Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 23 December 2025 – The Brand Promise proudly announces a new strategic partnership with Self Leadership Lab, an empirical leadership development programme created by renowned professors and researchers from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Designed to cultivate self-awareness in professional developments, the programme allows leadership science accessible and applicable for long-term self-development and modern leadership practice. 

This collaboration establishes a transcontinental education pathway connecting European academic research with Asian professional contexts. It also marks a step forward in positioning Vietnam as a growing education hub for leadership development in the region, offering structured access to academic knowledge within a practical, professional framework. 

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Leadership in a world of uncertainty 

Individuals and organisations have been finding ways to adapt to a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) of the 21^st century, which has become a structural condition rather than a temporary challenge. Continuous change, increasing interdependence, and evolving professional expectations have reshaped how individuals engage with work, responsibility, and leadership. 

From a psycho-social perspective, this environment places sustained demands on individuals across all career stages. Role ambiguity, identity transitions, and constant adaptation are now common features of professional life. Without internal clarity, individuals risk misalignment between who they are, what they do, and the value they seek to contribute. 

Self-leadership responds to this reality by reframing development away from self-optimisation and towards achieving alignment between one’s role, intentions, and desired contribution, making conscious choices under uncertainty. A self-led individual is better equipped to continue developing a meaningful and sustainable personal and professional life, step into leadership roles with awareness rather than authority alone, or support others by transferring this knowledge forward, contributing to a broader ecosystem of reflective professionals. 

This understanding of self-leadership forms the foundation of the Self-Leadership Lab. Led by Jean-Yves Mercier, Director of the Executive MBA at the University of Geneva (top 10 European and top 30 worldwide according to AMBA, AACSB and ARWU), the programme is a structured and experiential learning journey grounded in academic research across psychology, organisational behaviour, and leadership science. It is built on a central premise: leadership effectiveness depends on the alignment between the individual, the role they occupy, and the environment in which they operate. 

Individuals are guided to understand how they interact with their professional context, identify their preferred roles and behavioural patterns, recognise their internal coherences and paradoxes, and clarify what gives meaning to their professional choices at a given stage of life. Rather than promoting a specific type of leadership model, the programme supports participants in understanding their behavioural patterns, internal coherences and paradoxes, and evolving sources of professional meaning.

From leadership science to practice in Vietnam 

The partnership is driven by a strong alignment between Self-Leadership Lab and The Brand Promise around the role of self-development in both professional life and lived experience. The Brand Promise operates from the belief of “The Future of Work is Life” – that self-development and professional development progress together, and that work remains a primary space through which individuals seek meaning, contribution, and growth. In a fast-changing economy, mindfulness and self-awareness are not supplementary skills, but foundational capacities for long-term leadership.

At the heart of this partnership is a shared framework designed to help people make sense of their role, their choices, and their direction in a changing professional landscape. The learning journey moves through four essential dimensions: understanding one’s role in context, observing one’s own behaviour and patterns in action, reconnecting with one’s deeper drivers of meaning and motivation, and from then on, shaping coherent paths forward supported by certified coaching, digital learning, peer dialogue, and mindful reflection.

“Self-leadership is not about having all the answers,” shared Ms. Camellia Dinh, Founder & CEO of The Brand Promise. “It is about knowing yourself deeply enough to make conscious choices in a world full of uncertainties. With this partnership between The Brand Promise, the Self-Leadership Lab, and the University of Geneva, we want to accompany leaders in Vietnam in building the clarity they need to lead with coherence, confidence, and meaning.” 

Through this partnership, Vietnam becomes one of the early Asian markets to formally adopt and extend European leadership science into local and regional practice. The initiative establishes a transcontinental education pathway, positioning Vietnam as an open and emerging hub for accessible, academically grounded leadership development in the region. 

At both regional and global levels, the partnership further positions Vietnam as an active contributor to the continued development of self-leadership science. While grounded in European academic research, the programme evolves through engagement with Asian and Vietnamese professional contexts, allowing diverse cultural and intellectual perspectives to inform its refinement. This collaboration reflects a joint effort to bridge academic grounding and professional practice, supporting a more context-sensitive and comprehensive approach to leadership development. 

The framework may be experienced individually, applied by practitioners in their work with clients, or embedded within organisational leadership and training programmes. Participants complete the journey with a certificate issued by the University of Geneva and become part of an international community grounded in reflective, self-led leadership. 

Vietnam officially serves as one of the Asian access points for individuals, practitioners, and organisations seeking to engage with the Self-Leadership Lab programme. Further information on the programme and upcoming training opportunities is available via The Brand Promise’s website. 

The Brand Promise 

The Brand Promise is a global boutique branding firm with headquarter in Ho Chi Minh City, dedicated to authentic storytelling, strategic growth, and impactful partnerships across industries. Our commitment to evolving quality standards and nurturing communities of hand-picked, like-minded and long-lasting partners ensures that every promise made is honored through our dedication to excellence and shared dedication to turn potential into reality. 

Self-Leadership Lab 

Developed at the University of Geneva, Self-Leadership Lab is an educational professional development programme that offers individuals and organisations the opportunity to reposition themselves in the complexity of their environment, become aware of their behaviours, focus on their deep motivations, and have the courage to implement an action plan. 

University of Geneva (UNIGE) 

Founded in 1559, the University of Geneva enjoys worldwide recognition and ranks amongst the top 100 best universities in the world. A polyvalent institution, it fosters the emergence of inter- and multidisciplinary fields in both research and teaching. It constantly strengthens its links with international Geneva, whilst contributing to the cultural, social and economic development of the region, notably through the promotion of research and its expertise in a wide range of fields. 

UNIGE offers more than 500 programmes (including 136 Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes, 87 doctoral programmes) and 343 continuing education programmes covering an extremely wide variety of fields: exact sciences, medicine, humanities, social sciences, law, etc. 

Media Contact 

The Brand Promise 
Louise Linh Pham (Ms.) 
louise@camelliadinh.com 

Self-Leadership Lab  
www.self-leadership-lab.org