What Makes a Hero?
Reflections on leadership, uncertainty, and change
Dr. Ru-huey Yen is a primary care physician in Oakland, California. Story Preservation recorded her story during the Covid-19 crisis, in an area of the country where the impact was immediate and intense.
The thoughts that she shared are a study in leadership. Decision-making without certainty, innovation under pressure, and the reshaping of values that can follow profound disruption.
While rooted in a historic time, her reflections extend beyond it, offering insight into what it means to step forward in a time of crisis.
"Everything that I knew about the virus came from news reports…," she recalls. "I was getting information at the same time as everyone else." And yet, she was the one her patients turned to for guidance. That tension, between expectation and reality, sits at the center of leadership. What must it feel like to be in that position? What would you do?
"I definitely felt a moment in which I felt lost. I felt like an imposter." Still, action had to be taken, decisions made. Systems of care had to be built. Leadership, her experience suggests, is not about certainty. It is about presence, judgment, and the willingness to move forward.
She also speaks about the role of creativity in moments like these, recalling:
“Some of the most successful ideas to emerge were those initially perceived as the craziest or most absurd.”
There is a lesson here for anyone navigating uncertainty. It's the willingness to ask questions, to risk being wrong, and to lean into ideas that may not yet make sense.
This raises a broader question: What makes a hero? Is it expertise? Certainty? Or is it something else? The necessity to act, to take responsibility, and to support others even when the path forward is unclear?
Over time, Dr. Yen's experience reshaped her understanding of what matters. She talks about becoming more focused, more grounded, and better able to sustain empathy without being overwhelmed by it.
Dr. Yen's story reminds us that leadership is not defined by having answers, but by how we respond when answers are not available.
Listen to Dr. Yen’s recording here.
Her page also includes accompanying materials designed for classroom use.
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