Robert Jordan - Right Leader, Right Time: Discover Your Leadership Style for a Winning Career and Company

DISCOVER YOURLEADERSHIP STYLEFOR A WINNING CAREER AND COMPANY

ROBERTJORDANOLIVIAWAGNER

Published 2022 by Gildan Media LLC

aka G&D Media

www.GandDmedia.com

RIGHT LEADER RIGHT TIME. Copyright 2022 Robert Jordan and Olivia Wagner. All rights reserved.

This book is presented solely for educational purposes. The author and publisher are not offering it as legal, business, accounting, or other professional services advice. While best efforts have been used in preparing this book, the author and publisher make no representations or warranties of any kind and assume no liabilities of any kind with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness of use for a particular purpose. Neither the authors nor the publisher shall be held liable or responsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or incidental or consequential damages caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information or programs contained herein. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. Every company and every leader is different, and the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation.

For more information about Right Leader Right Time and FABS Leadership, visit www.RightLeader.com where you can take the FABS Leadership Assessment. Contact the authors at info@RightLeader.com.

Front Cover design by Kostis Pavlou

Interior design by Meghan Day Healey of Story Horse, LLC

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request

eISBN: 978-1-7225-2681-8

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

When Sophie Jordan was fourteen days old, she weighed one pound and five ounces. About the same as four size D batteries. In the hush and beeps of a hospital neonatal intensive care unit, she lay in an incubator connected to intravenous lines and heart monitors. While she was breathing well thanks to a ventilator supplying air to her lungs, two of the major arteries to her heart had not separated at birth as they were meant to. She needed open-heart surgery.

My wife, Sharon, and I (Robert) were first-time parents, trying to understand how a newborn that looked more like a plucked chicken than a baby could survive surgery. We waited, and waited, pacing back and forth, not knowing what to expect. Praying for life to continue, hoping there was hope for our new daughter.

The door to the NICU opened and a woman walked in with a line of people trailing behind. She introduced herself, and without knowing why or how, I remember thinking in the instant before Dr. Marleta Reynolds spoke that we were in good hands. No, change that. I knew we were in great hands.

One moment I was so keyed up it was hard to breathe. Steel bands around my chest, tightening. Heart hammering like I was about to enter a cage fight to the death. And then Marleta Reynolds arrived and everything went quiet. It was not a conscious reaction, and I dont remember what she said. It didnt matter. I felt we were in the presence of something powerful, momentous, and positive. A professional so well trained, aware, accomplished, confident, and ready for the task at hand that worry was beside the point.

The right leader had shown up at just the right time.

Luckily, Sophie had a successful operation twenty-three years ago. Her care, and the feeling I got knowing she was in capable hands, sums up a lot of what I and my coauthor, Olivia Wagner, have seen in successful organizations.

When the right leader shows up, everyone breathes easy. Motivation and purposeful work spike, and people feel a sense of calm and direction knowing that good things are happening, great results will naturally occur, and there is movement toward a brighter future.

Think of a time you felt completely in your element leading an organization, team, or project. You were energized by the work and by the challenges in front of you. You knew you were the best person for the job and your results proved it.

Maybe you are in a role that gives you that feeling right now. Or you might feel a bit uneasy and have a hard time coming up with an answer. Maybe even envious of people who have been able to get in that zone or reach that high peak in their work. No matter what your reaction, if you desire to become a better leader, we tell you this: you are in the right place. We are going to help you discover how to magnify your strengths as a leader so you can be more effective in your career and the companies you lead.

Leadership is at the core of how organizations succeed or, more often than not, fail. So how is it that some leaders succeed brilliantly and repeatedly, while many others fail to deliver the goods? This question has been the driving force in our quest to work with and invest in only the best leaders and organizations, culminating in our research, interviews, and in the writing of this book.

A little bit of background about us, your coauthors, first. Robert Jordan launched his first company at the age of twenty-six, when he set out to create Online Access, the first magazine to cover the quickly evolving world of online services, computer bulletin boards, and the internet. It was a bumpy ride. Running out of cash. Sleepless nights. Going bust after just two years, then showing up in federal bankruptcy court to bid and buy back the assets to start again. The magazine ultimately skyrocketed onto the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies before it was sold to a big publishing company.

But even at the best part of that journey, he was a jack-of-all-trades, and it was frustrating being spread too thin. The experience did lead, however, to discovering the exact roles and responsibilities where he excelled, and more importantlymuch more importantlylearning the value of partnering and coming to trust other leaders for their unique forms of genius. Following the sale of the magazine, Robert set out to help other owners and investors launch tech products and ultimately sell to strategic buyers.

In 2009 Robert teamed up with a new graduate from the University of Michigan, Olivia Wagner, to launch a worldwide network for what was then an underground community of interim and project-based executives. The concept of leadership-on-demand was new to Olivia, but what began as a job turned into a calling to help organizations tackle big challenges by matching them with great leadership resources. But how to ensure a successful match was made? We set out to discover the holy grailthe secret or elusive qualities, skills, mindset, and abilities that differentiate the ordinary from the extraordinary.

We had to know: What causes off-the-charts great performance, far above the average?

Our journey to identify the DNA of inspired and inspiring leadership took us on parallel tracks. We wrote and published