Our CEO Had the Worst View in the Building. It Taught Me Everything About Leadership.
A former recruiter reflects on what a storage company CEO named Chuck Barbo taught her about servant leadership, mission-driven culture, and the kind of leader worth following - lessons that shape every career conversation she has today.
Our CEO's office had the worst view in the building. And it taught me everything about leadership.
Charles Barbo (Chuck) was the CEO of a Seattle-based Real Estate Investment Trust called Shurgard.
In 2001, while Amazon was still figuring out how to turn a profit, Shurgard was expanding profitably as the pre-eminent storage leader across the US and Europe.
Let's be honest: this is not the sexiest industry. Nobody hears "storage" and thinks, wow, that's such a glamorous place to be.
But under Chuck's leadership, Shurgard attracted world-class talent. People wanted to work here. And once they did, they stayed.
I worked at the home office on Lake Union, recruiting talent and hosting new hire orientation. On orientation days, I'd give an office tour - including a stop where new hires could meet the C-Suite.
Chuck loved to welcome new Shurgardians on day one. Not through a welcome email. In person.
No appointment needed. I could walk right into his open office, introduce them, and watch as he shook their hand and welcomed them like they belonged there.
One day, during orientation, he decided to share more than just a handshake.
He reached into his wallet and pulled out a small, worn, folded card. Inside was the Shurgard Constitution: the mission and values.
Every new hire got one. But Chuck carried his everywhere.
That day, he gave an impromptu speech about why it mattered. He talked about how the mission wasn't just words on a page - it was the foundation of every decision, every hire, every product choice.
Related: Why company culture defines your career.
I have never forgotten that moment.
Not because it was polished. Because it was real.
The CEO of a profitable, expanding company was in a corner office with the worst view - and he chose it on purpose. Because he wanted his team to have the good ones.
That is the kind of leader people follow. That is the kind of company worth joining.
When I teach professionals how to evaluate a company before they accept an offer, this is the standard I use. Does the leadership carry the mission? Or just display it on the wall?
The answer changes everything about whether that job will be worth your time and talent.
Frequently Asked Questions
For the full framework, read Theory of Hireability.
Start building your path to Candidate of Choice at TheoryOfHireability.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Theory of Hireability™?
The Theory of Hireability™ is Lindsay Mustain's framework for how hiring actually works in a competitive market. It reframes the job search around a simple truth: you don't get hired by applying more, you get hired by becoming the obvious choice before the role is even open. Hireability is built through visibility, relationships, and positioning as the Candidate of Choice, not through resumes stacked in an ATS.
What is the Hireability Gap™?
The Hireability Gap™ is the distance between what a candidate believes will land the offer (applying, tailoring resumes, chasing job boards) and what actually converts (relationships, visibility, being pre-vetted before the job posts). Most senior professionals lose six to twelve months of their search inside the gap. Closing it is the first step of Intentional Career Design™.
Who is Lindsay Mustain?
Lindsay Mustain is a former Fortune 100 corporate recruiter (Amazon, JPMorgan, and 14 others across 16 years, 2001-2017) who has personally reviewed over a million resumes and hired 10,000+ candidates. She left Amazon after the company declined to automate candidate experience or treat candidates as well as customers, and built Talent Paradigm to teach senior professionals how to land six-figure remote roles without submitting a single application. She's a 2x bestselling author with 20,000+ clients across 121 countries, featured in CNBC Make It, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and Forbes.
What is Intentional Career Design™?
Intentional Career Design™ is Lindsay's methodology for building a career on your terms instead of taking whatever the market hands you. It sits underneath the Theory of Hireability™ and covers the full arc: knowing your worth, building visibility, engineering the right relationships, and stepping into roles that fit your life, not the other way around.
What is the Candidate of Choice methodology?
Candidate of Choice is the positioning outcome of the Theory of Hireability™. It means hiring managers know your name before the role posts, decision-makers are already asking whether you'd consider a move, and the offer conversation starts with 'we need you' instead of 'we're considering you.'
Where does the Theory of Hireability™ come from?
Every framework Lindsay teaches, including the Theory of Hireability™, exists so that senior professionals stop trusting the company to protect them and start building the leverage that protects them themselves.
How do I learn more?
The full Theory of Hireability™ manifesto lives at TheoryOfHireability.com. If you're ready to close your Hireability Gap™ and land a six-figure remote role without applying, the strategy playbook is at SixFigureRemoteCareerStrategy.com.
