Each year, the VHA Leadership Awards celebrate individuals who exemplify VHA’s commitment to leadership excellence. These awards recognize those who inspire others, lead with integrity, and strengthen the culture of compassion that defines our organization.

The Building Bonds that Matter Award honours leaders who create authentic and meaningful connections, who listen deeply, show empathy in challenging moments, and who recognize the unique strengths and contributions of those around them. These motivators go the extra mile and demonstrate that caring for one another is just as essential as caring for our clients.

This year’s Building Bonds that Matter recipient, Dorothy Muiruri, Manager of Community Programs and Partnerships, truly embodies these values. Through her leadership, Dorothy fosters trust, inclusion, and collaboration, helping individuals and teams reach their full potential.

As part of celebrating her achievement, we sat down with Dorothy to learn more about her approach to leadership, the importance of connection in her work, and how she continues to strengthen the relationships.

You’ve been selected in the category “Building Bonds that Matter.” Congratulations! Could you tell us what “building bonds that matter” means to you in your role at VHA?

Thank you! This is truly a humbling honour. Building bonds that matter means that everyone at VHA has a place and an active role to play as we serve our clients. It is about building connections and relationships that promote trust, collaboration and positive outcomes for both clients and service providers. Listening to understand, looking for innovative solutions and allowing room for each voice are some of the ways to build these bonds.

What motivates you to do the work that you do?

Service! I believe that I am here to serve my clients and team. I am motivated by knowing that I have created a positive experience for someone else. Being a consumer of healthcare services is hard and being a provider in the healthcare industry is just as challenging; if there is a way to make these experiences more positive, that is my motivation.

When you look back on your journey at VHA so far, could you tell us about a moment or situation that stands out where you learned something that changed your perspective? This can be anything- big or small!

When you have a phenomenal team, every interaction is impactful.

On one occasion, I was concerned about not having sufficient coverage due to unplanned absences and one of the nurses said to me, “You do not need to worry about that. We are a team, and we’ll take care of it”. When you take care of your people, they will take care of you.

On several instances I reached out to nurses to ask for support with coverage. Repeatedly, nurses stated that they agreed to these requests because they felt respected and valued for their work, which further supports that genuine respect fosters connections that lead to positive outcomes.

There’s no doubt that a huge part of being a leader is teamwork. Do you have any advice on how to build that connection and trust?

Respect your people, be authentic in your connections and cultivate a culture of psychological safety- let your team know that they are free to discuss concerns and share their knowledge and skills, respectfully; make room for learning from failure. Have clear expectations and boundaries, keep your word and lead by example by modeling the behavior you want to see. Most importantly, have fun