The Cisco Leadership Series is a set of four programs that offer a high-impact learning experience focused on building foundational leadership capabilities. It specifically targets managers and other leaders within the company who demonstrate a track record of high performance. Participants are nominated on the basis of job performance, leadership reviews, and development opportunities.

During FY08 approximately 200 executives, and 1230 managers and leaders, attended one of the four Cisco Leadership Series programs. The content is designed internally and includes input from distinguished universities and consulting firms. Additionally, Cisco executives teach aspects of the classes. During the training, attendees engage in simulations, role playing, and other exercises that reflect current Cisco business challenges and opportunities.

In addition to the Leadership Series, Cisco also offers a facilitated workgroup for new managers that helps them and their teams get off to a good start.

 

Global Leader Program

Cisco’s Global Leader Program is designed to enhance the global mindset and skill set of Cisco’s global management team. This program is a key offering for managers and senior managers as part of the Cisco Leadership Series.

Its objectives are to:

  • Translate Cisco’s global priorities into organizational goals, define the execution approach, and align the actions required to achieve those goals
  • Foster innovative global business practices by making use of local competencies, local cultures, global relationships, and networks
  • Inspire others to act as global leaders through words, actions, and passion
  • Promote a culture of trust and mutual accountability that fosters a strong sense of team identity
  • Create high-performance global teams by enrolling people in a shared purpose
  • Build structures to maximize productivity and effectiveness

 

Global Technical Leader Program

To maintain our strong customer satisfaction and loyalty ratings, Cisco relies on strong technical leadership around the world. The Global Technical Leader Program is an annual program in the Cisco Leadership Series that plays an important role in building a community of business-oriented technical leaders prepared to take on the challenges of the global marketplace. The FY08 program, held in Singapore, involved 30 of Cisco’s emerging technical engineering leaders.

 

Business Leader Program

For manager-level employees, the Business Leader Program in the Cisco Leadership Series aims at strengthening knowledge in key business areas, applying business concepts in highly interactive business simulations, developing planning and commitment skills, and looking for opportunities to build a Cisco leadership network.

The Business Leadership Program is conducted in three phases:

  • The Self-Directed Learning phase consists of various readings, e-learning, and preparation tasks for the residential workshop.
  • The Residential Offsite is a five-day workshop that combines new ideas, experiential learning, and dialogue between Cisco participants and University of California at Berkeley thought leaders and peers. The workshop is a partnership that includes Cisco, the University of California at Berkeley, BTS Consultants, and Imparta.
  • The Applied Learning phase consists of the participants’ follow-through on performance commitments made during the Residential Offsite.

 

Emerging Leader Program

The Emerging Leader Program in the Cisco Leadership Series helps entry-level managers build their capabilities for personal leadership, teamwork, and staff development through:

  • Developing self-awareness and leadership effectiveness
  • Increasing business awareness by understanding the factors that influence business performance
  • Understanding the impact that inclusion and diversity have on the role of a leader
  • Improving internal and cross-functional collaboration
  • Increasing talent-development skills

 

New Manager Assimilation

The new manager assimilation process is a facilitated discussion that helps new managers learn about their team and get off to a productive start. A trained facilitator solicits employee perspectives on a variety of questions related to the manager while the manager is out of the room. For example, they may discuss what they know about the manager, what they would like to know, and what their expectations are for the new manager. The facilitator shares the anonymous list of comments with the manager, who responds to them upon returning to the room. This process has proved very effective in bringing newly formed teams up to speed quickly.

Cisco Leadership Fellows Program

The Cisco Leadership Fellows program gives our senior-level employees the opportunity to help solve community problems by leading strategic projects full time at nonprofit organizations. The experience also helps the Fellows enhance their business and leadership skills. Upon returning to Cisco, Leadership Fellows are expected to bring enhanced soft skills, a broader focus, and a more global perspective to their next leadership assignment. Current assignments for Cisco Leadership Fellows include 21st Century Schools and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development e-Schools Initiative, two programs devoted to accelerating educational transformation by integrating information and communications technologies into schools. Since the Leadership Fellows program began in 2003, 50 Cisco employees have served as Fellows.

For more on Cisco Leadership Fellows, go to:
Cisco Leadership Fellows