INSPIRED IMPACT is an ongoing blog series that gives voice to mission-driven organizations and passionate leaders and entrepreneurs who are making an impact in their communities and industries.
Max Hansen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Y Scouts. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin and YouTube and learn more at yscouts.com.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
I lead Y Scouts, a purpose-based leadership search firm connecting people with meaningful work. At Y Scouts, we help companies understand why their work is meaningful, define their culture, and identify leaders who help them achieve their mission faster.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
My personal purpose is to help others better succeed in life. At Y Scouts, our purpose is connecting people and organizations to work that matters, and this fits closely with my mission. Working with my team, we’re building something that’s bigger than me, that will live on past each of us. Today, people are craving the opportunity to do work that connects with their life’s mission, and we’re helping make that happen every day.
WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING?
Our approach to leadership search connects purpose and values-driven individuals with companies in a way that provides a great fit for both sides. In the right opportunity, our placements can lead fully with their head, heart, and gut, impacting their organizations and the lives of everyone they lead. This also impacts the families of these employees, and the communities where our partners do business. We’re helping companies hold themselves to a higher standard and elevate their cultures. In the broader movement around purpose, we’re involved in a leadership role with Conscious Capitalism and other organizations elevating the way business is done today.
WHAT (OR WHO) INSPIRES YOU TO MAKE THIS IMPACT?
I’m inspired by our team here at Y Scouts – they inspire me to move us forward collectively, and to create something great for the long term. We are beginning to attract like-minded people to help take our model to the next level. It’s fun hiring people who are smarter than me to help us drive our purpose.
Before Y Scouts, I spent many years in traditional recruiting, which is a transactional industry with little interest in digging deeper to make connections that matter. Being part of the wrong way to hire drove me to think differently and start a company to disrupt the industry.
WHAT’S YOUR BIG DREAM FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND THE IMPACT YOU WANT TO MAKE?
Without question, it’s creating and delivering on a variety of ways to connect 10 million people to work that matters, and being able to prove we’ve made that kind of impact. I want to see Y Scouts as the partner for the world’s most purpose-driven companies, helping them see the value in creating great workplace culture and hiring the right people for their teams. We’re passionate about helping people and companies develop a more conscious approach to hiring, so that our model is replicated in the clients we serve. Ultimately, our experience is leading us to a place where we create technology solutions, helping companies build and implement great purpose-first hiring models for themselves.
WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU NEED TO MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE?
We have to continue building our team with the right people, hiring with our own philosophies, evolve and improve our internal culture. Beyond our people, we need to connect with the best leaders and provide value to each of them. We’re also connecting with others who are driving the purpose movement forward globally, lifting and supporting each other to elevate how people connect to their purpose.
WHAT IS (OR HAS BEEN) YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
The biggest challenge is balancing purpose and performance. We started this with so much heart and so much purpose, it’s taken a while for us to balance that out with a commitment to operational excellence. It’s rare for a company to be more focused on the purpose side, so it’s good problem to have. We’ve made a lot of progress in this area, and we’re much closer to balance now, but it’s an ongoing journey.
WHAT WORDS OF ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER LEADERS LOOKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT?
My advice would be to start with themselves, focusing on personal wholeness and development. Growing as a leader is an intentional process, and you have to invest the time and energy into that process. It’s part of what we refer to as “relentless learning” at Y Scouts. We also emphasize gratitude – being able to express gratitude in light of both positive and negative events is important.
Also, be intentional about hiring the best leaders around you. We believe that every exceptional leader develops people, drives results, and learns relentlessly – use these as the guideposts for your decision making in the hiring process!
“People can accidentally fall into a role or industry—But people never accidentally become leaders.”
HOW CAN OTHERS SUPPORT YOU OR YOUR CAUSE?
Create more meaningful cultures within your own organizations – be intentional about building a company with a commitment to purpose and core values. We invite all leaders to join our Leadership Community at yscouts.com, and to personally exemplify the elevated behaviors of developing people, driving results, and learning relentlessly in their own lives.
Orapin Marketing + Public Relations is an award-winning communications agency that generates awareness, engagement, and, ultimately, support for mission-driven organizations. We tell their stories, connect people to their causes, and help them communicate with their stakeholders in consistent and meaningful ways. If you would like to be featured on INSPIRED IMPACT, reach out to hello@orapinmarketing.com.