Thank you! I’m grateful for your messages, reflections, and questions: encouraging, practical and some deeply personal following the first edition of Purposeful Third Act Notes. Your feedback is shaping what I write next, and reminds me why I began this newsletter in the first place. One month in, and 5,000+ subscribers. 🙏
In this issue, I’m reflecting on human capability in an AI world. AI has been part of so many conversations—with leaders, particularly CHROs, across all sectors. With students and parents. With people at every career stage, including Third Acts.
One question keeps surfacing, in different forms: If AI can do more and more of what humans do, what becomes uniquely ours?
The answer seems simple yet sets a high bar: human capabilities become the differentiator. Not as a nostalgic idea, but a strategic one. Because in an AI-accelerated world, organizations will still succeed or fail through people: how decisions get made, how trust is built, how change is led, and how performance is sustained without burning out the human system.
AI can raise productivity, widen access to knowledge, and help solve complex problems faster. It also tempts us into speed over truth, convenience over judgment, and scale over care. It can amplify our best intent or our worst habits. It can create risks when outputs are wrong, biased, misleading. By quietly outsourcing our thinking we can lose our learning muscle. By using it as a companion we can grow.
In January, we highlighted Mary Alice Vuicic’s grounded Chief People Officer perspective on leading AI in a human-centred way and in new C-suite partnerships. Yoshua Bengio’s podcast reinforced why adoption must be done responsibly and include safety and stewardship from the start. This issue continues the dialogue on AI.
The goal: more human, not less—with AI in service of trust, judgment, and human flourishing.
Human Capabilities That Matter Most
To be clear: I don’t mean “soft skills.” I mean durable, experience- shaped capabilities that deliver outcomes when the context is volatile and trade-offs are real.
Contextual judgment: AI can generate options. It cannot carry accountability. Humans must weigh context, values, trade-offs, and second-order consequences.
Creativity: Not just ideas. New frames, new connections, and the ability to imagine what doesn’t yet exist.
Critical thinking and discernment: In a world of endless content, some true, some manipulated, the question is no longer “Can we find information?” It’s “Can we tell what’s reliable and what matters?”
Curiosity: Curiosity is not a personality trait; it’s a performance capability. It drives better questions, faster learning, and adaptability. It also keeps us from drifting into false certainty.
Empathy: The ability to understand what someone else is experiencing, so our response is informed, grounded, and human. It builds trust. It is foundational to responding with care.
Courage: To challenge assumptions and ask, “Should we?” not just “Can we?” To speak truth to power. To slow down when pressure says move fast. To do what’s right.
These capabilities aren’t extra. They are how we make AI productive, safe, and worthy of trust.
Practical Ways to Build Human Capabilities
Before adopting or scaling an AI tool, ask three questions:
What human capability does this strengthen? If the answer is none, be cautious. Efficiency without capability-building is a short-term win and a long-term risk.
What human capability might this weaken? If AI drafts everything, do we lose the muscles of thinking and writing clearly? If it summarizes meetings, do we stop listening deeply and lose the capacity to be fully present?
What new responsibility does this create? Every technology brings governance, training, safeguards, and culture work. Are we clear on who owns that and are we resourcing it properly?
A Note for Change Leaders
AI implementation is a people-and-performance transformation, not a technology project.
Trust and adoption depend on thoughtful leadership, disciplined execution, and building confidence and career resilience along the way. That requires change leadership, training that meets people where they are, and cultures where questions are safe.
Keep it human-first: Always.
Which human capability do you most want to strengthen this year and why? You can reply to this email. I love reading your responses.
Warm regards,
P.S. Late-breaking news. Delighted to be appointed Chancellor of Trent University effective July 1, 2026. A great opportunity to learn and contribute. Read more here.
The Purposeful Third Act Movement
Finding Midlife Purpose with Chip Conley
Chip Conley is a bestselling author and founder of Modern Elder Academy (MEA), a midlife wisdom school and community focused on navigating transitions with more purpose and connection. I have been following Chip for some time, and he continues to inspire my P3A work.
In this recent conversation with Dan Buettner, with over 200K views, Chip reframes the second half of life, not as a “midlife crisis,” but as a transition that can unlock meaning. He shares three ingredients for turning anxiety into purpose: curiosity, earned wisdom, and social connection. If purpose is on your mind, double-click on minutes 5–9.
Spotlight: P3A Changemaker
Learning from Denise Amyot: Living a P3A filled with international travel and engagement
Denise Amyot is a global leader, mentor, and advocate for purposeful longevity and lifelong learning. Through her consulting, governance, leadership training, and executive coaching, she helps individuals and organizations lead with purpose and design strategies for meaningful impact.
Denise was an early adopter of P3A. She shares highlights from year two of her Third Act, plus guidance for leaders and executives in transition. As she shows us, P3As can take many shapes: Denise’s includes engagements across the globe. Below is a sampling.
What motivates leaders to want to keep contributing in their Third Act?
A longing for community and impact.
An understanding that connections fuel health and longevity.
What barriers do leaders face during this transition and how do you advise them?
When your agenda is no longer tied to a job title, it can be helpful to reflect on and craft a personal mission and vision.
If a loss of routine is more unsettling than liberating, you can build rituals around practices such as learning, reflection or meditation.
Leadership and Work in an AI World: More Human, Not Less
Using AI to Deepen Human Inquiry and Connection with Hal Gregersen
Ten years after we last met, curiosity nudged me to reach out to Hal Gregersen, one of the most thoughtful voices I know on the discipline of inquiry and how questions fuel innovation. He generously said yes.
Hal is a rare combination: rigorous and deeply human. Our conversation left me feeling both nourished and energized, the kind of dialogue that helps you think more clearly and care more deeply. Hal, thank you for the example you set.
We started with human-first inquiry, then moved into a live simulation using a proprietary LLM he has built. If you know Hal’s work (including The Innovator’s DNA), you won’t be surprised where we landed: better outcomes begin with better questions.
We applied that discipline to a challenge I’ve been sitting with: how to scale Purposeful Third Act. Here are some ideas I’m pondering:
Engage the sceptics of P3A: not to persuade, but to understand what truly motivates them.
Flip the framing from responsibility to privilege for those who have the option to live a P3A.
Use AI in conversation, not in isolation. Something unexpected happened when we used AI together, it didn’t distance us: it improved the outcome and increased psychological safety between us.
Why this matters: As AI accelerates, the leaders who will have the greatest impact won’t just adopt new tools—they’ll strengthen the human capability underneath them: curiosity, judgment, and the discipline of asking better questions.
HR Leaders: Elevating Impact
Sun Life CPCO Helena Pagano: Advancing Women’s Health, including Menopause Inclusivity at Work
As careers lengthen and workforces evolve, organizations have an opportunity, and a responsibility, to better support people’s health across every stage of life. At Sun Life, that work is grounded in its purpose: helping people achieve healthier lives. Under Helena Pagano’s leadership, women’s health has become a clear workforce and business priority, including a deliberate focus on menopause as a critical, yet historically overlooked, life stage in the workplace.
Helena’s work reflects Sun Life’s broader commitment to closing the gender health gap. By pairing education, benefits, flexibility and open dialogue, Sun Life is creating the conditions for women to feel supported, seen and able to thrive throughout their careers—from early family-building years through midlife and beyond. What stands out is the courage and intent behind this leadership. Addressing menopause at work isn’t about a single policy or program, it’s about changing culture. By helping normalize conversations around women’s health and challenging long‑standing stigma, Sun Life is redefining what workplace well‑being looks like in practice.
This is HR leadership with impact: embedding health into culture, supporting people at moments that matter, and unlocking the full potential of talent by ensuring no one is left to navigate their health alone at work.
Shortly after returning to work at RBC from my second maternity leave, I faced a classic life-work dilemma. I was offered my first executive position: Vice President, Cards Technology. I’d been in my role just over two years, six months of that on maternity leave. My mind went straight to my checklist. The role ticked every box: it built on my Credit Cards and Operations experience, pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and broadened my impact. A technology role would add career currency. Vice President at 36, one of the youngest women ever, had a nice ring to it.
Then my thoughts went straight to my children. I was still learning how to be the kind of “mama” I wanted to be for two little ones, both under three. This bigger role would demand more mindshare, time, and energy than I could realistically give. I knew I couldn’t do both in the way I wanted to.
I declined the promotion on the spot. No overthinking! It felt right to trust my gut. That kind of career decision was new for me.
I also understood the risks. The bank could quietly file me into the “mommy track,” a term that was in use then. I was honest with the bank and told them my children were the priority at that period in my life. I also wanted to learn early, through actions, not reassurances, how the bank truly viewed my potential and whether it would keep investing in my growth.
I share this story often. A few years ago, an RBC colleague told me he turned down his first executive role. He said hearing my story, and that it didn't affect my career growth, gave him the confidence to decline the promotion. He went on to thrive in leadership too. I thanked him for the reminder of the power of storytelling.
Key learnings
Values over shoulds. There was a clear “should” in the room: take the promotion, prove you’re serious, keep climbing. But life isn’t just saying yes to opportunities; it’s also knowing when a no is right for you and the people you love. Values matter most when making tough decisions, especially dilemmas.
Take the long view. A career is not a linear path. What looks like a detour in the moment can be the decision that sustains you for the long run.
Run an organizational culture stress test: Culture shows up in what happens after your “no” and who still champions you.
What’s one “no” you’ve been avoiding? It might actually be the most values-aligned leadership move you can make right now.
Spotlight: Builders of Inclusive Prosperity
Venture for Canada’s Human-First Mission: Igniting Entrepreneurial Skills & Mindsets in Young Canadians
With 12.8% youth unemployment in Canada, double the national average, we need to treat early-career opportunity as a shared priority. Entrepreneurial capabilities matter for individual and organizational success, driving innovation, productivity and shared prosperity to help achieve Canada’s bold ambitions. And, as the daughter and granddaughter of successful entrepreneurs (my grandfather started from scratch as an immigrant to Tanzania), this matters to me personally! I recently met Steven Wang, the new CEO, to learn more about Venture for Canada, and what’s needed to level up its impact supporting job readiness and economic value.
How does Venture for Canada help create opportunity and inclusive prosperity?
We do this in three ways: through hands-on experience with startups and small businesses; by developing entrepreneurial capabilities like critical thinking, adaptability, and human judgment that matter even more as AI reshapes work and entry-level roles; and by expanding inclusive pathways to business ownership—for example, through our recently launched Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition Academy, where we equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills to acquire existing businesses.
What partnerships or approaches have worked best so far?
What works best is bringing together business, the public, and nonprofit sectors around a shared commitment to early-career opportunity. We collaborate with SMEs, startups, postsecondary institutions, funders, and governments to design programs that build skills, leadership capacity, and ownership pathways. When partners co-create with us, we can move faster, reach more young people, and turn emerging tools like AI into practical, inclusive opportunities.
We’re also contributing to the national conversation on productivity, talent, and economic resilience. Recently, we were invited to speak in Ottawa during a session with the Senate of Canada focused on the country’s long-term competitiveness. Moments like this reflect a broader shift: the ideas we’re advancing are gaining traction not only through our direct work with young Canadians, but also in national policy conversations.
Looking ahead, what kinds of support would most help accelerate your impact?
As a nonprofit, Venture for Canada depends on philanthropic and corporate investment to advance our vision. Financial support allows us to reduce barriers to participation, expand programming into more communities, and build new models like ownership and acquisition pathways that would otherwise remain out of reach for many emerging leaders. Beyond that, we need employers willing to offer meaningful work, extend work-integrated learning to recent graduates, and partner on practical AI adoption that builds skills within SMEs. We also need leaders to invest time and influence into youth entrepreneurship, skills development, and the national conversation on productivity and inclusive growth.
Beyond writing a cheque, how can people get involved?
As we design and launch new initiatives, collaboration with founders, operators, investors, and executives is essential. When leaders step in as speakers, mentors, or advisors, students gain direct exposure to real-world decision-making, practical insight, and lived entrepreneurial experience, something they consistently tell us is among the most impactful parts of their journey. For experts, this engagement is not just about giving back. It creates meaningful opportunities to shape the next generation of talent, contribute to national conversations on productivity and ownership, and build direct relationships with high-potential young professionals often leading to hiring, partnerships, or future collaboration.
As a young person, how can I sign up for your programs?
