Leadership is a journey, not a destination, says Tiziana Tan, founder of Brain Juice Collective

The fourth edition of the Her World Mentorship Programme champions women who are just stepping into leadership. This year, 13 hand-picked mentees will spend six months journeying with accomplished women leaders.

“It has transitioned from passion to purpose. That’s why I want to wake up every day,” says Tiziana Tan when asked about Brain Juice Collective.

She founded the social innovation and communications agency in June 2015 while she was a business school student double-majoring in marketing and corporate communications.

Brain Juice Collective works with governments and corporations to drive meaningful behavioural change, both within organisations and across society. This includes working with government clients to encourage young people to seek help for mental health challenges, or helping corporate clients align their social impact initiatives with actual business goals.

Today, Tiziana leads a team of 18 people across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia. She admits that she has evolved as a leader over the years. While she once saw leadership as being the shining beacon everyone looks to for guidance, she now believes a good leader is one who enables others.

“When I think about leadership, I think a lot about someone who is able to create something enduring, and make everyone feel like they’re leading themselves. When I see my team leading initiatives, and others looking up to them, I feel fulfilled,” she explains.

Her outlook on leadership made the Her World Mentorship Programme a natural fit. Tiziana recalls being seated at a table of mentors and mentees at the Her World Women of the Year event, listening as mentees spoke about how invaluable their mentors had been, while mentors reflected on how much they had learnt in return.

That mutuality stayed with her.

“It’s not just me contributing to the mentee’s journey,” she says. “There’s a lot for me to learn from these women as well.”

What is a leadership lesson you have had to learn the hard way?

Prioritise your own health and well-being. There was a period when I was squeezing liquid food out of a bottle just to save time. I needed to get things done, and meals felt like a luxury I could not afford. And I think there is a season for that kind of hustle, especially when you are just starting out and trying to get something off the ground.

But I realised quite quickly that if you want to build something enduring, it is a marathon, not a sprint. Running purely on adrenaline meant I could not always show up as the best version of myself for my team.

I genuinely believe one of the reasons the people who have stayed with us for years are still here is because I made a commitment to constantly work on myself. You cannot pour from an empty cup.

How do you handle moments when you feel uncertain or out of your depth as a leader?

I am a naturally curious person, and thankfully, I was never brought up to feel like asking questions was something to be ashamed of.

So whenever I face a problem I have never encountered before, my mind immediately reframes it as a question rather than a crisis. It becomes a puzzle to solve, an adventure to take on. I read. I talk to people. I get curious about it.

That instinct has served me well, because in leadership, there will always be moments when you genuinely have no idea what to do.

How should someone show up at work if they want to be seen as leadership material?

Firstly, drop that thought entirely, because wanting to be seen as leadership material is already the wrong mindset.

Some of the best leaders I know are actually very reluctant leaders. Leadership is not a destination or a title. It is a state of becoming and a continuous journey, not an end state you arrive at.

The people I most admire as leaders are always learning, always persevering, and they have this quality about them that draws people in and makes those around them want to do better.

I would also push back on the idea that great leaders must be entirely selfless. That is not sustainable. You will always have your own agenda, and that is fine. The question is how that agenda aligns with the people you are leading.

The leaders who struggle are often those who lead from the front and find themselves constantly having to drag people along or win buy-in. The ones who truly inspire lead from behind—always pushing people forward, always asking how they can bring out the best in everyone around them.

Her World Mentorship Programme 2026 is made possible with the support of official beauty partner Cle de Peau Beaute and official network partner Singtel.

ART DIRECTION Adeline Eng
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