I imagine, when Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 that his parents had no idea that they had given life to one of the world's greatest civil rights leaders. The same, I'm sure, could be said for the historical leaders before him, and even of today's leaders.

So, how do leaders become leaders? How can one person spark a movement or shape a culture?

What I've learned while working at Cisco is that weallcan (and should) be leaders. We are not just encouraged to lead at Cisco and beyond -but we're empowered to do so. And through initiatives like our Employee Resource Organizations (ERO) and our Conscious Culture, together we are working towards a more inclusive future for all.

That's right! At Cisco, we're not just building tomorrow's leaders through the products and services we sell as a technology company -but we're actively building stronger communities, having courageous conversations, and changing the world together.

With 25 EROs and 25,000 active members participating in over 44 countries -each ERO (like Connected Black Professionals, Women of Cisco, PRIDE or Conexi