The air in Penang, Malaysia, was thick with moisture, although it was not nearly as heavy as my nervousness. I had come for a week as an observer to join my colleagues from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Luce Scholars Program and our partner, The Asia Foundation.

Each Luce Scholar spends a year in Asia, working for a local organization, learning a new language, and immersing themselves in community life. I was stepping into the 2024-2025 cohort’s middle of their journey at the Mid-Year Meeting, where they gathered to reflect on their experiences and lessons learned so far.

I quickly realized that leadership begins not with certainty but with the unsteady, uncomfortable, and often invisible effort of immersing oneself in a new world and community.

Despite being older, more experienced, and having lived in Asia myself, I was strangely intimidated. The Scholars’ ambition and their willingness to leap into the unknown was impressive. My travels over the last decade had been tightly tethered to family and familiarity. I admired the courage they showed by leaving everything familiar behind.

When we finally met at breakfast the next morning, they welcomed me with humility, curiosity, and grace. They already embodied what makes a true leader: openness and connection.

Over the next few days, we shared meals, attended lectures, and participated in training sessions, all tailored to the Scholars’ professional interests. We learned about being activists in a country with complex laws. We compared the local healthcare system to that of the United States. We examined the impact of climate change on Malaysia’s natural flora and fauna and took a train ride up Penang Hill. We even got caught in the rain while walking in Penang’s historic neighborhoods. Most importantly, we built a strong community with one another.

As I listened to the Scholars’ stories, a clear pattern emerged. Living and working across cultures did not just teach them how to lead—in the formal sense, at least. It was reshaping their identities. Each lesson was not delivered in a classroom. Rather, it was learned through daily experiences, often imperfectly and quietly.

Humility in the Face of the Unknown

Living abroad dismantled the illusion of competence. Even the most accomplished Scholars felt like children again, fumbling for words, unsure of customs, and apologizing more than asserting themselves. Yet this humility forged a deeper strength: a willingness to be learners first. True leadership begins when we stop pretending to know everything.

Listening Beyond Language
Luce Scholars receive language training, but real-world challenges persist. Words can fail, conversations may stumble, and meanings often blur. They learned to listen deeply to gestures, silences, and what is felt but not spoken.

Resilience Through Small Failures
Every Scholar had a story about making mistakes: misreading a custom, missing a cue, or feeling isolated. However, each mistake taught them to stay present, to try again, and to endure discomfort without retreating. Authentic leadership is built through the persistent refusal to withdraw in the face of failure.

Holding Identity Lightly but Not Letting Go
Immersion didn’t require Scholars to erase their identities; instead, it encouraged them to hold their identities lightly, growing toward the unfamiliar while remaining grounded in their core selves. Leadership requires this balance: adapting without abandoning one’s essence.

Learning, Again and Again
One of the greatest lessons was this: their diverse experiences constantly informed and shaped their leadership. Every conversation, every effort at expressing themselves in a new language, every misstep, and every small triumph invited them to remain lifelong learners, evolving as both individuals and leaders.

I traveled to Penang as an observer, but I left changed. I witnessed not a complete portrait of leadership; rather, it was emerging leaders’ early, unfinished outlines. In a world that craves quick answers to complex problems, these emerging leaders are cultivating humility, resilience, patience, and wonder–qualities that are more important than ever. As the Luce Scholars demonstrate, the true measure of leadership is not how much ground we conquer but how deeply we allow ourselves to be transformed. 

 

by Jacquelynn Osoro on June 10, 2025