CPO Leadership Matters: An Interview with Brett Reid, YMCA Victoria

Brett is an accomplished HR executive with a track record of transforming HR through digital innovation, leading major organisational change, and earning national recognition for talent development in both the UK and Australia.

Our CPO Leadership Matters series highlights the complex and far-reaching position of Chief People Officers, as their role in the boardroom becomes increasingly prominent. Through the voices of top people leaders, we discover how the CPO can align the people function with commercial objectives and transform conventional practices into strategic assets. 

What advice would you offer to emerging HR leaders who aspire to a meaningful career and want to contribute lasting value in the purpose and community sector?

The first is a change in mindset - you are not an HR person, you are a business person who does HR. Fundamentally, if you're going to be contributing to strategy, you have to be consider how the people function contributes to the wider organisational strategy.

That leads to the second insight, which is that most HR people are really good at the human, personal and emotional side, but you have to be able to demonstrate how HR activity will drive the business forward in the right language, which is nearly always numeric.

That can be really tricky but it solidly sets you up for that conversation at the top table, and to put it bluntly, this is how you get the funding needed to do achieve what you need to do. If you can't talk numbers, you're going to have a very tough time getting to where you want to be.

What are the most important leadership questions you’re currently considering?  

My first leadership challenge is building capability across the entire lifecycle. One of our more unique aspects is that around 40–45% of our staff are under the age of 24, and for many, we’re their first employer straight out of high school. It’s not uncommon for someone to start as a lifeguard or in a frontline role and then move into leadership.

With a young leadership group stepping into a more complex and demanding space, our focus is on developing skills for people who are learning on the job while also being customer-facing. All our services support children and young people, so we all need to be switched on at every moment. 

Reflecting on your career journey, what led you to the CPO role, and how has your understanding of impactful people leadership developed over time? 

I started my career with a background in science and psychology. As a graduate, I was trained to begin with the end in mind -focus on outcomes, measure results, and be clear about what success looks like. Ironically, early in my career, the emphasis was much more on process - how things were done - rather than what was actually being achieved.

Now, in a CPO role, my primary focus is making sure my team, and the wider business, are crystal clear on what we’re here to do. What’s our purpose? What does success look like? Once that’s clear, my job is to clear the path. If you hire great people, most of your role becomes about enabling them -removing barriers and letting them get on with it. And honestly, that’s a great place to be.

How do you approach shaping a people and culture strategy that supports both organisational sustainability and a strong sense of purpose across the workforce? 

A good strategic people function should be one of the pillars of the broader business strategy. You're there to enable a clearly defined set of outcomes, however those are measured, based on what your organisation is trying to achieve.

Part of the challenge is keeping an eye on the long term; and another is establishing commonality. At the YMCA, we have a diverse and dispersed workforce spread across many sites, most of them relatively small. A strong people strategy involves identifying what’s shared across the organisation, what binds us together rather than divides us, and using that to drive results.

If you can find that golden thread - something that runs through all your workplaces and functions - that, in my experience, drives alignment more effectively than almost anything else.

Do you find there is a conflict between social purpose and the balance sheet?

I think historically, purpose and profit were seen as being in conflict. If you go back 10 years, there was this underlying assumption that you either made money or did good in the world, but not both. 

Happily, that’s changing. The rise of B Corps is a great example. In our organisation, we’ve embraced the philosophy that we do good by doing well. We deliver our mission through our work, not in addition to it.

How do you balance the strategic priorities and practical realities of leading the people function in a complex, fast-moving environment?  

My first boss told me, “strategy is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration”. He probably borrowed it, but it stuck, and it’s shaped how I approach work. You need a clear vision of where you’re heading and how to enable what the business is trying to achieve. But most of your time is spent delivering results day-to-day. If you’re not delivering, no one’s listening to your strategy. 

And finally, in most organisations, there’s the formal way things happen - and then there’s the cultural reality. Often, it’s about recognising inflection points: the right moment to say the right thing. If you’re always pushing, people tune out. But if you know when to speak up, that’s when you make an impact. It’s an art, and it comes with experience.

Looking ahead, what trends in workforce expectations, leadership or community engagement do you think will shape the future of purpose-driven organisations like the YMCA? 

I think this is going to become an increasingly tough challenge. Research shows we’re facing an epidemic of loneliness and a breakdown of traditional community structures. As humans, we’re wired for connection, but while technology connects us to like minds, it often leaves us feeling more isolated. We’re stuck in echo chambers, missing the real, biological connection we need to stay well.

For us, that’s a core challenge: how do we help rebuild community connection? As a purpose-driven organisation, that’s central to our mission, and it has to be evidence-based. We’re working with Deakin University to measure the impact of our services, and we use that data to show partners - like local councils - the real, measurable benefits we deliver: improved wellbeing, reduced crisis intervention, and cost avoidance through early support.

Our workforce reflects the broader community, so our staff face the same challenges. Building a sense of connection for them is just as important.  

What role do you think CPOs should play in responding to, anticipating and mitigating these conditions?

I think the biggest value a role like mine brings is straddling both the head and the heart. You need to be a businessperson but also bring a deep understanding of people, community, and how humans actually work behind the organisational veneer.

For me, that means helping young people, many of whom are experiencing their first job with us, make a successful transition into the workforce. Most stay a few years before moving on, so the question is: how do we set them up to thrive in whatever comes next? 

Especially now, when many young people missed key social development during lockdowns and are coming from increasingly disconnected communities, we have a responsibility to help them learn how to work well with others. That’s the challenge ahead - and one I’m passionate about. 

Odgers connects forward-thinking organisations with visionary leaders who excel at navigating complex challenges. Our global, cross-sector executive search ensures your business is equipped with the right talent to lead through transformation and drive meaningful change.

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