This month, I found myself in rooms that reinforced the same idea: we need all hands on deck to build a stronger, more inclusive Canada.
At the annual Public Policy Forum Growth Summit, the heads of the public service in Alberta, Ontario, and Nova Scotia spoke with conviction about breaking down silos, working across boundaries, and becoming more solutions-focused. They spoke candidly about the need for business and government to engage differently—including the reality that some meetings begin with the assumption that government is “100% wrong.” That mindset serves no one. The issues facing Canada are too complex—and the stakes too high—for sectors to stay in their corners. Business, government, academia, nonprofits, and civil society each bring different perspectives, capabilities, and levers for change. We need more leaders to step into leading this cross-sector work—and model a different way forward.
Arlene Dickinson is a great example of a business leader boldly using her platform to help build Canada strong. I can’t resist sharing a fangirl moment: introducing her as one of the Public Policy Forum Testimonial Dinner honourees.
Arlene’s provocative view: “I genuinely believe that if we add food to Canada’s sovereignty agenda, the next generations will still be able to look at this country and call it a miracle.” Read her (short) compelling acceptance speech here.
One question I continue to ask is who gets invited into these rooms—and who does not. Too often, the people around the table do not reflect the diversity of Canadians, whether by gender, race, ethnicity, lived experience, or generation. The group of thoughtful and motivated next-gen leaders who joined me at the Summit and Dinner reinforced how important their presence is. Fresh perspectives. Different questions. New energy. Intergenerational learning. Inspiration to step into broader leadership. If we are serious about building the future, younger leaders need to be in the room—not waiting outside it.
This connects directly to the Purposeful Third Act movement, which continues to grow across sectors, including the public sector.
This month, we partnered with APEX (the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada) for a conversation on disrupting traditional retirement by building purposeful third acts following full-time leadership careers. An accomplished panel of former public service executives shared honest reflections on identity reset, experimentation, and the pressure many feel to have their next chapter fully mapped the moment they step away from full-time work. The reality is different. Give yourself time. I was inspired by how each has built a unique portfolio blending contribution, learning, adventure, and joy. This is not legacy talent. It remains a national asset.
You’ll find more on that APEX conversation in this issue, along with meeting a new P3A role model whose next act is a beautiful example of contribution by design. I also tell a story about intergenerational learning and access — and how small acts by P3Aers can have outsized impact when we use our relationships and social capital to open doors for the next generation.
Also in this issue: Omo Akintan and the kind of deeply human HR leadership this moment requires; Venture for Canada’s initiative to build entrepreneurial mindsets in an AI world; the power of volunteerism as citizenship in action; and snapshots of what I've been up to in the Out and About section.
Different stories. One thread. How can we use our experience, influence, relationships, and voice to unlock human potential and build inclusive prosperity?
It’s a question worth asking ourselves, perhaps more often.
Warmly,
The Purposeful Third Act Movement
When Titles Fall Away, What Comes Next?
“What’s next?”
The question seems simple. It rarely is.
Earlier this month, we partnered with APEX: Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada on the first session of What’s Next? From Full-Time Leadership to Your Purposeful Third Act, a new Executive Insights series for federal public service executives.
We spoke about identity transitions. About contribution beyond title. About the reality that many people today are not ready — intellectually, emotionally, or socially — to simply “step away” at the height of their leadership experience and wisdom.
That is why this conversation matters.
The old language of “retirement” often feels too small for what many leaders are actually navigating. This next chapter is not only about leaving a role. It is about asking better questions:
Who do I want to be now?
Where can I contribute?
What would bring impact, learning, and joy?
What encouraged me most was the openness in the room. Leaders were not looking for a formula. They were looking for a better frame.
Titles may fall away. Influence can grow.
Thank you to APEX, the speakers, panelists, and participants who helped create such a thoughtful conversation. For more on the session and the conversation it sparked, read here.
Spotlight: P3A Role Model
Thao Pham on Determining the ROI of Your Third Act
One of the best parts of the growing Purposeful Third Act movement is seeing the many different ways people are choosing to contribute next. This month, I’m delighted to welcome Thao Pham as the newest addition to the P3A Role Models section of my website.
Thao’s Purposeful Third Act is a powerful example of contribution by design. After a distinguished career in public service, she is continuing to serve in ways that matter to Canada, and to society: through public sector and not for profit board governance, environmental stewardship, and support for the next generation of leaders.
Thao’s clarity stands out. She describes the ROI of her P3A portfolio in two words: joy and significance.
That is a beautiful and demanding filter.
When deciding what to take on, she asks: Will I be able to contribute to making a difference? Will I bring added value? Will it bring me satisfaction? And will it bring me joy?
Her advice for others is equally grounded: give yourself time, try new things, stretch yourself, meet new people, and remember there is no single recipe for this next phase.
In her full profile, Thao shares how service, learning, family, and even a few brave new skills are shaping her third act. You can also explore other P3A Role Models on the website — each offering a different example of impact, learning, and joy in action. I hope their journeys spark inspiration about what your own next act could become.
Leadership and Work in an AI World: More Human, Not Less
Building Canada’s Future Entrepreneurs
in an AI World
From left to right: Sam Ramadori, Jaxson Khan, Zabeen Hirji, Salim Teja, Stephanie Enders, Abdi Aidid, Rosario Cartagena, André Côté and Marc Etienne Ouimette (CNW Group/Venture for Canada)
In the February edition of Purposeful Third Act Notes, I highlighted Venture for Canada’s work helping young Canadians build entrepreneurial mindsets and human capabilities for a changing world of work.
I’ve joined Venture for Canada’s new AI Advisory Council, alongside leaders from across sectors who are asking an important question: how do we help ensure AI strengthens opportunity, innovation, and inclusive prosperity?
For me, this is the work: AI adoption with creativity, critical thinking, human judgment with inclusion. Technology in service of people.
Read the announcement here and I’m looking forward to continuing this conversation with VFC alumni at the upcoming Alumni Summit.
HR Leaders: Elevating Impact
Omo Akintan and the Kind of Leadership We Need Now
Every profession evolves. The strongest leaders don’t just succeed within their field — they expand what leadership can become.
In my latest LinkedIn article, I profile Omo Akintan, Chief Engagement and People Officer at University Pension Plan Ontario, whose leadership reflects what I believe organizations increasingly need: leadership deeply grounded in humanity.
At a time when work is being reshaped by AI, economic and geopolitical volatility and societal expectations of leadership, Omo’s example is a powerful reminder that empathy, trust, inclusion, and human connection are not “soft” leadership capabilities — they are increasingly central to performance, resilience, and innovation.
And what makes her special: how she takes this into the communities she is part of.
Her story raises important questions for all leaders:
How do we stay connected to lived realities as we grow in influence?
How do we lead systems without losing sight of people?
What kind of leadership will this moment require from all of us?
In my Purposeful Third Act, I often ask myself: what do we do with the relationships, and access we have accumulated over a lifetime? Do we hold them close, or use them to open pathways for others?
Granted, it was a small gesture: ten seats at a table. Well, their reflections reminded me that small acts of access can have real impact.
One described the experience as “a mental workout” that challenged how they think about leadership, inclusion, and public policy. Another reflected on the importance of human connection and trust. A third considered the tensions and trade-offs involved in shaping Canada’s future in an AI-driven world.
This is what access can do: bring younger leaders closer to the complexity of the issues, the people working to solve them, and the belief that they have a role to play too.
And the learning goes both ways. Experienced leaders bring context, wisdom, and networks. Emerging leaders bring energy, fresh perspective, and ambition. Canada needs both.
My invitation to other leaders is simple: look around the rooms you are in.
Who is missing?
Who could you invite in?
Whose potential could you help unlock?
As one participant said: “Representation is powerful, but access is transformative.”
Opening the door a little wider does not always require a big initiative. Sometimes it is as simple as saying: come with me. Shared intentionally, a seat at the table can change a trajectory — and make all the rooms we are in wiser, more human, and more hopeful.
What does it really mean to build inclusive prosperity?
Sometimes it looks like policy, capital, innovation, and bold institutional leadership. And sometimes it looks like people choosing to show up — again and again — with their time, wisdom, relationships, and care.
Toronto Metropolitan University’s Outstanding Volunteer Awards celebrate alumni who do exactly that: volunteers of different ages, backgrounds, and life stages using what they have learned and earned to open doors, strengthen communities, and make possibility more real for others. Congratulations to this year’s recipients. I was honoured to be included.
A gathering like this serves as an important reminder that volunteerism is not “extra.” It is one of the ways we unlock human potential. It is leadership without needing the title. It is citizenship in action.
And it is a reminder that each of us has something to give.
