Think Big: Rethinking the Mindset and Skills Needed for Private Sector Leadership in Canada

As global conditions continue to shift, Canada’s private sector may be entering a period where traditional approaches to business leadership are no longer enough. Ambition, urgency, and adaptability are becoming increasingly important, but so too is the ability to collaborate across levels, work around barriers, and develop the internal and external competencies required to operate in an evolving economic landscape. 

This article takes a closer look at the types of leadership mindsets and capabilities that could support private sector growth in 2025 and beyond. The goal is not to prescribe a fixed model, but to explore what might be needed, and what kinds of leadership may be best suited to meeting the moment. 

Rethinking Ambition: What Are We Trying to Do? 

As Canada contemplates a future shaped by greater self-sufficiency and more diversified global markets, a different kind of private sector leader may be required: one who brings not just ambition, but a willingness to confront barriers, assess feasibility, and build plans that are grounded in both speed and realism. 

These leaders might ask: What exactly are we trying to do with our ambition? Is it possible? What would it take to execute at warp speed? Do we have the expertise? Do we understand the needs of new clients and markets? Can we attract the necessary financing? And just as importantly, what might stand in the way? 

The kind of strategic foresight needed to tackle these questions is not surface-level. It demands deep research, a grasp of global best practices, and a clear understanding of internal capabilities and external opportunities. It also requires leadership teams that are willing to collaborate across levels and engage with experts both within and outside the organization. 

Some barriers will be external, especially regulatory. As explored in our previous article, Think Big: Rethinking the Mindset and Skills Needed for Public Sector Leadership in Canada, governments may need to evolve into true enablers of growth, help reduce friction and unlock opportunities. But the private sector also has work to do: company by company, building leadership capacity to create, strategize, operationalize, and mobilize. 

Matching Skills to the Moment 

Many of the standard leadership competencies, such as effective communication, strategic thinking, and people management, remain important. But in a changing economy, some skills may need to come to the forefront, particularly for organizations experiencing market disruption or strategic pressure. 

For sectors affected by declining exports or new trade barriers, the challenge is twofold: survival in the short term, and reinvention for the future. This may involve reshaping product lines, acquiring new capabilities, and building out supply chain resilience, all while navigating uncertainty. 

In such contexts, leaders may need to draw on new capabilities in scenario planning, foresight, and external insight gathering. They’ll also need to bring together diverse internal stakeholders to co-develop strategies and test assumptions early. A top-down vision can be powerful, but feasibility, problem-solving, and execution often depend on the knowledge of downstream experts and functional teams. 

The Role of Leadership in Fast-Moving Environments 

As organizational complexity increases, leaders may need to become more comfortable working across hierarchies. In many large firms, senior leaders are not always in regular dialogue with frontline managers or technical specialists. But when time is tight and the stakes are high, that gap can be costly. 

Effective leaders in this context may need to be more intentional about listening to research, proposals, and contrary opinions. That means lowering the leadership “mask,” setting aside ego, and creating a culture where truth-telling is rewarded, not penalized. Encouraging openness across levels isn’t just a soft skill, but essential to navigating fast-moving, high-stakes challenges. 

This also points to a structural reality: hierarchical messaging (up and down) can act as a bottleneck. When information is filtered too heavily, the organization may lose its ability to act on new ideas quickly. Culture plays a key role here. A culture that values pragmatic engagement, encourages contribution, and builds shared accountability may be better equipped to support ambitious new directions. 

Collaboration: Internal and External 

To move at speed, internal collaboration is critical. Teams need to be aligned, agile, and open to iteration. But external collaboration may also become increasingly important, especially when tackling goals that depend on partnerships, infrastructure, or government support. 

For instance, the success of a new growth initiative may hinge on factors such as new tidewater ports, energy corridors, local permitting, or workforce development programs. These are dependencies that businesses alone cannot resolve. Leaders may need to anticipate these interdependencies early and build mitigation strategies accordingly, whether through partnerships, advocacy, or adaptive scenario planning. 

This mindset requires a blend of foresight, flexibility, and resilience. It also reinforces the need for leaders who can navigate systems-level challenges, not just internal ones. 

Balancing Urgency with Workforce Impact 

Even when an organization is aligned on the need for change, the experience of that change can vary widely across the workforce. Rapid shifts in strategy, structure, or operations can create fatigue, confusion, or resistance if not managed with care. 

This is where more traditional leadership qualities, such as empathy, transparency, and the ability to mobilize people, remain as essential as ever. The pressure to grow and pivot cannot come at the expense of engagement. Leaders may need to help teams understand not just what is changing, but why. They’ll also need to ensure that people feel supported, included, and equipped to succeed in the new environment. 

As such, the most effective leaders may be those who are able to balance two realities at once: the hard edge of ambition, and the human side of transformation. 

Looking Ahead 

The Canadian private sector may be entering a phase where growth depends not only on operational excellence, but on the ability to think bigger, act faster, and collaborate more effectively than before. That will likely require different skill sets, new mindsets, and a renewed focus on leadership that is both ambitious and inclusive. According to Strategy&, PwC’s strategy consulting arm, only about one-third of organizations have successfully embedded agile practices across their enterprise, underscoring the gap between recognizing the need for agility and turning it into sustained organizational capability. 

There’s no single model that fits every company or every sector. But what’s becoming clearer is that traditional approaches may not be enough in a landscape defined by both disruption and opportunity. 

As the Think Big Series continues, we’ll keep exploring what it means to lead in this new era, and how organizations can build the talent, culture, and strategic capacity to thrive in it.