Leadership Beyond Strategy And Metrics

SPEAKER_01 0:05

We talk about leadership, like it is mostly strategy, vision boards, growth targets. The right hire at the right time, but there's a conversation that doesn't happen nearly enough in boardrooms or in business podcasts. What does it actually cost you inside to build something? What does it take out of you to lead people through uncertainty, to lose a business, to rebuild, and to keep showing up every single day as the person others are counting on?

Show Mission And Guest Background

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Welcome to Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, where we believe that the most important conversations about health are not just about what we eat or what we sleep. They're about how we live, how we recover, and how we stay whole while building something meaningful. I'm your host, Yosef, and today I'm joined by Christopher Swing, president and CEO of Vantage Surgical Solutions, a healthcare company that has spent over three decades bringing specialty surgical care to rural communities across America. Christopher has won every leadership hat in the room. CFO, COO, and now CEO. And his journey includes both the hard lessons of losing a business and the resilience it took to build something that now serves patience in 23 states. He's also someone who believes deeply in purpose-driven leadership and the human side of running an organization. So without any further ado, let's call Christopher Swing to the show.

Losing A Family Business Early

SPEAKER_01 1:59

So, Chris, I want to start somewhere a little unexpected. So you have been with Vantage for over a decade. You've grown through multiple roles. And in 2023, you stepped into the CEO seat. But before all of that, there's a chapter in your story about losing a business. And most leaders don't lead with that. So what do you carry from that experience that still shapes you how you show up today?

SPEAKER_02 2:30

Yeah, I mean, I I remember when I was a kid and my family lost our family business. It was uh it was life-changing. I went from one of the largest uh houses in town to the smallest. And uh, you know, I really watched my parents struggle over a lot of years. And I think that's uh if I were to be honest, I think that's probably one of the things that's given me uh you know, strength and vision into how not to do something. And I think most of your listeners probably can attach to the fact that we learn so much more from failures than we learn from success. And so I think uh just having those experiences, um, you know, I don't think anybody wants to have those types of experiences, but I think having them gives you perspective and um and I think it's made me a better leader through my life. Um, but I also watched how my parents picked themselves up from that scenario and the strength that they've had, you know, um, and and and just how they they cared for us through our life. And so I I do appreciate those times. I don't I didn't don't wish them on anyone though.

unknown 3:48

Okay.

Executive Loneliness And Finding A Peer Circle

SPEAKER_01 3:50

And there's a version of entrepreneurship and leadership that gets talked about constantly, the vision, the hustle culture, etc. etc. But I'm curious about the version nobody talks about as much. And what does it actually feel like inside to carry the weight of a company, of a team, of a mission? Is there a mental or emotional cost to readership?

SPEAKER_02 4:17

Boy, I tell you, um I don't think that's talked about a lot. Uh I think there is an insane amount of loneliness and uh vulnerability. Uh it's a balance, right? Because we don't want to, if we're truly leaders, we don't want to bear our burdens onto our teams, uh, in my opinion. And I think that's where a lot of us kind of uh lose an opportunity um or have this opportunity to really have a lot of loneliness because who do you share that information with? And I'll just tell you how I've dealt with that and uh and maybe some of your listeners can can uh relate. Um I I have a privilege uh in our business to be big enough. Uh we operate in about 23 or 24 US states to be able to uh be part of the YPO uh global network. And with that, you get kind of your own board of directors, and there's really nothing uh you know strategic or or unique about that group other than it really proves to those of us who have that opportunity to share what we're going through with people who are also dealing with very similar situations. Um, the way that I can tell your your listeners is you know, I don't know if all of you are big enough to be in a YPO group, and and for some countries, the uh requirements to be in that group is just astronomical. But what you can do is you can put together your own board of directors, and and when I think about these people, I think about you know, entrepreneurs, uh business leaders, uh who are in similar size entities that are dealing with a lot of the same problems, and they also don't have anyone to talk about this with. Where I would be a little bit cautious is uh including any family members, especially like a spouse or a close family member, because there will be times where those can also add to your frustration, and if they're in that room, you're not going to be able to talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Yeah, you're right.

Stress Signals Sleep And Exercise

SPEAKER_01 6:48

And and when you have felt that weight like most acutely, how did you handle it? Did you have a way of processing it?

SPEAKER_02 6:59

Yeah, I mean, I think uh, you know, it's it's kind of like all the tech that we have today, right? Even my watch will say, Hey, it looks like you're under intense pressure or stress. You probably should exercise. And uh, or or even after I go for a couple mile walk, you know, I'll get a notification, hey, your stress level has decreased significantly. Congratulations, you know. And I think it's its way of backhanding me to say, you should probably do this more often, right? Uh so I think that there are absolutely ways to deal with it, even if you don't have a group of people to to uh to get feedback from. Um, I I absolutely think that the right appropriate balance of good sleep and exercise goes a long way.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Perfect.

Purpose Decision Fatigue And Recharging

SPEAKER_01 7:54

And vantage operation operates in rural healthcare, bringing surgical access to communities that would otherwise go without. And that is not just a business model, that that is a purpose. And I have noticed that leaders who are working towards something that genuiness to them tend to have a different relationship with stress and burnout than those who are just chasing money or you know, just chasing metrics. So, what does having a mission like that actually do for your mental health as a leader?

SPEAKER_02 8:31

I think it does two things. Uh, first of all, for whatever reason, and I I I think you said it without saying it, it basically makes you superhuman. I think that comes from a couple of different reasons. Number one, uh, one of the things that we struggle with as leaders is, and even if we don't recognize it, I think most of us do, is just being exhausted by making decision after decision after decision. And sometimes those are easy, especially like if you can see around the corner and you know exactly what the outcome is going to be, and that the decision is, you know, do you do this that's gonna destroy you, or do this, that's going to save you? Those are those are not as usually as difficult of decisions as have two bad scenarios, which one is actually worse in both the short term and the long term. And I think so it it gives you the ability to make some of those easier decisions because you know what gets you closer to your objective and further away from your objective. And so it kind of auto like for lack of a better word, it kind of automates some of those decisions, which therefore, you know, when we have fatigue related to just making decision after decision, um, that takes some of those decisions out of that fatigue, right? It's just an automatic you know what's getting you closer to your goals, even even some of the harder things uh in comparison to to some of the decisions that are like uh, you know, two bad situations, it may be that you know that you're signing up for something that's more difficult, but because of the fact that it's getting you closer to your goals, it it seems like it's easier to make and it's also easier to execute. Um, and then the other side of it is I just think that when you when you can step back and you can say, I'm not doing this for me, I'm not doing this for my family, I'm doing this, you know, for this global purpose, it it just gives you an extra boost of energy and it gives you the ability to work through those difficult days when you really just need something to pick you up and say, you know, just keep going, just keep going. Because to be honest, the difference between success and failure is usually related to someone's level of commitment.

SPEAKER_00 11:09

I see.

SPEAKER_01 11:12

But does purpose does not insulate anyone from exhaustion? Like there are still long days, hard decisions, and moments of doubt. So, how do you recharge from that?

SPEAKER_02 11:29

I think it kind of depends on the person, right? So I'm extroverted, which means that I get a lot of uh energy from connecting with people and and having discussions and things like that. I think some of us would find that the absolute opposite is true and that they're just drained interacting with people day in and day out. You know, uh my wife talks about it all the time. She says, you know, I'm the person who gets on an airplane and never wants to talk to whoever is sitting beside me. And my husband is sitting on an airplane next to somebody and gets invited to be in their wedding and go to their, you know, wedding celebration. Um, and so I think knowing, you know, your personality type and knowing, you know, how to make yourself feel better, uh, it goes back to me, you know, some basic stuff are obviously uh I I think exercise helps me significantly. I'd love to sit in a sauna that helps me both clear my head as well as you know, uh do something for my health. Um, but I think just listening to your body and and yourself uh and understanding the environments in which it feels like you're pouring energy into the body versus taking energy out of the body um is the best way to to approach kind of rejuvenating from from that fatigue.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

I see. I think that's a really important distinction because purpose sustains you, but it does not replace rest or reflection or connection, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:13

Exactly. Yeah, I mean purpose isn't like this energizer bunny that just gives you unending amounts of juice or battery or or uh you know energy. It it's it really just gives you a focus and it helps you to where you can step back, you know, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, whatever you want to do, and say, you know, I'm working really hard. Am I getting closer to my goal or am I getting further away from it?

Lifelong Learning And Cutting Distractions

SPEAKER_01 13:48

So you have also talked about developing yourself to lead others. That phase really stands out to me because it puts the inner work first. And what does developing yourself actually look like for you? Like, what are your practices, habits, or mindsets, ways of thinking?

SPEAKER_02 14:11

So I challenge myself to be a lifelong learner, and I don't say that in the sense like everybody says it as a cliche, right? Um I I literally try to smash new things into my brain all the time. And I I don't think that, or should I say I don't pursue the same types of learning. It's not all just about leadership, it's not all just about technical, it's not all just about my industry, it's not all just about how to be a good employer, it's not all just about um how to make a difference in the world. It's globally like a never-ending desire to grow in all aspects, you know, of my knowledge and my lack of knowledge. If there's some like a perfect example is, and I'm sure a lot of you connect with this right now, you know, I'm trying to figure this AI stuff out, right? Like in addition to how to be a better father, how to be a better husband, how to be a better business leader, how to be a better uh, you know, uh mentor, how to be a better uh, you know, you name it, gardener, whatever, whatever your focus is. Um, I'm a real believer that to be better than everyone at just about everything doesn't take near as much investment um as we think it does. Because there's so many distractions in the world today that if we're willing to take even just maybe an hour or two a week and focus around four or five areas of our life that we would really like to see ourselves improve in, um, it's amazing what we can do. And so if that's reading books or listening to podcasts or just doing research or or learning a new tool, um, you know, just take the time and and and it and the biggest thing is is trying to limit the amount of time we do meet meaning meaningless things like scroll on social media or you know, listen to I I don't mind like looking at YouTube shorts, even if it's something that's meaningful, but you can get sucked into those algorithms, and pretty soon you're looking at something that's completely pointless. And so I think we have to do a really we have to really filter what's coming in because what we want to catch is not the the emotional garbage. We want to catch the things that really make us better as people, as humans, as leaders, as you know, business owners. Just be careful about what you're taking in. Be very intentional. And and I'll be honest, like if you look at the stats, if you ever want to see how you're doing compared to other people, look at the stats online with you know social media usage or um, you know, think about uh read some information about uh Warren Buffett and and the number of books that he would read in a year. And you know, think about the people that you want to emulate and then go out and find out what those people are doing. Um, I'm pretty sure most of them aren't spending multiple hours on Facebook or Instagram or TikTok or what you know you name the the uh the issue.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

Yeah.

How To Connect With Christopher

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Christopher, for people who want to learn from you or want to connect with you, where can they do that?

SPEAKER_02 18:16

The uh the easiest place to uh I have a website that's kind of all encompassing, it's www.swing sw-in-g-ce.com. And that has all my contact information, it has all my uh uh consulting information, my podcast information, anything that you'd like to know about me uh or how to connect with me. And I love to connect with people. Don't don't uh don't be concerned because I do consulting. Like if you have a question, reach out to me. I would love to have a conversation.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

Perfect. And to everyone listening, all these links are in the show notes, so just go and check those out. Christopher, is there any last message that you want to leave us with?

Reality Versus Perception Of Success

SPEAKER_02 19:10

The only thing that I would tell people is that if I could give you a piece of advice, reality is not as we often perceive it in the world. And one of the best gifts that I can give to you is to read the book The Millionaire Next Door. And the reason that I'm telling you to do that is because for a lot of us business folks who aren't super publicly visible, uh, we can kind of feel like we're not doing it right because we're not driving a Rolls-Royce, or we're not driving, or maybe that we don't have the nicest watch, or or even that we don't have the nicest house. Um but I'll tell you that what the commercialization in the world is doing is they're telling us that the people that go out and buy those things are successful. And I'm not here to tell you that some of them are not, but I am here to tell you that some of them are very, very, very uh unsuccessful in the sense that they've spent money that they don't have, or they've tried to create this persona of being on private jets and flying to private islands and doing whatever. And that's not real. And so um I would just encourage you to go and check out uh the millionaire next door and open your eyes to reality and seek reality as opposed to to uh perception out there.

SPEAKER_01 20:55

Yeah, thank you so much, Christopher, for bringing this level of honesty and depth to the conversation. You know, it's not easy to talk about the inner life of leadership, and the fact that you do it so openly is part of what makes it land.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

It's hard, and but it but it's hard, and all of your listeners know that it's hard. They may not acknowledge it, but they know it's hard.

SPEAKER_01 21:29

Yeah.

Final Takeaway Mind Care Is Work

SPEAKER_01 21:30

Everyone listening, whether you are leading a team, building a business, raising a family, or just trying to hold things together. Remember this taking care of your mind is not a detool from the work. It is the work. This is healthy mind, healthy life. We'll see you next time.