How much of what you measure actually tells you whether you're making a difference?
Most senior leaders can point to a dashboard full of healthy-looking numbers. Attendance is up, participation is steady, the reports come back green. And underneath it all sits a question that's easy to avoid: is any of this the thing that actually matters? Grant Yonge took a job with that exact question built into the title.
When Grant said yes to becoming Executive Director, Organisational Impact at the Y, his honest answer was that he didn't yet know what impact meant. What he knew was what it wasn't. This conversation follows what happened next: the shift away from counting participation towards real evidence about whether young people are flourishing, and the discovery that a 180-year-old story could anchor purpose better than any strategy document. What if the most useful thing you measured was also the hardest thing to count? Let's explore what changes when a leader stops settling for the easy version.
Grant Yonge is Executive Director, Organisational Impact at the Y in Western Australia. He arrived there by an unusual route, starting out in hotel and resort management before spending the past fifteen years in the not-for-profit sector. He brings corporate rigour and a genuine sense of purpose to the work, and he thinks about leadership the way he thinks about playing in a band. In this episode, you'll hear:
- How to move an organisation from counting participation to evidencing real impact
- Why "getting to what's real" matters as much in corporate and government as it does in the social sector
- How a story from 1844 becomes a living tool for shaping culture today
- Why knowing your part, and resisting the urge to play every part, makes the whole team stronger
- How stepping back can create more impact than stepping in
- Why naming each person's "spikiness" leads to better decisions
- How to help people find their place in the work, even on their hardest day
- Why deep conviction and real vulnerability can live in the same leader
Timestamps:
(08:27) - The Journey to Defining Impact
(19:09) - Gathering and Sharing Stories of Impact
(26:31) - The Metaphor of Music in Leadership
(30:34) - Understanding Your Unique Contribution
(35:36) - Navigating Leadership Challenges
(39:13) - Connecting to Purpose and Legacy
Other References
You can find Grant at:
Website: https://theywa.org.au/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grant-yonge-b6a30924/
Check out my services and offerings https://www.digbyscott.com/
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