With extensive work experience and proven team management capabilities, Nguyen Thi My Dung still felt she was missing a critical piece: structured frameworks to move beyond instinct-driven decision-making.
This conversation reveals how MBA Talent helped Dung map out her 10-year career trajectory and completely transform her approach to strategic decision-making.
With a solid position at a multinational corporation like Nike, when did you realize you needed to take an academic leap forward?
Honestly, those of us who’ve been working for years often face a common challenge: we have plenty of practical experience but lack systematic theoretical foundations. Most of what I know came from self-learning or accumulating daily work experience. I recognized the need for change – a structured program offering professional frameworks I could apply at higher career levels.
My biggest inspiration came from my direct supervisor, Phuong Pham. After completing MBA Talent, she made significant career advancements and now leads Talent Development. She shared that the program delivered not just professional knowledge and leadership capabilities, but also practical insights from other enterprises. That convinced me to embark on this journey.
One of management’s biggest challenges is decision-making. How did your thinking shift before and after MBA Talent?
The change was extremely clear. Previously, I lacked confidence when making strategic decisions. Every time I presented a proposal to my supervisor, I worried: “Will they approve this?” “Does this align with company objectives?” My decisions were largely intuition-based.
But after going through the courses, especially simulation cases, I gained tools to analyze problems comprehensively. Now, every decision I make is data-driven with clear risk analysis. When I present to my supervisor, it’s no longer a vague suggestion but a solidly grounded plan, making approval much easier to secure.
As someone managing a global project, how have you applied classroom frameworks to your work?
I’m currently Project Lead for a global initiative, working with managers across different territories. The challenge lies in each person having different perspectives and priorities.
I’ve applied empathy thinking and persona analysis learned from courses like Innovation through Digital Technology and Innovation, Creativity and Foresight. These courses helped me view colleagues not just as coworkers but truly understand each person’s nature and strengths. From there, I know how to leverage their strengths and support their weaknesses so everyone moves toward common goals.
Additionally, courses like Management Information Systems have been nearly 100% applicable. For example, instead of manual Excel reports, I switched to Power BI so leadership can see data instantly, making work more efficient and faster.
There’s a perception that “leaders are always lonely.” How did you confront this perspective while learning from mentors and C-Level executives?
That was the most emotionally resonant lesson during the Final Challenge in Lam Ha. Le Huynh Phuong Thuc, a C-Level mentor, shared that a leader’s path can feel quite solitary. But success comes when you learn to overcome and even embrace that solitude.
To do this, you must know very clearly what you want. When you have clear objectives, setbacks or difficulties along the way are only temporary. Insights from C-Level executives helped me recognize the limits I need to overcome and prepare a resilient mindset for the journey toward becoming C-Level in the future.
From someone who tended to “take on everything” out of empathy, how did you transform your leadership mindset?
That’s just my nature, so I used to sympathize with my team and… take on all the work myself to get things done quickly. But I realized that to become a true leader, I don’t need to be the smartest person in the room; I need to be the person who helps my team members become better.
After the program, I learned to delegate. I focus on discovering each person’s strengths and assigning the right tasks so they can shine. When employees feel recognized by their supervisor and can leverage their talents, every workday becomes motivating. It’s a shift from “doing well myself” to “helping others do well.”
To sum up, if you had to map out your trajectory after this program, what would that picture look like?
Previously, I wasn’t very clear about my future, but now I have a very specific 10-year roadmap toward a C-Level position. That picture is now much more solid thanks to the knowledge, skills, and especially the quality networking with classmates – people from multinational corporations who are both talented and eager to learn.
And most importantly, this transformation has been recognized. My supervisor assesses that after the MBA Talent journey, I’ve matured significantly and developed much sharper strategic thinking.
My Dung’s journey demonstrates that the value of education lies not just in the degree, but in the ability to transform thinking: from working by experience to working with data, from managing to leading people.
MBA Talent is a comprehensive training program designed to cultivate talented C-level executives. The program combines the strong academic foundation of Western Sydney University and the ISB.IEI Institute, with real-world business cases developed by the PSO Institute, empowers students to skillfully apply modern leadership knowledge to complex business scenarios.
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