Episode Details
Back to EpisodesEp. 87 - What DSPs Know That Most Leaders Don't (w/ Steve Gonyea)
Description
What if the people most likely to solve your retention problem are already on your payroll — and nobody's asking them?
Steve Gonyea has been inside more human services systems than almost anyone: IDD, foster care, juvenile justice, mental health. He's a parent, a foster parent to 178 kids, and a former DSP who went on to become one of the most tenacious advocates in New York State. He's not an executive. He doesn't run a provider organization. And that's exactly what makes this conversation so valuable.
In this episode, Steve breaks down what actually happens to a family when a DSP walks out the door, why DSPs stop speaking up even when they have exactly the answers you need, and the story of how he turned a failing Xerox manufacturing line around — not with a new system or a new strategy, but by asking every single person on the floor one question: how can we do your job better?
The answer that came back almost every time? Nobody had ever asked them before.
📬 Connect with Steve: steve_gonyea@yahoo.com
🔗 Special Needs Resource Directory: specialneeds.help
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 – What happens when a DSP leaves a family's life
02:24 – Steve's intro: 178 foster kids and counting
05:08 – From aerospace to advocacy — how Steve got here
09:06 – Why Steve became a DSP (and what he learned)
10:54 – What IDD leaders miss when they only see one corner
13:34 – What "a seat at the table" actually has to look like
15:32 – Taking wheelchair users sledding (and what happened next)
17:00 – The Christmas dinner no one planned — and the report that followed
20:43 – "It's telling that I was unsure if I was making the right call"
22:09 – Why your 98% satisfaction survey might mean nothing
25:57 – The Xerox plant story: from 67% to 107% efficiency
36:43 – DSPs leaving not for money — but because nobody listened
Quick Question:
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