Navigating the Leadership Spectrum: From Beginner to Advanced

Summary

In this conversation, Christopher Swing explores the intersection of leadership and faith, categorizing leaders into five distinct levels: beginner, emerging, established, and advanced. He emphasizes the importance of understanding where one fits on the leadership spectrum and encourages continuous personal growth. The discussion highlights the characteristics of each leadership level, the significance of mentorship, and the impact of leadership on organizational culture. Christopher invites listeners to engage and share their thoughts, reinforcing the podcast's purpose of providing valuable insights into leadership development.

Takeaways

Leadership is a journey, not a destination.
Beginner leaders focus on completing tasks rather than leading.
Emerging leaders take initiative and solve problems proactively.
Established leaders delegate effectively and invest in mentoring others.
Advanced leaders shape organizational culture and leave a lasting legacy.
Understanding your position on the leadership spectrum is crucial for growth.
Daily improvements in leadership can lead to significant changes over time.
Engaging with your team can enhance leadership effectiveness.
Long-term impact should be a focus for advanced leaders.
Feedback from listeners is essential for the podcast's growth.

Sound Bites

"Beginner leaders focus on completing tasks."
"Long-term impact is key for advanced leaders."
"Leadership is a journey, not a destination."

Chapters

00:00 Understanding the Leadership Spectrum
04:03 The Journey of Leadership Development
08:25 Practical Steps for Leadership Growth

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Please feel free to check out the organizations that support us:

Vantage Surgical Solutions - https://vantage.healthcare/
Vantage Surgical Solutions Careers - https://vantage.healthcare/careers/
Chris Contact Info - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherswing/

And the ones we support:

Missions:
Developing Kids Ghana - https://developingkidsghana.com/
Eastern Dominican Christian Mission - https://easterndominican.org/
Broadway Christian Church - https://broadwaycc.churchcenter.com/home/
57/70 Task Force: https://5770taskforce.org/

Chapters

• 0:00 Understanding the Leadership Spectrum
• 4:03 The Journey of Leadership Development
• 8:25 Practical Steps for Leadership Growth

Transcript

Christopher Swing (00:00)
Welcome to Faithful, the podcast where we explore the intersection of leadership, faith, and impact. I'm your host, Christopher Swing, president and CEO of Vantage Surgical Solutions. Through thoughtful conversations with business leaders, missionaries, and change makers, we uncover the principles that guide their work and connect them to timeless wisdom. In season one, we're diving into the foundational organizations and experiences that shape my own leadership journey. Whether you're a leader in business,

faith or your community, this conversation is packed with inspiration and practical wisdom. Thank you for joining me on this journey of discovering how faith and leadership intersect in meaningful ways. Let's dive into the episode.

Christopher Swing (00:44)
Hello and welcome back to Faithful. I want to talk to you about where you are on the leadership spectrum. And some of you may be wondering why that matters. And really what I want to do is, obviously this is a continuum and my breakouts of the different levels of leadership don't do it justice, but

What I want you to do is have some way to see on my rubric where you fall in the leadership spectrum from beginner to advanced.

And the reason that I think that this is important is because I'm a firm believer in, you know, trying to make small daily improvements. And I think part of being an effective leader is realizing where in the spectrum you are, how much power you have within your organization, because I don't necessarily believe that there's an effective correlation between

where you're at in an organization and where you're at as a leader. just think that whether you're in the lowest rung of an organization or the highest rung of an organization, it would be good to have some perspective where you fall.

The first segment that I'm gonna talk about it, I labeled as the beginner leader. And the way that I categorize this group of people is that from a task oriented mindset that this leader focuses on completing tasks rather than leading people. Another.

characteristic of this group is that they need clear direction. So they prefer detailed instructions before taking any action. Most of the time they seek approval or look for validation before making a decision or committing.

They usually have limited influence. Followers comply due to hierarchy, so they have enough authority that they have to comply, but they're not inspired.

They usually make emotional reactions to challenges. They take setbacks personally and struggle with resilience.

You know, an example that I would give is a new team lead at a marketing agency is given a small project to manage. Instead of proactively assigning tasks, they wait for their boss to tell them each step. When team members ask questions, they hesitate, fearing they might give the wrong answer. They feel overwhelmed when the project takes a different direction than expected.

Chris (03:33)
Faithful is proudly sponsored by Vantage Surgical Solutions, where excellence meets innovation in advanced healthcare solutions. With a foundation built on integrity, creativity, and commitment, Vantage empowers leaders to shape the future, just as we explore leadership through faith on the podcast. Vantage Surgical Solutions, standing for excellence, leading advanced healthcare solutions.

Christopher Swing (04:03)
The next level of leadership that I classify is the emerging leader.

They take initiative, they start solving problems before being asked, which means they also identified the problem, right? On their own, usually. They understand influence. They've realized that leadership is about inspiring others, not just authority. They've built relationships. They learn to engage and motivate team members. Strategic thinking.

They start to consider the bigger picture beyond immediate tasks.

and they've learned to handle conflict more effectively. Really learning to navigate difficult conversations or discussions. And an example I'll give you is a sales manager notices a dip in team performance. Instead of waiting for upper management to address it, they set up a meeting to discuss challenges and offer solutions. They listen to their team's concerns and adjust sales strategies accordingly.

leading to improved results.

So I labeled that group the emerging leader. The next group is the established leader. They delegate effectively. They trust others to execute tasks without micromanaging. They develop future leaders. They're investing time in mentoring and coaching. They're strong communicators. They clearly articulate vision and expectations.

They consistently deliver results. have a track record of success. They understand organizational impact. They make decisions based on long-term benefits rather than short-term wins. A hospital department director trains an assistant manager to handle the day-to-day operations. Instead of being involved in every detail, they focus on long-term strategy.

advocating for better patient care policies. Their team operates efficiently even when they're away. That was the established leader.

Chris (06:15)
Faithful is brought to you by Vantage Surgical Solutions, where we believe in progress through passion. If you're inspired by innovation and excellence in healthcare, we invite you to join our team. At Vantage, we're not just shaping the future of healthcare. We're empowering individuals to make a difference. Visit our careers page to explore opportunities and see if your journey aligns with ours. Vantage Surgical Solutions, where passion meets purpose.

Christopher Swing (06:47)
The fourth group is the advanced leader. And remember, as I said earlier on, this is a continuum. So I've categorized these things and they're arbitrary categorizations in each area, but these are the things that I think.

are indicative of where a leader is based upon these categories.

So the advanced leader shapes organizational culture. They set the tone for values and mission.

They're highly adaptable. They thrive in uncertain or rapidly changing environments. They leave a legacy. They focus on long-term impact beyond their tenure. And that's the key. So like long-term impact beyond their employment.

influences beyond their organization. This is a person who's focused on making a difference, you know, in their industry or globally or regionally or nationally, however you

they create future visionaries. They're not just mentoring individuals, but they're shaping entire teams or industries. Or a group of organizations approach to solving a problem.

So a CEO of a successful startup steps down from day-to-day operations but remains on the board, guiding the company's future. Their leadership principles continue, influencing the next generation of executives, ensuring sustained innovation and growth.

but this is kind of like the Nirvana, I guess.

Not necessarily that they're stepping down from the day to day, but that's just an example.

Where do you fit?

If someone were to judge you that knows you well, but it isn't close enough that they would misguide you in their answers, where would you fit?

And I think probably the biggest thing that I want you to remember is that leadership is a journey. It's not a destination. so no matter where you're at, the objective should be to grow.

I would encourage you to spend maybe just 18 minutes a day on growing your leadership. It could be reading, could be doing an exercise, interviewing people on your team or within your realm of influence.

And then I think you need to come up with steps, practical steps of how to move from one point to the next. And maybe it's that first you need to focus on one area of your leadership is weaker than the others and just needs a little support. But then after you do that, like what's the next practical step to move forward?

So finally, as I've said in the past, I want you to reach out to me on LinkedIn or on my podcast website and tell me what your thoughts are. Tell me what you need to hear. Tell me what is impactful for you because I do it for you guys. My biggest focus is

how to give people that don't have access to people access to their ideas and their knowledge. And that drives the purpose of this podcast. So if there's somebody that you think I should interview, love to hear about it. If there's a particular trait that you want to know more about in leadership, I would love to hear about it.

All these things will help.

everyone who listens to the podcast.

As always, thank you much for stopping by and I hope you have a great week and I look forward to speaking to you next week. Take care.