In episode one of the latest series of our Sisterhood Works podcast, AllBright Co-Founder Anna Jones spoke with Publishing Director of British Vogue, Vanessa Kingori MBE, about everything from the power of purpose to the impact the last year has had on the landscape of social change. Here’s just some of what we learned…

Vanessa Kingori MBE is a true powerhouse leader with a formidable CV to match, as not only the first woman, but also the first person of colour to take on the role as Publisher at British Vogue. Following a year of immense uncertainty, her collaboration with British Vogue’s Editor-In-Chief, Edward Enninful OBE, has challenged and successfully changed the culture of the magazine, bringing in new voices and becoming more diverse in it’s approach to both online and print media. We caught up with Vanessa on her career to date, her vision for Vogue and her approach to education on the Black Lives Matter movement.

Listen to the podcast episode here.

1. You Don’t Have To Know Your End Goal To Move Forward

For someone with such an impressive work history, you might be surprised to hear that Vanessa didn’t always have a defined career path. She told us how she “would give 1,000%" to any opportunity and then see what came from it, which is the basis of the work ethic that’s got her this far. After starting out at The Evening Standard, the fashion lead of the publication at the time predicted that Vanessa would one day hold the prestigious position of Publisher at British Vogue, which she candidly shared that she “didn’t even know what the role was!”

2. Never Undersell Your Hard Work As Luck

Admitting that the concept of luck is something she’s had to work on herself, Vanessa shared how she learnt that labelling her hard work and determination as pure ‘luck’ was selling herself short, as well as those that aspired to achieve the same. Noting that “there have been moments when the stars have aligned”, Vanessa stands by the fact that “it only becomes luck when you make it luck”. Importantly, she acknowledged that you “have to put the work in to extract the best out of opportunities”, defining the balance as “a lot of hard work, a lot of enjoying the work, and the stars aligning here and there, as well".

3. You Can Achieve Your Personal Goals, And Still Make A Wider Impact

Vanessa shared with us that she puts a lot of focus on her personal goals, but makes sure that they have a wider impact because of the platform that she has; including having her son at a key career moment. “Having a family was a personal goal, irrespective of work, but I realised that if I didn’t hide it away and was open about being a working mother, it could help other women that are on the same journey and may be experiencing self-doubt or have others doubt them, if they want to juggle the two,” she told us.

4. Now More Than Ever, Purpose Matters

Throughout the last year, we’ve all noticed the shift in the importance of purpose when it comes to business. This is something that Vanessa wholeheartedly champions, and she noted that of the many things the pandemic has taught us, how we’ve “connected as communities globally has given us a moment to pause and reflect, elevating our sense of purpose”. She added that from a business perspective, “we want the brands and the services that we interact with to have a sense of purpose that’s authentic”. Believing that as consumers, we have become savvy to businesses that are seen to be trying, Vanessa shared that there is impact in not nailing it first time; “Failure is part of the process, it’s all about the intention.”

5. Prove Yourself First, Then Celebrate Later

As not only the first ever woman, but the first person of colour, to take the role of Publishing Director at British Vogue, you might think that celebrating those monumental ‘firsts’ would have been near the top of Vanessa’s list. But she shared how proving herself first was the most important thing. “I actually wasn’t just the first in two ways, but it was in lots of ways. From a class perspective - I’m very proudly working class in my upbringing - and also, in terms of my age... in terms of everything to be honest!” she shared. Vanessa told us how she held the greatest importance on getting the job done, and celebrating everything else afterwards. “I knew my position could open doors for lots of other people and I needed to prove that a woman, and a person of colour, is capable. So for that first year, I really didn’t think about it at all!”

6. Stay Open To New Opportunities

In a role that sounds like it was tailor-made to her skill set and experience, you may be surprised to hear that initially, Vanessa had little intention on making the move to British Vogue. Sharing that she wondered whether there was there anything different that she could do there that she hadn’t already achieved in her role at GQ, she’d been open about the fact she didn’t want to move. She added that she “ate those words as soon as Edward was in the mix for the interview”, envisioning that the collaboration “could be really big and really exciting".

In reflection of the monumental shift that the publication has seen since, she wasn’t wrong there, telling us, “again, it’s that star aligning thing verses luck.”

7. Acknowledge The Power Of Open Conversation

Crediting collaboration as a key part of British Vogue’s recent success, Vanessa reflected on how working with those you trust, and speaking honestly about where you can do better, can help for a more productive working partnership. On her relationship with Editor-In-Chief, Edward Enninful, Vanessa told us how their “two characters really balance each other out” and how he’s really encouraged her to speak openly, and be more upfront and brave.

8. Understand The Importance Of Diverse Perspectives

The Black Lives Matter movement threw up many, much needed, questions around diversity and inclusion at work, as well as within our wider society. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, in a year where many media-first businesses saw a decline in revenue, Vanessa put Vogue’s success down to "smart thinking, but also, the diversity of the perspectives of mixed teams”. Explaining the importance of coming at things from different angles, Vanessa credits their team members “different experiences, consumption of different types of media and different family situations, across the world and the UK” as the backbone of the rich conversation inside Vogue, at all times throughout the pandemic.

On recruitment, Vanessa shared how Vogue’s evolution has allowed the team to be “really demanding of seeing diverse candidates” and that “one of the successes of Vogue is that everyone can pitch ideas, and has a purpose.” Importantly, Vanessa sees learning as the way forward: “Everyday is a school day, and forever more will be! We’re all just learning all the time, and that’s OK."

9. Education Is The Key To Impactful Change

On the subject of the Black Lives Matter movement, Vanessa noted that she had a moment of personal reckoning herself, saying that as a “keep calm and carry on kind of person” she struggled to come to terms with some of the challenging emotions that the time bought about. “I decided to speak to my team to try and help them understand, dispel some myths and to tell them with vulnerability how I was feeling. I wanted the team to understand that simply because their boss is Black, does not mean that racism doesn’t exist,” she said.

By choosing to help educate her wider team on the matter, and opening up an opportunity for them to educate themselves further, Vanessa told us how ultimately, this created a safe space where anyone could say how they were feeling – regardless of race - where there would be no judgement. “The feedback from my team was amazing, I feel like it was a really pivotal moment in my career. There’s no accolade to it, there’s no promotion or pay rise, but it was a big learning moment for me and I genuinely feel like my team came away from that so much stronger."