2 1. ABSTRACT Cisco Systems Inc is a worldwide leader in networ ing and communications technol ogy.

With aworldwide employee count of more than 66,000 and presence in many cou ntries around the globe,Cisco is a company that has been successful in harnessin g innovation and change to emerge as asuccessful organization. The goal of this paper is to identify the process of leadership development inCisco in order to u nderstand the basis of the strong leadership s ills seen in the company. 2. CISCO SYSTEMS INC 2.1 BACKGROUND Cisco Systems Inc was founded in 1984 out of Silicon Valley, California. Started initially by marriedcouple Len Bosac and Sandy Lerner, the company is today th e biggest player in the mar et fornetwor ing equipment with more than 65% share in the worldwide core router (networ ing equipment)mar et. The company places a lot of emphasis on the culture of innovation, adventure and ris ta ing.Right fr om the mid 1990s Cisco s growth has been fueled by acquisition of other smaller tech companieswhich typ ically have a wor force of a few hundred and are based out of Silicon Valley. Th e company hasa standard framewor for acquisition integration which it applies t o the acquiring companies. CiscoSystems Inc was a of the poster child of the dot com era and is considered a very nimble company for itssize.The method of acqui sition fueled growth that the company is now famous for started in 1993 with the acquisition of Crescendo Communications. The number of companies acquired by Cis co today stands ata whopping 135. This mode of growth is seen as a ey to the su ccess of the company. The companyprides itself for having successfully mastered the art of integrating acquired companies into the Ciscofold. For the record, th e company states that more than 50% of its current employees are those whohave s uccessfully transitioned from the acquired companies. 3 An oftstated example of Cisco s people integration s ills is Charles Giancarlo. Charles Giancarlo joined Cisco as a part of the acquisition of Kalpana Inc in 1994. Giancarlo went on to become the Chief Development Officer of the company. Giancarlo had previously he ld the position of Vice President(Mar eting) at Kalpana Inc. Cisco s documented strategy of only acquiring companies which have anatural culture fi t with the organization helps the company tap and retain most of the senior lead ershipfrom the acquired companies.The additional advantage of retaining leaders/ managers from acquired company is that these are peoplewho are already experienc ed with rapid change (in the form of acquisition) and hence are able to carryalo ng the experience to the ever changing landscape of the technology industry. 2.2 LEADERS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE The initial years of growth at Cisco were primarily based on innovation with emp hasis on theentrepreneurial s ills. So the early leaders are li ely to have been entrepreneurs. Though there is noconclusive evidence of this, they are li ely t o have been from the engineering department in the company and would have fitted into the Expert category of leadership action logic . During the mid-90s and early 2000s the main basis of company profitability has been inorganic growth.This brought in a lot of new leadership from the acquired companies. These leaders brought with them,a whole gamut of experience in handli ng transitions. Hence the main source of leadership in this era of the comes fro m the Business Development Organization. There is ample evidence to support this

withthe last few stars of the company li e Mi e Volpi (ex-SVP of the Routing an d Service Provider TechnologyGroup) and Charles Giancarlo (ex-Chief Development Officer) all having had a successful stint in theBusiness Development. The class of leaders during these times can be classified as a mix of Achiever and trategist . 4 In the future, the company s success formula is more li ely to stress on both productivity and growth.There w ill be continued focus on integrating leaders who capable of bringing in new tal ent fromacquired companies but the leadership development programs are li ely to be focused on developingmanagers who can execute strategies successfully and he nce the future leadership is li ely to be made of Achievers . The leadership programs of the company tend to focus on this feature of strategi cexecution. 2.3 QUALITIES OF A LEADER @ CISCO C-LEAD Model: Cisco follows the C-LEAD model which describes the five central themes of effect ive leadership Theme DescriptionCollaborate Wor ing across boundaries, building teams, managing conflict,earning trust, and recognizing good performance Learn Developing personal s ills and coaching others Execute Solving problems, ma ing decisions, delegating, givingfeedbac , and demonstratin g passion for the wor Accelerate Communicating goals and building capabilities Disrupt Envisioning opportunities, innovating, ta ing ris s, and leadingchange Collaborate:

s article 7 Cisco subscribes to the Two-In-A-Box framewor of leadership development. The various advantagesof this strategy are, 1. It eases transitions.2. Can be used in jobs that require multiple s ills.3. Increases the availability of senior management at the home office (when the oth er managermay be travelling)4.

Of the above five themes, we shall focus on collaboration a bit further.Collabor ation is a must-have feature of any leader in the company. Important reasons li e large line of products, wide variety of mar ets, worldwide presence and multicultural ethos require that theleadership in the company collaborate with others to tap synergies for better business growth. The CEOJohn Chambers has been inst rumental in driving this culture at Cisco. According to Todd Thomas

Offers customers more access to senior management.5. Helps in the role of mentoring.This last role mentioned above of mentoring is se en as a ey to development of younger leadership inthe company. More often than not, the Two-In-A-Box framewor consists of one younger leader andanother more e xperienced one. This provides opportunity for the newer leader to learn first-ha nd fromthe senior one.This concept however needs to be used judiciously as it ca n result in conflict of wor ing styles,difference in perspectives and conflict o f interests. The method to avoid such a problem would be tocreate a Two-In-A-Box team with complementary s ills, for e.g. one being more experienced intechnology while the other may be more business inclined. 2.4.2 EXECUTIVE DEVELOPMENT: The theme of Executive development focuses on transforming leaders who will transform Cisco . Theprograms of executive development at Cisco are, Executive Action Development Forum A 14-wee process which helps align the vice-presidents to the strategic priorit ies of Cisco. This processis an example of the C-LEAD model with focus on Collab oration to gain a better understanding of mar et 8 transitions as well as understand the disruptions necessary to successfully exec ute the new strategicpriorities. Action Learning Forum This is the signature executive development program of Cisco. It brings together high-potential directorsfor 16 wee s of intense discussions. Wor ing in teams, they develop strategies for new products,mar ets, and technologies, some of whic h result in new Cisco business units. The program emphasizesan action-learning a pproach in which participants develop financial models and go-to-mar et strategi esfor various business ideas in support of our emerging technologies group 2.4.3 CISCO LEADERSHIP SERIES The Cisco Leadership Series is a series of 4 leadership programs aimed at nurtur ing leadershipcapabilities in managers and individuals who exhibit a trac recor d of high performance. Participants arenominated on the basis of job performance , leadership reviews, and development opportunities. Thefour leadership programs are Global Leader Program The intent of this program is to enhance the global mindset of the managers. It helps translate theCisco s global priorities into organizational goals. Global Technical Leader Program This program focuses on developing business-oriented technical leaders. Business Leader Program For manager-level employees, the Business Leader Program in the Cisco Leadership Series aims atstrengthening nowledge in ey business areas. 9 Emerging Leader Program The Emerging Leader Program in the Cisco Leadership Series helps entry-level man agers build theircapabilities for personal leadership, teamwor , and staff devel opment. 3. CONCLUSION

Cisco follows many practices that help in sustaining and grooming leaders who ar e imperative for thesuccess of the company. It ensures good leadership branding by use of electronic media to helpmanagers internalize the priorities of organiz ation. With the exit of a few top executives in the recentpast, Cisco needs to e nsure an uninterrupted pipeline of leadership to help continue its course of cor porate success. 4. BIBLIOGRAPHY (i) "The C-LEAD Model" Cisco 2008 CSR Report(ii) "Executive Development" Cisco 2008 CSR Report(iii) "Manager and High-Potential Development" Cisco 2008 CSR Report(iv) The Leadership Advantage: How the Best Companies Are Developing Their Talent to Pave theWay for Future Success - Robert M. Fulmer and Jared L. Blea - 2007(v) "Companies As Managers To Share Wor , Swap Ideas" - By Scott Thurm From The Wall StreetJournal Online - http://hrdm.net/hr/viewtop ic.php?f=7&t=32(vi) "Leadership Matters: Cisco's Chambers Shows the Way" - Todd Thomas - 05/11/09 -http://www.thestreet.com/story/10499175/2/leadership-m atters-ciscos-chambers-shows-the-way.html