SynCEO#5: The Leadership Mind Shift

Hello everybody, I'm Nana Nagai, CEO of Money Forward Vietnam. Today, I want to talk about a topic very close to my heart: Leadership. Through our SynCEO series, we aim to connect you with our top leaders to dive deep into the core potential of our workplace. This isn't just an interview; it's an inside look at what a leader sees, in sync with Money Forward Vietnam.

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What led you to your leadership role?

To me, being a leader is not just about a title; it is more about the mindset. It is the journey of how we grow from being an individual contributor to someone who leads people and empowers others.

Interestingly, I never actually aimed to become a leader or a manager as a goal in itself. At some point, I simply realized that to make an even bigger impact, it would be necessary to expand the scope of my job and my responsibilities.

It wasn't about chasing a title; it was about taking ownership of a wider field to bring more value to our users and stakeholders. I realized that while an individual can create value, the impact of an "excellence team" is significantly greater.

As I kept improving my performance and my sense of responsibility, the opportunity to oversee a team naturally arose when I was 29 years old. At that moment, it didn't feel like a "promotion" in the traditional sense; it felt like a natural next step toward creating a greater impact. It was simply a step forward in my career.

Leadership Roles Experience

Throughout my journey, I have played several leadership roles—from supervising small teams to managing entire business units, and now, leading the entire organization as CEO of Money Forward Vietnam. Each stage taught me something different, but one thing has stayed constant: Leadership is never about the position. It is a responsibility for growth, and that is a truly exciting responsibility to have.

Difficult personal growth before leader transition.

When I first became a leader, the biggest shift for me was learning how to communicate **"Why"** instead of **"What"**. The most important thing is to share the **context** instead of just the **content**. That was my biggest transformation: aligning hearts and minds toward shared goals.

Testing for leadership potential mid-career in current role.

If you are wondering whether a leadership role is right for you, I invite you to try something next week:

• First, help someone on your team succeed. 

• Support them without taking any of the credit. 

• Then, check your feelings. 

If you feel more energetic and happier afterward, instead of feeling exhausted, you might already have the heart of a leader.

The Reward of Leading

Taking a leadership role means taking care of many things, but you aren't "losing" anything. Instead, you are gaining more members and the shared responsibility of reaching goals together. It is a deeply rewarding moment.

Leadership is not a destination; it is a journey of continuous learning that starts within yourself. Let's keep growing—not just upward, but forward.

Let’s make it together.

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