What if Preparing Leaders for Change is Yesterday’s Leadership Challenge?
The leaders who thrive aren’t simply prepared for change. They have the capacity to keep changing.
What does it actually take to build that capacity? And what becomes possible when leaders develop it inside an organization navigating continuous transformation?
Under pressure, leaders don’t default to what they’ve learned. They default to how they make sense of what’s happening. Traditional leadership development assumes that if leaders learn new skills, they’ll use them when it matters most.
But that’s rarely what happens.
People instinctively interpret what’s happening through familiar assumptions, experiences, and beliefs. Those interpretations shape what they notice, the options they consider, and ultimately how they respond. Their thinking narrows. Curiosity gives way to certainty. The options they can see shrink at precisely the moment they need the widest view. This is why more frameworks, more tools, and more training don’t automatically translate into different behavior.
What’s needed is a different kind of development, one that strengthens leaders’ capacity to continually make sense of changing conditions with greater awareness, adaptability, and intention.
We call that capacity Transformative Intelligence™ (TQ). The capacity to continually examine and evolve the stories through which we interpret ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Inside PVH
PVH, the company behind Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, operates in an environment where change is continuous. At PVH, consumer-first isn’t simply a strategy, it’s a way of operating that requires leaders to continually adapt as priorities, markets, customer expectations, and business needs evolve.
When Rochelle Rosato, PVH’s Global Head of Talent, explored what it would take to build transformative capacity across their Vice President and Director leadership population, one thing became clear: the work extended beyond building new skills. It focused on helping leaders expand their capacity to navigate ambiguity, challenge familiar assumptions, and lead with greater confidence as conditions continued to evolve.
As Rochelle describes it today, the shift is reflected in leaders who show greater confidence and bravery, take the initiative instead of waiting to be told, collaborate more naturally across functions, break down silos, and own problems openly rather than pushing them upward.
Different organizations, the same gap
What PVH discovered isn’t unique. Most organizations have leaders navigating the same changing conditions while making very different sense of what they’re experiencing. That’s why building transformative capacity matters. As leaders continually examine and evolve how they interpret themselves, others, and the situations they face, organizations become better able to adapt, collaborate, and thrive through continuous change.
It’s time to rethink leadership development. Let’s talk about your organization.
A practice for this week: The next time you find yourself under pressure, notice your first interpretation of the situation. Then ask: What assumptions might be shaping how I’m seeing this? Creating space between your interpretation and your response is where new possibilities begin.
About Canvas
Canvas is a global leadership, culture, and coaching partner helping organizations unlock the human capacity behind transformation. As pioneers of Transformative Intelligence™ (TQ), we help leaders, teams, and organizations expand how they think, interpret, and respond, creating lasting shifts in behavior, performance, and culture.
We’re passionate about creating transformative learning, explore how we work here.
