Okay, somebody said something to me recently that I haven’t stopped thinking about.
We were having a conversation about raising capital and building regeneratively, two things I have been thinking about and informing my life lately—and they said,
“Oh, love that you’re Canadian. You already think more regeneratively.”
At first, I laughed. And then I paused. Because… huh?
That might actually be true and, as a leadership coach and strategist for small businesses to large fortune 100’s - I had never thought of it that way.
I’ve lived in LA for a couple of years now, and while I love the creativity and possibility here, there’s always been a subtle culture shock I couldn’t quite name. At first, I thought the dissonance was circumstantial—maybe I just hadn’t found the right rooms. I couldn’t always name it, but it showed up in business rooms, networking events, in the pressure to produce and prove, perform and posture. It’s this low-grade hum of hustle and urgency and survival mode that didn’t exist in my bones before.
I used to think it was just a mix of the American hustle and healthcare system triggering my inner survivalist and doomsdayer (which, to be fair, still tracks). But over time I realized: it wasn’t just stress. It was a different philosophical core.
There’s a worldview baked into how I was raised in Canada that orients toward nuance, care, and interconnectedness. And while I didn’t have language for it growing up, it’s now the bedrock of how I lead.
These aren’t just personality traits. They’re pattern-based leadership strategies.
And in today’s landscape, they’re an advantage. So let’s dive into them.
1. Kindness as Capacity, Not Compliance
Yes, we’re known for being polite. But kindness isn’t just social code, it’s a relational skill.
We’re taught to consider impact before reaction. To ask how people are, not just what they do. And that early emotional literacy becomes a leadership asset. It makes space for honest feedback, tension, and repair—without defaulting to dominance.
When channeled intentionally: It creates safety, lowers resistance, and keeps teams connected under pressure.
When left unchecked: It can slide into appeasement.
But used with backbone? It’s influence in its most disarming form.
Kindness is not the opposite of power. It’s a form of it.
2. Apology as Relational Repair
Yes, we say sorry a lot. But contrary to the stereotype, it’s not about insecurity.
It’s about relational responsibility.
We’re socialized to anticipate how our words might land and being overly cautious of others. To be cautious of causing harm—not out of fear, but because we’re taught that intent doesn’t cancel out impact. Saying sorry becomes a way of staying in right relationship, even before harm is called to catch it in case there is a chance of rupture from mismatched intent/impact.
In U.S. business culture, where accountability can feel like a legal risk, this willingness to reset, without ego is magnetic.
Used well: It builds immediate trust and models emotional maturity.
Used poorly: It turns into a tic and undercuts clarity.
But when wielded with clarity, an apology becomes strategic maintenance for the relationship architecture you’re building. It’s not about guilt. It’s about longevity.
3. Reading the Room Before Speaking Into It
There’s a kind of awareness many Canadians develop early, what I’d call environmental intelligence.
We’re taught to attune before we assert. To pick up on social cues, relational tone, and collective mood. Not out of fear, but out of respect for the whole.
This becomes a powerful leadership asset. You notice power dynamics. You sense what’s unsaid. You catch misalignment before it erupts. In a city like LA, where charisma often takes the mic first, this quieter sensing becomes a strategic advantage. In high-stakes environments, this turns into foresight. You catch what’s not being said. You move before the issue erupts. You design for dynamics most people ignore.
When rooted in self-trust: It becomes intuitive system sensing.
When overdone: It can lead to people-pleasing or over-responsibility.
But when held in balance, it allows for leadership that’s responsive, grounded, and human.
4. Thinking in “We” Before “Me”
This one surprised me.
Growing up, I didn’t think Canadian culture was especially different from the U.S. But the more time I spend between the two, the more I notice a subtle but significant distinction: we’re often raised inside a collective frame.
That doesn’t mean collectivism to the extreme. But it does show up in how decisions get made, how leadership is encouraged, and how we’re taught to pause for the group.
When practiced well: It builds ecosystems, not empires.
When overextended: It can blur boundaries or slow decision-making.
But in a world that glorifies personal brands and lone genius narratives, this instinct toward interdependence is something worth protecting, and evolving.
5. Cultural Mosaic as Leadership DNA
Toronto shaped me. I grew up surrounded by difference—language, culture, belief systems—and no one needed to flatten themselves to belong.
Canada’s multicultural model isn’t perfect, but it offered something instructive: a lived experience of pluralism. Not everything had to resolve. Not everyone had to agree. And difference wasn’t automatically a threat.
That gave me a blueprint for leadership I didn’t know I was absorbing. One where multiple truths can co-exist. Where difference isn’t threatening. Where coherence doesn’t require sameness.
That shapes how I lead. It’s why I design for nuance, not uniformity. It’s why I can hold conflict without collapsing. It’s why I don’t need everyone to agree to move forward.
That formed my leadership.
It’s why I don’t rush to resolution, why I design for nuance over uniformity and it’s why I can hold tension without needing it to collapse.
In business, it becomes the instinct to build for complexity without flattening it.
In community, it means holding tension without rushing to fix it.
In teams, it means designing systems where more than one way of being can thrive.
6. Regeneration Was Embedded—We Just Didn’t Call It That
That comment—“You already think regeneratively”—clicked something into place.
I didn’t learn regenerative leadership only from a book. I learned it by slowing down. By considering impact. By valuing care over speed, and stewardship over dominance.
I used to think that was just me. But now I see how much of it was subtly learned.
It doesn’t mean everyone raised in Canada leads this way. And it doesn’t mean people elsewhere don’t.
But for me, it helps explain what’s underneath the way I move through the world. And it helps me claim it more fully. Naming it gives me the power to lead with it on purpose.
Final Thought 🍁
These aren’t quirks. They’re competencies.
They just haven’t always been recognized as such—because the systems we’ve been taught to lead inside have long valued dominance over depth, volume over nuance, speed over sustainability. But we’re in a new era now—one that requires more than confidence. One that demands coherence.
But regenerative leadership flips that script.
Here in summary here are 5 ways to sharpen that edge and lead with it on purpose:
1. Turn kindness into clarity.
Deliver feedback with care, but don’t water it down. Use empathy to make your message land—and stick.
2. Use apology as repair, not performance.
Say sorry with specificity. Not to manage perception, but to protect the relationship. Then move forward.
3. Lead with sensing, then act with conviction.
Scan the room, spot the gaps—then move. Don’t wait for perfection. Your ability to see the pattern is your permission.
4. Design from the ‘we,’ then lead from the ‘I.’
Use your collectivist roots to co-create systems—but don’t fear decisiveness. You can still be the one to name the next move.
5. Let nuance be your superpower.
Complexity isn’t something to avoid. It’s the terrain of this moment. Your ability to navigate contradiction is your leadership edge.
The game has changed, soft leadership, relational leadership and regenerative leadership is the path forward. What was once dismissed as “too soft,” “too cautious,” or “too polite” is now what makes people follow you without being forced to. Your ability to hold complexity, discomfort, and contradiction is the leadership muscle. Especially in times of chaos, complexity, collapse and rebuild.
Written by Katrina DeAngelis, a dynamic Culture Strategist, Leadership Coach, and Facilitator with a strong foundation in Psychology and Leadership Development.