In this episode of Better Student Leaders, I sit down with Andy Skidmore, CEO of the Youth Impact Foundation — a not-for-profit that now reaches over 160,000 young people each year across Australia and New Zealand.

Andy shares the remarkable journey from founding Burn Bright to integrating nine youth organisations into one collaborative model. We dive into the tough but vital questions: how do you scale programs that rely on people, not software? How do you keep quality while expanding impact? And how do you lead with others instead of over them?

We also explore why relationships are the foundation of both wellbeing and leadership, the messy joy of scaling humans, and what servant leadership really looks like in practice.

Whether you’re supporting 200 students or dreaming of reaching 20,000, Andy’s insights on vision, collaboration, and contribution will give you practical strategies and fresh inspiration for your own leadership journey.

👉 Learn more about the Youth Impact Foundation: youthimpactfoundation.org.au

📖 And don’t miss my new book Lessons from 100,000 Student Leaders — packed with quick, practical insights for students and educators. Available now: https://amzn.asia/d/0m88HG6

🔑 Key Quotes from the Episode

• “What’s the biggest way I can make the biggest impact on the biggest group of people possible?”

• “Scaling humans is messy, but it’s also so joyful — because if you weren’t doing this in a team, it’d be really hard to show up every day.”

• “The quality of your relationships determines the quality of the culture. As a leader, you’ve got to model relationships first.”

• “Being the hero as a leader is not always helpful. Sometimes the greatest impact comes from stepping back so your team can step forward.”

• “Servant leadership doesn’t mean giving away your power — it means listening, learning, and then having the courage to set a bold direction that serves the community.”