Jason Gouw grew up on a farm near Taber, Alberta. “I knew early on I wasn’t going to follow my dad’s footsteps,” he says. “Farming was tough in the ’80s—high interest rates, drought, poor crop prices.” His immigrant parents encouraged him to pursue a post-secondary education.

He began a commerce degree at Mount Royal but stepped away after two years when he realized transferring to the University of Calgary meant upgrading courses. Instead, he decided to pursue his passion for rodeo and simultaneously took a job on the rigs—a year and a half of hard, freezing work that taught him grit, accountability, and the critical importance of teamwork and safety.

Before dawn on a February morning, with temperatures plunging to minus 50, Jason was part of a four-person drilling rig crew, tripping pipe in cold so severe it froze his wet clothes solid. The work was relentless—long shifts, heavy steel, and constant focus to keep everyone safe. “I remember thinking, I can’t do this forever,” he recalls. That realization became a turning point, sending him back to school, where he discovered the Land Agent program at Olds College—a perfect fit that merged his farming roots with oil and gas, enabling him to continue chasing his rodeo dreams and setting the stage for a 30-year career in land.

Why Olds College? Jason was weighing a petroleum engineering degree at SAIT against the Olds College experience—and the chance to join their rodeo team sealed the deal. He rode bulls, chasing adrenaline and camaraderie while building a foundation for his career in land. “Ask me about bull riding sometime,” he laughs. “It’s a whole different kind of risk management.”

A Career Pivot with Purpose

Ready for change, Jason immersed himself in the program. “My mom always said I was a good debater,” he laughs. The courses—agriculture, oil and gas law, negotiation—felt like second nature. “I loved it.”

That enthusiasm carried him into his first job in Regina, Saskatchewan, a market few were eager to move to. “I think part of the reason I got that job was that not many people wanted to move from Calgary to Regina, and I had a reliable pickup truck," he says with a grin. “But I was ready to learn, and I wasn’t afraid to take a chance.”

The Leadership Wake-Up Call

Leadership didn’t come naturally to Jason. “I was a good subject matter expert, not a good leader,” he admits. Early in his career, Jason managed one or two direct reports and approached leadership as a side-by-side partnership—getting the job done without thinking much about what it meant to lead. That changed in 2006 when he joined Quicksilver Resources Canada Inc. and suddenly had 11 direct reports. “Any leadership book will tell you that’s probably too many,” he says. “I went from one to eleven overnight.”

The cracks showed quickly. A blunt comment from a trusted colleague hit hard: “You’re a good person, but not a good people leader.” Not long after, a difficult exit interview from a former direct report confirmed what Jason already suspected—his leadership style wasn’t working. “That feedback didn’t reflect the kind of leader I aspired to be,” he recalls.

What followed was a turning point: two years of intensive leadership coaching. “At first I met every three weeks with my coach, then quarterly,” Jason says. “I kept a diary of my learnings—it’s tabbed and full of notes. I still refer to it even now.” Those sessions reshaped his approach to leadership, starting with one principle that changed everything: vulnerability.

“I learned vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness,” Jason says, quoting Ted Lasso. “It’s about showing your people you’re human. I’m not on a pedestal—I’m in service to my team.” That mindset became his north star. Today, Jason describes his leadership style in one sentence: “I’m in service to my people, not the other way around.”

The Core Values Behind His Leadership Style

Jason’s leadership philosophy is rooted in humility and adaptability—values forged through experience and reinforced by coaching. "When one teaches, two learn,” he says, quoting a mentor’s advice. “When people come to me for advice, I try not to give them answers. We talk it through. Often, they come up with a great solution—and I learn something too.”

He rejects the idea that leadership is one-size-fits-all. “Treat everyone kindly, but lead them in the way they need,” Jason explains. “Some people need more support than others. You must be adaptable.” That adaptability, paired with vulnerability, has become his hallmark. “Leadership is a lifelong learning process,” he says. “You can’t get too comfortable.”

A Career Built on Connection

Jason’s career spans three decades, but one constant has been his commitment to relationships.

“The basic premise of land access and engagement work hasn’t changed—and never will,” he says. “It’s about building trust. Negotiating with Indigenous groups and stakeholders who have long ties to the land requires cultivating respect and transparent communication.”

That belief shaped his decision to spend this chapter of his career where those values matter most. “I’ve known many of the people at LandSolutions for years,” Jason says. “It felt like family.”

Elevating Teams and Clients

Jason’s role is more than oversight alone—it’s a role of enabling success. “We’ve implemented a Project Execution Framework that creates consistency across geographies and sectors,” he explains. “It sets us apart and gives clients a seamless experience.”

For Jason, elevating means empowering teams to solve problems and adapt together. His passion for navigating obstacles is well known. “Tom Morgan, our VP of Transmission/Renewables & Special Projects, once said I’d run through a wall for my team—and he’s right,” Jason laughs. “As long as it’s legal and maybe made of foam.”

Jason’s Leadership Lessons

• Vulnerability is strength. It builds trust and connection.  

• Stay coachable. Leadership is a lifelong learning process.  

• Serve your people. Leadership is about elevating others, not standing on a pedestal.