Nyi Nyi Min is branch manager at Provident Bank, the largest independent commercial bank headquartered in Maryland, where he’s a man on the move.

Min, 35, of Alexandria, performs a daily juggling act. Consider his typical schedule: meeting up with existing and potential customers, partnering with different departments of the bank, servicing the existing accounts, coaching the employees for the results he wants, attending sponsor events and network events, participating in conference calls, reading reports, attending the webinars and also planning activities for the branch for every month.

And of course, there is the usual reading and corresponding to email, catching up on bank wide promotion, and occasionally attending training himself.

He adds, “I am responsible for managing, motivating, coaching and supporting branch employees and for achieving team goals and growth objectives related to the branch deposits, branch investments, loans, insurance solutions, and for building up relationships with the community, consumers and commercial customers.”

Interestingly, Min moved back to the United States less than ten years ago, having grown up in Burma. But who can tell? After all, he’s an avid ballroom dancer, winning regional competitions in the Country Western two-step and West Coast Swing. He also enjoys playing the guitar and is avid listener of country music.

Born in the capital of Rangoon, Burma, Min came with his family to the US when he was six months old and stayed until he was five. His parents remained in America to work while Min returned to Burma, completing his Bachelor’s in 1996 at the Rangoon Institute of Technology where he studied electrical engineering.

While working at an engineering company in Malaysia, however, Min was drawn to the responsibilities of the company’s management team, particularly to the interpersonal interaction they had with the technical employees.

“I’ve always been inspired by management, I like to manage, and I like to deal with people,” he says. This passion, coupled with his drive to understand more about the business and banking industry, motivated his transition into banking.

People-person that he is, he credits his success in overcoming some of the cultural differences he faced upon return to the States to his openness to communication.

Min’s work ethic, along with his constant communication with his bosses and upper-management about his goals, accelerated his ascent from the bottom up. Min moved from Sales Associate II, then III, then to Assistant Manager, then to Branch Manager I, II, and finally III where he is currently–all in a span of seven years.

In a country where Asian Americans tend to be under-represented in positions of senior management, restraints that make up what is more commonly known as the bamboo ceiling, Min believes “it’s a matter of how confident we are to ourselves.”

“There are things that we can and can’t control. We have to accept the fact that there are some differences that are going to be there,” he adds. “Those differences are not there to discourage us, those differences are there to acknowledge and embrace.”

“I consider myself to be an Asian immigrant,” Min notes, “and for those, especially like me, there’s going to be some challenges we can not deny.”

One of those challenges inevitably is the difference is education. “If I go to a recruiting event and if they’re talking about Shakespeare from high school, I wasn’t born here, I wasn’t raised here, I wouldn’t be able to discuss that. But if they’re talking about the current economic situation, about what’s happening in the world today, I would be able to make a connection with them,” he adds.

Min says that becoming familiar with the intricacies of the English language, including expressions and idioms and keeping up to date with general political and world news, is a great way to overcome some of these cultural barriers. Min says he often mingled with American consulates at the U.S. embassy in Burma, while trying to learn English, which allowed him to pick up different aspects of American culture.

It also doesn’t hurt to keep a positive attitude. “One of things I learned from Provident Bank was handling adversity; how to respect it, how to respond to it, and how to deal with it,” he says. “The best thing is that I always communicate to my boss and management about how I feel and they support me.” It’s an attribute that Min says defines his own leadership style.

But Min admits there were times during his career, when he felt that given his educational background, he could do more for the bank. “But I’m not a complainer,” he says, “and I knew my experience were not here, my experience was overseas.”

So, he adds, “I tried to be optimistic to myself, I try my best and hope for the best, and at the same time pursued my masters in business administration.”

Min’s continues his climb to success. He’s considering the finance and banking sectors, given his analytical skills. He also loves coaching people, and is looking to become a Regional Deal of Service Coach, perhaps within the next three years.