Future Shapers: Episode 2.3: Leadership Is a Muscle

BRG Director Isaac Wong sits down with Hsiang Low, general counsel and director of operations at Riverchain. They take cues from Disney’s Mulan to unpack what it means to be a true leader in today’s business world and discuss:

• why leadership is something you must learn, hone, and practice, not something you are born with or given
• why leadership requires a listener’s mindset, growing comfortable with being uncomfortable, and delivering consistent feedback without micromanaging

Hsiang describes how he applies those leadership principles at Riverchain, a fintech startup that provides innovative working capital solutions that bring transparency, efficiency, and liquidity to the construction supply chain.

Selected Transcript Summary

[3:49]
Leadership is learned, not given. Hsiang never felt like a natural leader, and the moments that shaped him most were not formal training, but small instances where someone believed in him enough to give him space to try. He hopes the discussion gives at least one listener the confidence to back themselves.

[5:00]
Mulan as a leadership lens. Hsiang chose the story of Mulan, the unlikely recruit who does not fit the mold yet becomes one of the army’s finest generals through sheer determination. It resonates every time he questioned whether he was the right fit. His throughline is that leadership is not something you are born with; it is learned, honed, and practiced over time, with help from others who make space for you.

[6:55]
Early doubt and a mentor’s reframe. Hsiang describes the self-doubt and imposter syndrome he carried when he moved into law from a non-traditional background. A law-school mentor reframed that background as a strength rather than a liability, advice he counts among the most important he has ever received.

[7:44]
“We don’t pay you to always agree with me.” Hsiang reached an interpretation of a piece of legislation that contradicted the view of a senior partner with decades of experience. The partner noticed his hesitation, encouraged and listened to him speak, and agreed with his analysis. What followed became Hsiang’s first lesson that real leadership requires a listener’s mindset.

[9:33]
Making it safe to speak up. Hsiang reflects on how being given ownership made him invest more, and his responsibility as a leader to create an environment where sharing ideas feels safe. Being corrected was equally formative: heavy edits stung early on, but he learned to read them as a signal of where to improve rather than a personal judgment.

[11:14]
Getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Hsiang admits he was rarely comfortable early in his career. Growth came first from mentors, seniors, family, and his own curiosity about what’s on the other side of discomfort. He compares the growth mindset to a muscle that becomes second nature the more it is trained.

[13:27]
Creating space for others. Hsiang recalls asking a trainee only weeks into her first job to lead a client call. He rehearsed it with her, sat beside her, and stayed silent throughout, even though the instinct to step in was strong. Having once been given that same space, he understood that intervening would have taken something away from her. Leadership is about unlocking other people’s potential rather than demonstrating your own.

[16:02]
Trust as the starting point, not the reward. Isaac shares his own approach to creating space. Trust comes first, before people have proven themselves, otherwise a leader never learns what they are capable of. He hands over real ownership while staying close enough to support and is deliberate about not micromanaging.

[17:09]
Mistakes and ownership. Isaac describes giving a hesitant team member ownership of a project. The minor mistakes along the way were treated as part of the learning, and when it came time to present, he backed the person publicly while coaching privately. Ownership paired with support works faster than instruction alone.

[19:05]
Inside Riverchain. Hsiang explains Riverchain’s mission of providing working capital to SME construction businesses, an industry where chronic payment delays lock up money that workers and small firms can not afford to lose. Many people said the problem was too difficult to solve; he treats that skepticism as encouragement, reasoning that if everyone believed it was possible, someone would already have done it.

[20:18]
Building culture deliberately. Hsiang describes culture as one of the most intentional things he has built in his team. He stays involved in every hire, treats people as the company’s greatest asset, and invests in formal and informal training so the team can learn to lead by doing.

[22:53]
What the next generation of leaders will need. Rather than fearing AI and rapid change, Hsiang argues that businesses will still be built by people, and that the leaders who expand their teams’ horizons, encourage exploration, and model new ways of working are the ones who will thrive. He and Isaac point to empathy, patience, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to build trust and teamwork as qualities that will matter most.

[26:40]
Rapid-fire close. After the conversation managed to reference both Mulan and Spider-Man, Isaac closes with a quick round. Hsiang names trust as the trait he values most, “look up and look ahead” as the best advice he has received, and listening before speaking as the habit that makes him a better leader.