Why Adaptability Matters Now: How Canadian Leaders Can Thrive in Economic Uncertainty
The Economic Context For Canadian Leaders
Canada is in the midst of a trade war with the United States, our largest trading partner. The recurring cycle of tariffs and counter-tariffs has contributed to financial uncertainty, prompting many economists to predict an economic slowdown and possibly a recession in Q4 of 2025. As our economy slows and recession looms, we expect Canadian organizations to make strategic and operational changes to cut costs, minimize risk, and maintain resilience. This will include measures like restructuring teams, improving operational efficiency and leveraging automation and AI. Given this new reality, what can you do to prepare for what’s ahead?
Why Adaptability Is a Competitive Advantage
Surviving and thriving in uncertain times requires a high Adaptability Quotient (AQ) - the set of skills needed to adapt to, manage and drive change.
To navigate the complexities of today’s environment, Canadian organizations need leaders who are highly adaptable. Those who can evolve personally while guiding their teams through change will not only gain a competitive edge but also build credibility as trusted professionals capable of steering their organizations through uncertainty. A downturn in Canada’s economy could mean an upturn in their careers - provided they build the right skills to step up to the challenge. If you are a leader in Canada, now is the time for you to take AQ seriously.
A three-tiered pyramid illustrating the relationship between AQ (Adaptability Quotient), EQ (Emotional Quotient), and IQ (Intelligence Quotient), with AQ at the top symbolizing the importance of this skillset in navigating our current environment.
Strategic Thinking: An essential AQ skill
We know the topic of AQ is broad and building it takes time and effort, but to get you started, we are outlining one of its key skills: Strategic Thinking.
Strategic Thinking is the ability to see the “big picture” while managing local impacts. In our experience leading multi-million-dollar initiatives in Canadian banks, we have observed that the earlier a leader is able to see the big picture, the better the chances of their initiative’s success. We have also noticed that even the most seasoned leaders responsible for complex initiatives don’t start out by asking themselves and their teams the following questions:
· Why do we need to change? Why now?
· What’s the risk of not changing?
· How will we benefit from changing?
· When do we need to change by?
· What do we need to make the change happen?
· Who are the impacted groups of people? How are they impacted? How will we support them?
· How will we implement this change?
· What challenges do we anticipate running into? How will we manage them?
· How will we know we are successful?
These questions are fundamental to the successful implementation of change and considering them early could mean the difference between a successful project and a delayed and wasteful one.
How Changely workshops can help
The exercise above is an example of how we help you build strategic thinking skills in our Changely workshops where we use real-world use cases to plan for change. Developing this skill will enable you to effectively plan and implement change - whether it's to navigate the impacts of a trade war or to address the many challenges currently facing Canadian organizations.
To learn more, please contact us to see how you can benefit from a Changely Workshop. We would love for you to join our next cohort.