In a world of constant change, Ivey is advancing a simple but powerful idea: leaders with a clear, lived sense of purpose are better equipped to navigate complexity and create impact.
That belief is at the heart of the Purpose 3.0 Report and the Purpose Prism framework, a toolkit developed by Professor Dusya Vera, PhD ’02, Executive Director of Ivey’s Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership, and Oana Branzei, Paul MacPherson Chair in Strategic Leadership and Professor of Sustainability and Strategy. The model invites students to treat purpose as a character-infused “North Star” that can guide their choices over the course of their careers.
That approach came to life in a recent Purpose 3.0 workshop in Vera’s Transformational Leadership course, where MBA students explored the model, reflected on the leadership journey of Indigenous business leader JP Gladu, and used a new worksheet to begin shaping how they want their purpose to show up in teams, organizations, and communities.
For MBA student Yaseen Mirza, the session turned a long-standing interest in meaning and impact into something more concrete, helping him understand the process of finding his purpose and how it works in relation to others and the environment.
“It’s not just on the individual level. You have to make sure there’s alignment, because for myself, if my purpose is clashing with someone else’s purpose, it hinders my ability to carry out my own purpose,” he said.
From research to a practical “how-to” tool
The Purpose 3.0 report builds on two decades of Branzei’s pioneering work at Ivey, integrating purpose into the sustainability and strategy curriculum, and on her research on how leaders discover, deepen, and live their purpose over time. It reflects an evolution in how purpose is understood – from earlier models focused on the purpose of an inspirational founder (Purpose 1.0) and describing the tradeoff between purpose and profits in organizations (Purpose 2.0), to a more personal view in Purpose 3.0 that connects purpose directly to who people are – their character. The team developing the toolkit also included two Undergraduate Summer Research Internship students, Kirsten Swatuk, HBA '04, and Shirley Zhong, HBA/Engineering ’26 candidate.
To make purpose actionable, Purpose 3.0 introduces the Purpose Prism, which breaks purpose into three interconnected facets:
- Finding – identifying what matters most and the impact a leader wants to have;
- Holding – sustaining and sharing that purpose with others; and,
- Applying – translating purpose into consistent decisions and behaviours.
The students worked with a visual guide and a How to Purpose worksheet, which prompts reflection on personal influences, character strengths, the communities they feel accountable to, and moments when purpose may be tested. The process reinforces that purpose and character both evolve, and that leaders need tools to stay grounded as they grow.
Inside the Purpose 3.0 MBA workshop
Following the launch of the Purpose Prism framework by Branzei in the HBA Sustainability Certificate this winter and in the EMBA sustainability course earlier this fall, Vera’s MBA workshop invites students to pilot the toolkit as part of their character development.
The session blended research, lived example, and personal reflection. Students began with an introduction to the evolution of purpose thinking and why Purpose 3.0 centres on individual leaders. From there, they moved into a case discussion on JP Gladu (new case at Ivey Publishing), an Indigenous business leader who introduced the concept of economic reconciliation in corporate Canada. His story illustrates how identity, values, and lived experience can shape an enduring purpose – and how that purpose continues to guide new work through major career transitions. The students then followed how Gladu carried his purpose across roles in economic development, governance, education, and entrepreneurship.
With that example in mind, they applied the framework to their own lives. Using the worksheet, they explored what energizes them, where they want to contribute, what barriers might get in the way, and what supports they need to stay aligned with their purpose over time.
Purpose, character, and decisions
For Mirza, the purpose work connected naturally to the character development woven throughout the course, and he said these experiences have become a highlight of the MBA program.
“Understanding my purpose... and the areas of character that I'm stronger in, and the ones that I'm weaker in... was extremely impactful,” he said.
“A North Star” for leadership
For Vera, that kind of clarity is exactly what Purpose 3.0 is designed to build.
“Purpose provides the direction for character to express itself, while character provides the integrity and consistency needed to authentically pursue that purpose," she said.
She emphasized that purpose and character are inseparable.
“Purpose without character is hard to implement,” she said. “You need courage, you need humility... That’s why we call it character-infused purpose.”
Extending the reach of Purpose 3.0
Purpose 3.0 will continue its rolling out across Ivey programs and will next be integrated into the new Purpose-Driven Leadership electives, developed by Branzei, for HBA students and Western Leadership Certificate students.
As Purpose 3.0 expands, the goal is to equip more Ivey students with a practical, research-based way to understand what they stand for – and a method to keep that purpose in view as they lead, learn, and navigate what comes next.
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