_Exceptional Woman: Meet Oanh Pham

Oanh Pham joined Knight Frank Vietnam in late 2021 as Executive Assistant to Alex Crane, managing director, as the first employed staff. Oanh finds her position very exciting as it opens many possibilities with plenty of room for growth and learning. Oanh started her career in real estate over 10 years ago, assisting other successful leaders and in charge of operations for other global real estate services providers.

Oanh has been nominated as one of our Exceptional Women 2022 due to her passion for real estate, experience, and can-do attitude… No challenge is big enough!  The editorial team has spent some time with Oanh to get to know her and understand what is behind her success.

How do you ensure you bring your best every day?

Oanh Pham:  I usually start my day reviewing and planning for the day and repeat the same process as the day ends. If I have a plan and a review scheme, I can then look back and see the progress, this way I ensure I bring my best every day. I also like to set my own challenges, stick to them, and give them my full commitment. However, with this evolving world full of uncertainty, it is also important we also understand our abilities, how far we can push ourselves, and our limits.

How do you contribute to a more inclusive environment in the workplace?

OP: Firstly, I believe everyone should be treated with ultimate respect and fairness. Secondly, it is important to truly connect with people. All companies encourage their staff to freely speak and give opinions, however, they also need to be listened to. This is why 10% of my day is dedicated to listening. Asian tends to feel more at ease chatting in a small committee than giving their opinion in big settings. Multiplying those chats scale over time until it could become a forum on its own, enabling everyone to truly speak freely and exchange their thoughts.

Relating to this year’s Women International day theme #BreakTheBias, how do you think you could contribute to breaking the bias?

OP: Bias is all about perspective. A woman must be proud of and praised herself for the work she does before making any other assumption or judgement. I believe everyone is treated equally and that there is no favour toward men or women, job levels, or job natures. We are all designated with specific tasks, roles, and functions, no one is more important than the other. Men and women were created this way! Everyone must lead by example, and this is what I have been doing all along.