things for the Ports stakeholders.

16. How is the CEO performing in meeting the overall expectations of the Board?
(FOR BOARD ONLY)

Commissioner comments:
I believe I have covered this throughout.
Ted has met our expectations when it comes to the Ports business but he has created
some serious political liabilities.
Recent facts brought to light raise new questions about the level of transparency
between the CEO and the Commission these absolutely need to be addressed. CEO
Fick gets high marks for increasing the frequency of communication with the
Commission, but the quality remains lacking. Often times, his agenda is highly tactical
in nature and is not seeking strategic advice.
CEO should be completely engaged in the meeting (as Commissioners are). CEO
should be aware, and inform Commission, of any issues of public concern BEFORE the
meeting (ex: protestors re: tree cutting at Sea-Tac; labor protests, etc.)
The Commission has high expectations for Ted. We hired him from outside the port
industry. He has brought more benefits. Out-of-the-box thinking is an example.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 35


17. What one piece of advice would you give the CEO regarding leadership of the
Port?
Commissioner comments:

Be bold in striking a unique identity for the Alliance.


Political sensitivity: If in doubt about how to handle an issue, ask. Anticipate problems
and understand the political implications. For example, the tree trimming issues
recently. I could have advised him on that one.
View communication with the Commission as an opportunity versus a necessary evil.
Provide space and support for strategic advice. Need to tee-up 360-degree strategies
for issues like trees, waterfront development and taxis. These are not simply
revenue/profit-based decisions, and the team remains ill-equipped to identify potential
problems/challenges in advance and develop nuanced strategies to address critical
issues like community buy-in/support; quality jobs; environment impact and
opportunities.

Ted needs to internalize that leading a public agency is living in a fish bowl.

Executive comments:

The CEO needs to better respect work styles, professional experiences and
perspectives that differ from his own.
publically own the miss steps as well as the successes it will help break the risk
adverse culture
Tell the employees theyre doing a good job. Ask them questions about their job.
Value them as people - they have a job to do just like the CEO does.
You, as the CEO of the Port are constantly being watched. Your behavior and actions
speak louder than your words.
None come to mind.
Support your people, trust and empower your teams to make decisions and be
consistent.
Aggressively facilitate communication and priority setting with Commission on an
ongoing basis.
Look inward at what is going on in the organization as well as outward to the
communities. There is so much going on here that is so far beyond manufacturing and
some of what is being forced on the organization does not fit.
Walk the building more often. Spend too much time hidden upstairs and not talking to
all levels of employees.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 36


18. Do you have any other comments relative the CEOs performance or the
operation of the Port in general that you would like to share?

Commissioner comments:

I believe Ted is a probably a strong manager but is challenged to understand what


leadership means. The focus in 2016 on things like incentive pay and his private board
membership give the impression that he is more interested in compensation than on
the honor and privilege of stewarding the resources of the Port for the benefit of our
community. I hope he will take some time to think about whether being the leader of
a public agency is a good long-term fit for him personally.

Executive comments:

I think the incentive pay program has done an amazing job of focusing the entire
organization on the importance of certain key initiatives. I give Ted tremendous credit
for driving this.
There is a sharp contrast of experiences in working with the CEO. His level of support
to staff can be both amazing but also extremely disrespectful. It is disconcerting to
experience these extremes - it requires always being on-guard and uncertain of
whether he will back his team in challenging situations.
There are a lot of initiatives, a lot of independent values being acted on, a lot of new
direction on existing work. I think Ted does a good job communicating the priorities
and values. Its important to note that staff are often the recipients of direction that
initiated elsewhere and its not always easy to reconcile the existing work with the new
approach with a new initiative with a new, desired outcome. And sometimes those
desired outcomes are not necessarily in agreement. A stronger alignment between
individual commissioner values and the CEOs direction of it would produce more
cohesive work, I think. Ted seems to work with what he has, and then the initiatives
that he is generating as well, as the leader closest to the daily operation of the port.
Its a lot to reconcile, streamline, lead and deliver on. I think the results are pretty
good, despite the complexity.
No.
Ted has done an excellent job pushing the Port in new directions and producing
results. I hope we can maintain the momentum he has established and realize also
that it will take several years to truly see the benefits of what Ted has started.
There is so much talent here that is seemingly being discounted by the Commission
and Ted. I would like to see what we could do if we were actually resourced to
accomplish what they want.
Way too much hierarchy. Port is managed through an ORG Chart. Great companies
dont do that.

2016 Port of Seattle CEO Evaluation CONFIDENTIAL Page 37

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