Vicki Harrison, Head of Service Delivery at Vaioni, has won a prestigious accolade at the North West Women in Tech Awards.
Celebrating and recognizing those who are doing amazing work in the technology sector across the North West of England, the annual event champions the women and allies who are pioneering a change, creating opportunities and celebrating success – either for themselves or as part of a business.
Winning the Mentor of the Year category, Vicki was recognized for her role in helping make the tech sector a more inclusive one, helping the next generation by shining a spotlight on the crucial role of nurturing talent and supporting wellbeing.
Vicki has been working in the telecoms industry for nearly two decades, and draws off her personal experience of leadership and the critical part in plays in allowing individuals to reach their potential, as well as the value in mentoring.
“After an incredibly difficult time, I had the privilege to meet an amazing mentor”, she said. “She showed me what is what to push encourage and empower people. I took myself on some training courses to learn and understand how to motivate and get the best out of people.
“I took on a new role where I was empowered to explore my leadership skills and put what I learned into practice. I became a team leader, then team manager, and eventually head of department where I was responsible for the performance, and most importantly the people on the team. For me this is where the magic happened.
“Putting simple trust, encouragement and trust into a person resulted in a poor performing team member becoming motivated, and enjoying their job – after this I caught the bug.”
Aside from being a passionate advocate for mentoring and personal development, away from work Vicki is a Sea Cadet adult volunteer, responsible for the growth and development of children between the ages of 13 and 18 years of age.
And it’s that growth and development she acknowledges as the key driver for motivation for working with others, as well as her own resilience.
“Over the last two years I have faced some struggles personally, but what gave me the strength every day, putting a smile on my face and motivating me to keep going was the people I was responsible for.”
Vaioni’s Managing Director Sachin Vaish said: “We’re delighted that Vicki has been recognised by these awards. She leads by example and lives the values of Vaioni, contributing to the success of our company. She leads by example and we’re fortunate to have such a positive force both for growth and development and women in tech within the business.”
