The Silence Between Generations

In Vietnam, leadership isn’t taught — it’s inferred. That’s the problem.

Vietnam is home to some remarkable legacy companies. Names like Minh Long Ceramics, still family-owned after generations, or Satra Group, rooted in the state-linked economic reforms of the 1960s.

But when you look behind the curtain — at who holds the knowledge, who holds the decision-making, and who’s allowed to lead — you’ll see something else.

Here, leadership isn’t passed down.
It’s held close, guarded like family treasure.

Most Gen X leaders never had mentors.
They had survival. Control. Secrecy.

They built empires with intuition and grit — and they still hold the keys.

But ask them how to transfer that knowledge? Silence.

Now, their successors — Millennials and Gen Z — are scaling fast, managing teams, raising capital, running P&Ls. But without clear guidance, context, or trust.

So what happens?
We overcompensate.
We copy foreign frameworks.
We hustle harder.
And we wonder why it still feels fragile.

The real leadership gap in Vietnam isn’t capability.
It’s translation. And until we stop pretending it doesn’t exist, the cycle continues.