What DSPs Know That Most Leaders Don't (w/ Steve Gonyea) - Ep. 87

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: [email protected] 🔗 Special Needs Resource Directory: specialneeds.help 📥 Free resource — 7 Warning Signs Your Supervisors Are Burning Out Their Staff: iddleader.com/burnout 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