Staff Reporter
Windhoek-Victoria Wilson has broken convention and risen above the rest to become a woman of excellence in Standard Bank.
With over 27 years in the bank, Wilson has become the embodiment of some of the financial institution’s core elements such as innovation, dedication and hard work. The Lüderitz branch manager was recently rewarded for her outstanding contribution towards the bank during the recently concluded Mark of Excellence awards, where she walked away with the award for her work in ‘Leadership, Managing Risk & Control’.
“I started working for Standard Bank on the 3rd of July in 1989 as a waste clerk. I grew in the ranks and eventually became a ledgers clerk (account support). Then I became a cheque clerk. I learned earlier on in my career that in order to succeed I had to groom myself by learning from others,” Wilson said.
After becoming a senior officer, Wilson was appointed as a branch manager. She explained that while she was always passionate about her various positions in the bank, she always remembered to remain humble and go the extra mile in executing her tasks, which largely contributed to her success.
While her success speaks for itself, the journey to the top has not always been a smooth one for Wilson in her trying to juggle her duties as a professional woman, a wife and mother.
“I learned early in my career that it is important to find a balance between your work life and your professional life. I take my work seriously because this is my God-given career, my bread and butter – I have an obligation to my work to do my best,” she stressed.
Her personal experiences and years of service have worked in her favour. Her experiences have made her an empathetic leader in that she tries to instil these notions in staff members, all the while teaching them how to reach their full potential.
Steadfast in her belief that God made women special, Wilson encourages all professional women that they are strong and can stand up for their families, staff and themselves all at once, “granted that they are cognisant that they can make a real change, but for that change to come about they need to adapt to it”.
“Standard Bank is a good company to work for because it helped me grow as a person and allowed me to adapt to the changes that come with moving forward … I climbed my way to the top to get to where I am today but through that process I learned that a woman is very hardworking and she can flourish and advance herself if she has the ambition,” she said.