About
A profile in leadership and execution.
I’m Zartius Swart — Lead of Project Management at Ex Mente Technologies, and someone who takes ownership seriously. What follows is who I am and how I work, told two ways: in my own words, and in the language of the assessments I’ve done along the way.
The story
Built from the ground up.
At the end of 2020, not yet nineteen, I had no qualifications and no job — and a hard question in front of me about what I was bringing to the table. Three months later I was studying and working, and I haven’t stopped since.
The path ran through agriculture — horticulturist, assistant foreman, foreman over commercial crops, operational manager across three farms — then grain logistics, a certificate in office administration, and eventually Ex Mente Technologies, where I now lead project management while completing a BCom in Business Management. In five years I went from nothing on the table to a career with real momentum.
My faith is the foundation underneath it all — it shapes how I lead, how I treat people, and why my word can be trusted. Good business, done the right way, creating value for the people around me.
I’m early in my career and I know it. There’s a great deal I don’t yet understand about running a business, leading at scale, and navigating complex stakeholders. I welcome that. I’m building deliberately — because strategic building is sustainable building, and I’m young enough to build properly.
The evidence
What the assessments say.
Between 2020 and 2023 I completed six assessments — CliftonStrengths, Personality I.D., Path Elements, Wave, Career Direct and Shadowmatch. Here’s the synthesis. Start with my top ten strengths; select any to see how I put it to work.
Strengths by domain
How the top 10 CliftonStrengths distribute — he leads with Executing.
Personality I.D. dimensions
A Director profile: assertive, outgoing, objective, instinctive.
Shadowmatch habits
Established habits — ownership, problem solving and resilience lead the profile.
Wave competency potential
Saville sten scores (1–10). Driving Success and Providing Leadership lead.
Path Elements
Earth-Wind
Earth wants to slow down, ground in facts and plan carefully. Wind wants to move fast, be heard and act. He values deep analysis but is drawn to enthusiasm and action — and builds best when both are held in balance.
Where I do my best work
Environment matters.
The Wave environment-fit report is clear about the cultures that bring out my best — and the ones that don’t. I’d rather be honest about both.
I thrive where
- A strong results focus and determination to succeed
- Opportunity to take on leadership and control of resources
- People are encouraged to own important decisions
- Decisions are based on hard, objective data
- Commercialism and entrepreneurialism are valued
- People are down to earth and practical
- Getting rapidly to the core of an issue is prized
- Self-confidence is regarded as an asset
I’m less effective where
- There is little urge to achieve outstanding results
- Little opportunity for leadership or directing people
- Decisions are largely subjective, with little reference to facts
- The culture is non-commercial and non-competitive
- Theory is emphasised over practice
- Self-confidence is treated as arrogance
Where I’m growing
The work isn’t finished.
A good leader is honest about the gap between who he is and who he’s becoming. These are the edges I’m working on this season — deliberately, not anxiously.
Strategic depth
Training himself to think in scenarios — the possibilities, what happens if a path fails, the steps in sequence toward an outcome. Deliberate practice in thinking several moves ahead.
Communicating vision
The leadership instinct is strong (Wave rates it High); the craft being built is bringing people along with it — trading the fast, cut-to-the-point default for patient, inspiring communication.
Composure under pressure
High standards mean he feels it when delivery slips. The discipline in progress: absorb the pressure, carry it himself, and keep leading with calm confidence.
Leading through others
His instinct is to own everything personally. He is deliberately building the trust and structure to delegate well — because leadership scales through people, not effort.