The Silence Between Generations: Why Vietnam’s Leadership Gap Runs Deeper Than We Admit

Vietnam has no shortage of entrepreneurial success stories. Family-owned firms like Minh Long Ceramics have endured for decades, navigating war, reform, and economic turbulence. Gen X leaders built this foundation — often without guidance, mentorship, or safety nets.

But as a new generation rises to take the reins, an invisible tension is growing beneath the surface. The transition of leadership, so essential for long-term continuity, isn’t happening smoothly — or at all.

What’s missing isn’t talent or ambition.
What’s missing is trust — and the ability to transfer leadership across generations.

A Generation That Built in Silence

Gen X leaders in Vietnam came of age during Đổi Mới and the post-war recovery. Their leadership style was shaped by urgency and constraint. They learned to protect knowledge, not share it. Authority was centralized. Loyalty was everything.

That model helped rebuild the country.
But it wasn’t designed for succession.

Many of these leaders still hold tightly to critical decisions, company vision, and institutional memory. Not because they don’t believe in the next generation — but because they don’t know how to let go without risking the house they built.

A New Generation Building in a Vacuum

Millennials and early Gen Z leaders now run some of Vietnam’s fastest-growing companies. They’re fluent in global markets, digital systems, and collaboration. But when it comes to leadership culture, they’re largely left to guess — or to mimic imported frameworks from Silicon Valley or Singapore.

Without inherited wisdom or internal succession plans, they often overcorrect. They try to be agile, transparent, and open — but without the backbone of institutional context, their organizations become unstable at scale.

The result?
High-growth businesses built on shaky leadership foundations.

The Real Gap Isn’t Knowledge — It’s Translation

What Vietnam faces today is not just a skills gap. It’s a translation gap. The older generation doesn’t know how to pass on what it knows. The younger generation doesn’t know how to ask without appearing to challenge tradition.

And in the middle, businesses — and the economy — stall.

To move forward, Vietnam needs a new type of leadership dialogue. One that respects the past but equips the present. One that builds trust across generations — not just control. And one that acknowledges that knowledge hoarding is no longer a strength. It’s a liability.

What Happens If We Don’t Fix It?

If this dynamic continues unchecked, Vietnam risks creating a generation of exhausted founders and isolated executives — all reinventing the wheel alone.

But if we face this gap directly — with honesty, humility, and structure — we can unlock something powerful: a generation that doesn’t just inherit leadership… but evolves it.