I often find myself returning to a question that feels increasingly urgent: What does it mean to thrive as a leader in a world that will not slow down or offer clear answers?
Recently, I sat down with Andrew Hsu, President of the College of Charleston, to explore this question. His life journey, from growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China to leading a 250+ year-old U.S. institution, has given him a perspective on leadership that’s both hard-earned and deeply relevant. What he shared brought into sharp relief what thriving leadership looks like when it isn’t theoretical, but grounded, tested, and not dependent on things going well.
THRIVING LEADERSHIP IS BUILT IN ADVERSITY, NOT DESPITE IT
During the Cultural Revolution, Andrew grew up in a family that faced significant hardship. When I asked how that shaped him, he didn’t frame his experience as something to overcome or ignore. Instead, he spoke about three key qualities it cultivated within him: optimism, resilience, and humility—capacities that continue to serve him in life and leadership today.
Many people equate the idea of thriving with ease—less stress, more balance between work and life, or a relaxing life at some indeterminate point in the future, such as retirement. But that’s not what I see in the leaders who are meeting this moment well. Thriving, at its essence, is an innate human capacity. And, as Andrew’s experience reflects, the internal resources that enable us to thrive are often forged in the very adversities we would not knowingly choose.
For him, thriving is inseparable from learning and growth. And that begins with humility. He was clear: no one has the full answer. Yet, many leadership cultures still subtly reward the opposite—certainty, control, decisiveness, being the one who “knows.”
That model may work in simpler conditions. In complexity, it fails us. Under pressure, our belief that we must show up with answers narrows our focus. We double down on what has worked before. Andrew shared that in real life there often isn’t a single answer, only a set of imperfect options to navigate.
Leadership today is less about knowing and more about expanding the field of thinking and relating, and, as a result, shared action. It starts with a willingness to say, I don’t know, and to engage others in discovering a better way forward.
THRIVING LEADERSHIP REQUIRES HOLDING PARADOX
The College of Charleston is a 256-year-old institution designed to endure—thoughtful, deliberative, and necessarily slow-moving. Nevertheless, it exists within a world that’s accelerating rapidly, particularly with the rise of AI and shifting expectations of higher education.
If you’re leading in any established organization, you know this tension. The instinct is to force a choice: do you protect what’s been built or do you push for change? Andrew does neither. He holds both sides of this paradox. During our conversation, he said something simple and profound: one of the oldest traditions of the institution is innovation. That’s a powerful reframe. Innovation isn’t a threat to tradition; it’s an expression of it.
To stay grounded in this paradoxical reality, Andrew returns again and again to three anchors of his leadership: a clear and shared vision, a leadership team that doesn’t think alike, and ongoing, visible engagement across the organization.
These ideas aren’t new. The differentiator is how they are embodied. For example, Andrew intentionally builds a senior leadership team with genuinely different ways of thinking. This isn’t diversity as a concept, but as a lived dynamic—where ideas are challenged, perspectives are stretched, and disagreement is expected in service of better decisions.
Over time, this creates something we consistently see in our work at Wisdom Works: when people are trusted and have a voice, they are more likely to experience themselves as contributors, not just followers. They are also more apt to take risks, innovate, and learn from their mistakes, benefiting not only themselves, but their teams and the broader system.
THRIVING LEADERSHIP MEANS EXPANDING YOUR IDENTITY
Toward the end of our conversation, I asked Andrew what else keeps him personally centered during the intense demands being made on universities today. His answer was immediate: “I remind myself every day, it’s not about me.” This sounds simple, but it isn’t easy. For many leaders, the job of management is the primary place where their identity is confirmed, reinforced, and protected.
What gives Andrew a wider perspective, I sensed, is not merely an orientation toward service, but something deeper: he takes the work seriously without attaching his identity to the role. And this, I believe, is where many leaders struggle.
When our identity becomes fused with our titles, everything contracts. Not just our viewpoints, but our capacity to relate, listen, and choose. Our nervous systems tighten around safeguarding ourselves. Feedback from our colleagues and customers becomes harder to receive because it feels like a threat to who we believe we are. The organization itself can even start operating around our self-protection rather than its deeper purpose.
As our identity expands, something else becomes possible. We can hold responsibility without it defining us. We can hear difficult truths without collapsing or defending. We can stay secure in the purpose of our organization without needing to be the center of it. And perhaps most importantly, we have greater capacity to see more clearly, respond rather than react, and lead in service of something larger than ourselves.
This isn’t abstract work. It’s developmental work. And it shows up in how a leader organizes their life. Andrew has built a life and an identity extending well beyond his role—through family, running, music, and learning new languages—not as an afterthought, but as part of how he sustains himself as a whole person. He understands something that is important for us all: the capacity to lead in a demanding environment does not come from strategy alone. It comes from who we are, especially when the pressure is real and the path isn’t clear.
About President Andrew Hsu
In May 2019, Andrew T. Hsu became the 23rd president of the College of Charleston. Since his first year in office, Hsu has overseen the addition of three new engineering programs (systems, electrical and software engineering), the creation of the first doctoral programs in the school’s history, the induction of the first cohort of Phi Beta Kappa scholars, record-breaking years of recruitment and philanthropic engagement, the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the College’s founding in 1770 and the creation of a 10-year strategic plan, Tradition and Transformation, with a focus on three main pillars: 1) student experience & success, 2) academic distinction and 3) employee experience & success. Hsu earned his Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1986. He then worked in industry for 11 years with Sverdrup/NASA and Rolls-Royce, where he developed unique industry perspectives and leadership skills, before joining academia in 1997. In his free time, Hsu enjoys tennis, classical music and spending time with his wife, Rongrong, and their family.
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I cofounded Wisdom Works in 1999 with the belief that thriving and wisdom are the foundation of effective leadership and a better world. If you’re exploring how these principles could transform your team or organization, I welcome the conversation. Please reach out at: renee@wisdom-works.com.
Wisdom Works’ Be Well Lead Well® newsletter features conversations, strategies, and resources to empower a global movement of change leaders committed to a world where everyone thrives. I’m grateful to President Andrew Hsu for the generosity of his wisdom in this month’s conversation. Wisdom Works’ AI team member, Sage, supported the refinement of this newsletter as part of our ongoing exploration of how AI can deepen, not replace the work of thriving leadership.
