Exclusive Interview with
Administration & Planning Dept GM Ms Pham Thi Van Ha
“Hope for the best, prepare for the worse”
Ms Pham Thi Van Ha
General Manager of Administration & Planning Dept
Sumitomo Corporation Vietnam LLC
Please share with us on what it takes to be a female leader, what are the challenges and satisfaction of being one.
Please allow me to borrow words from a female author who talks about female leaders:
“Becoming a leader as a female can be really hard. People will not give you the same trust they give to males. This is the reality of our time. But even though the road to success is hard, it will be worth it. Help people by becoming their friend, listening to them and using your best qualities both as a human and a professional to gain trust and become a better leader for everyone.”
It’s true that becoming a female leader has never been easy. You need to be strong and assertive without being viewed as being pushy, stubborn and bossy. You need to learn more, work more while keeping your loved ones taken care of, with your love and time. You need to be not too soft to make tough decisions…
But, to my female colleagues, you’ll see that your feminine strengths, such as empathy, tenderness, patience are valuable and you do not need to downplay your gender to reach your goals.
And you will probably agree with me that being a woman leader will give you more than what you have to sacrifice. You will have more opportunity to contribute to the company and to help your colleagues in their career development. You will learn to be more resilient and independent. It is also good opportunity for your children to learn to manage on their own when their mother is overwhelmed with work or away from home. The high level of satisfaction gained will make you see that being a female leader will never be a wrong decision.
Regional HR Team in the early years of establishment
With my ex-SCVN’s colleagues in Tokyo in 2010
Could you name a woman who has inspired you the most and why?
It is none other than my mother, an ordinary woman working as a high school teacher for her whole life.
She is the one who taught me, by demonstrating with her own life, to share the love with others unceasingly, appreciate beauty and respect this life, be responsible, independent and confident.
Her love, altruism, lenience and faith in her students helped so many generations grow, blossom and mature. I made me always believe that success does not come from sublime things but from sincerity.
How do you unplug from work? How do you strike a balance between work and private life / family?
I set a rule for myself, that is not thinking about work when I am at home and not thinking about family when I am working. Although it is not so easy to follow it all the time, it is helpful most of the time. Try it out and you will see how effective it is.
I’m not a perfect mother but I understand that for the children, the most important thing is the time that the parents spend with them. Therefore, when my kids were young, I would try to spend as much time as possible with them whenever I’m off work. This is also the way that helped me de-stress from my work. Playing games with them, singing songs together, listening to their stories in school… all these simple things would recharge me for the next busy working day.
On a nice weekend in March 2019 at An Lac resort in Hoa Binh province,
taken by my colleague during our office gathering
Cycling with my colleagues at An Lac resort in Hoa Binh province during our office gathering
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SNAPSHOT
I strongly believe in… the power of love and benevolence
I spend most of my time.. enjoying this life together with my loved ones in work and in life
The food I crave most often is… nothing special (I enjoy almost all food, especially the Vietnamese traditional ones)
One personal rule that I never break is… always respect others even though they are more junior than me
The thing that cheers me up whenever I think about is… my little dog named “Sumi”
One thing I really want but can’t afford yet is… to set foot on the Moon
If I could go back in time, I would… try to do something better if I can
If I have enough money to live comfortably without having to work, I would… learn something new, read more, travel more and spend more time for my loved ones
