When I began the Laidlaw Foundation's program, I thought of leadership primarily as the ability to take initiative, solve difficult problems, and produce meaningful results. Throughout the past year, with workshops and discussions on ethical leadership, my understanding of what leadership requires has changed. As a Laidlaw Scholar, I have learned that leadership is also about judgment, humility, service, and the willingness to question my own assumptions. Importantly, I have learned that becoming a leader means always considering the people and contexts affected by my decisions.
During my Leadership-in-Action project at the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women in London, I was able to implement these lessons in practice. The Foundation works with women entrepreneurs across developing countries to sustain business growth and access financing. My work ranged from impact measurement, programme development, digital finance research, to strategic partnerships. I analyzed more than 3,000 qualitative responses about women's use of AI, examined programme outcomes across Kenya, Nigeria, and Guyana, researched financial barriers in different markets, tested programme materials, and supported donor and partnership research.
One of my biggest lessons in character came from working with qualitative data. At first, I approached the data by looking for patterns within the categories already established by the survey. However, I began noticing responses that did not fit neatly into those categories. Working with my mentor, I started asking why they were different and what they might reveal about the limitations of the survey itself. This changed the way I think about evidence. Good research requires the willingness to recognize that the framework I have been given may not fully capture reality.
This lesson became particularly important when I examined trust as a barrier to AI adoption. Quantitative data separated different dimensions of trust, but women's written responses revealed a more complicated picture. Some were concerned about privacy, cyberattacks, and data security, while others questioned whether AI could be trusted to produce accurate information. The finding reminded me that behind every dataset are people whose experiences cannot always be reduced to survey categories. As a researcher and future leader, I have a responsibility to make sure that efficiency does not come at the expense of accurately representing lived experiences.
My understanding of leadership also changed through the everyday nature of my work. While I previously thought of leadership through the lens of managing a team, as an intern, leadership often meant identifying an error before a program was delivered, improving a research process, asking a question that revealed a gap, or taking ownership of a task. I learned that leadership through service and initiative can be just as consequential as formal authority.
I also became better at balancing between moving quickly and maintaining rigor. When I used online tools to help analyze thousands of qualitative responses, I saw how technology could dramatically increase efficiency. However, there were also significant limitations as I needed to check outputs and use human judgment for every step. This experience taught me a broader principle that I will carry into future endeavors, that while fast work is valuable, slowing down for attention to detail is a also leadership skill.
My LiA has also deepened my global mindset. My work required me to think across countries and contexts rather than assuming that one solution could be universally applied. Researching digital finance in countries such as Nigeria and Egypt showed me that financial access is shaped by local infrastructure, payment systems, institutions, and cultural practices. Similarly, analyzing responses from women entrepreneurs in Guyana, Kenya, and South Africa demonstrated how differently participants can experience the same programme. This reinforced that being a global citizen means being willing to listen, adapt, and recognize the limits of my own perspective. My own background in growing up between China and the United States has made me comfortable navigating different environments, but Laidlaw has encouraged me to think more critically about what that adaptability means in practice.
In the future, I want these lessons to shape the way I approach a career at the intersection of policy, economics, and law. Whether I am conducting research, advising an organization, or working with communities, I want to remain curious about perspectives that challenge my assumptions, use evidence responsibly, and communicate across differences.
Laidlaw has taught me the importance of developing the character to ask better questions in ethical leadership. I hope to carry curiosity, leadership, and courage beyond the Laidlaw Scholars program into my future career. I hope to use these qualities to contribute meaningfully to the communities and institutions around me.
