NAME: Jordan W.
LOCATION: Home Office - Wichita, KS
POSITION: Senior Regional Manager
TENURE: Four Years (May 2019)
How did your career path lead you to Landvest? While working a B2B sales job, I knew that this was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I had always desired something that was part hands-on and part problem solving. A family member of mine knew someone that was in property management and thought it would be a good fit for me. I decided to look into it and I agreed that it was right in my wheelhouse. I completed my real estate licensing, and started looking for jobs. Self-Storage was a natural place to get my foot in the door and I was given the keys to a brand new self-storage property (one of our competitors) in Wichita. From there, I continued to look for more and more responsibility, until I was eventually assisting in managing the operations of seven self-storage properties. Through that additional responsibility, I had become familiar with one of the owners of Landvest – when they were looking for an Operations Manager, he reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in interviewing for the position. I interviewed for the position, and here we are…..
What is the best advice you’ve received in your career? As cliché as it is, always lead by example. Don’t ask any member of your team to do something you wouldn’t do. Everything from picking up trash, to cleaning toilets, to taking care of customers; nothing is beneath a manager - that is why we are so big on our leadership team knowing how to run our stores.
Which experience(s) in your career influenced who you are today? The magnification of running 50 plus properties in very different markets. When you are interacting with people in different parts of the country, you get to learn personality differences and it makes you adjust how you manage.
What is your favorite part of your position? The problem solving. Every day presents a new challenge, and every day is different. From dealing with different personalities of employees, dealing with contractors who fail to follow through, to solving problems for customers.
What is your least favorite part of your position? I don’t know that I have a least favorite part. Every day is different and every day presents new challenges, but there is nothing specific that I dislike.
What is the most difficult part of your position? Overcoming the challenge of shifting the many moving pieces in management, as well as the ever-changing priority list. What was number one priority today, may be different tomorrow.
If you could only call one member of the Landvest team to answer a question, any question, who would you call and why? This might be the easiest answer of them all. Brian Byrd, without a doubt. He literally wrote the book on the operations of our facilities – there is not a situation that he can’t handle or come up with a solution for.
Describe the endeavor you are most proud of while being part of the Landvest team? I have had the pleasure of hiring, training, and working side by side with some great managers. We are only as good as the team around us.
What would you tell someone that is thinking about joining the Landvest team? You are about to accept a position with a company that will challenge you, be direct with you, and provide you the tools that you need to succeed. The only thing you have to do is not get in the way of yourself. Landvest is a well-oiled machine, with many years of experience in this field, but they are always looking to develop new talent in an effort to provide the best product for our clients and our customers.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be, and why? Invisibility. I don't want to sound creepy, but you could gain a lot of insight with this super power.