Cisco’s Chief Social Impact & Inclusion Officer on How His Mentor Fueled His Drive for a Purpose-Driven Career

Why mentorship is a career-must, according to Cisco’s Senior Vice President and Chief Social Impact & Inclusion Officer, Brian Tippens:

• Mentors and networks form a critical leg of a career’s three-legged stool, says Tippens: “You have your education, your experience, and the third leg is your network, the people around you.”
• The power of leading by example is invaluable because colleagues and mentees are constantly watching and learning, he says.
• Mentors give you courage to pursue your passions.

Brian Tippens is a sought-after speaker and thought leader in the fields of social justice, diversity, and sustainability.

As the head of the Social Impact & Inclusion organization at Cisco, he oversees functions addressing the challenges facing the planet and vulnerable, underserved communities. The organization combines Cisco’s people and technology to address systemic causes of inequity, break down barriers, and create lasting generational change.

A World Economic Forum contributor, Tippens is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and has served as a director or advisor to several organizations including Operation HOPE, the Hispanic IT Executive Council, and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

Brian’s career spans over 30 years of leadership in the IT industry, serving in prior posts such as Chief Sustainability Officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

Here, Tippens tells CO— how mentorship has fueled his purpose-driven career and why we can all learn from the power of example.

CO—: Who is your mentor and how did the relationship fall into place?

BT: I have had several mentors and many whom I have followed for the power of their example. But I will specifically call out John Hope Bryant, the founder of a nonprofit organization called Operation HOPE, which works to uplift underserved communities through financial literacy.

John has been a mentor for close to 25 years. Before I met him in 2000 at a trade show in Northern California, I had admired him from afar. So, contrary to the advice I give today, I immediately asked if he would be my mentor. At the time, I was a young professional just getting out of law school, and John was well on the path to building his nonprofit organization. He said yes, and that relationship set my career on the path to where it is today.

CO—: What was it about John that appealed to you as a mentor?

BT: Even early on in my career, I wanted to find a way to work in purpose-driven roles. And John had achieved what I had hoped to one day, which is a singularity of purpose. I wanted to find a way to be able to do that.

CO—: Tell me a story that illustrates the direct impact of this mentorship.

BT: Around 2006, I had an opportunity to throw my hat in the ring to lead the supplier diversity program at HP. Because the role was at a lower level than my legal work, I questioned whether I should apply for the job. John advised me that I should do what most closely aligned to my passion and purpose. And that if I felt this was something I was passionate about and that aligned to my purpose to be able to give back, I should not only throw my hat in the ring but pursue it aggressively.

And I did. I was happy when I got the job after a competitive process but was less happy when I got the system-generated email from HR that said “DEMOTION” in big letters. The move ended up being one of the best career decisions I ever made because I was chasing a purpose. I went from being an individual contributor to a team leader to an executive. It really set me on the path to where I am now.

CO—: How has his advice unconsciously fueled your career?

BT: Because of the mentorship, I have reached a point in my career where I can focus on a singularity of purpose. All my roles over the last several years have been purpose-driven, whether as the head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or Chief Sustainability Officer, or head of a foundation, or now doing the social impact work at Cisco. It’s all about changing lives and impacting communities. Because I love the field, I’m never not working. Whether I'm listening to an audiobook about social impact while driving or having weekend meetings with folks on the topic. The emphasis on singularity of purpose always stuck with me and I think it comes from advice that John gave me. I’m also committed to lifelong learning, advice which also came from John, so his mentorship has made a significant impact.

CO—: Complete the sentence: “Had I not met my mentor, I would not have been able to…”

BT: Had I not met John and had his mentorship, I would not have had the courage to pursue my passion and my purpose.

CO—: How has it shaped your own attitude toward mentoring or mentoring others?

BT: It taught me early on about the need to be selfless in mentoring. I used to discourage people from asking, “Will you be my mentor?” because it scares people, especially busy executives, away. But I have learned that in a perfect world, relationships grow organically, and you have to be open to conversations. And if the relationship is meant to flourish, it will.

Mentorship is invaluable because it’s so critical to career growth. I stress the importance of a network, whether it’s made up of official mentors or sponsors. In a career’s three-legged stool, you have your education and then your experience, and the third leg is your network, the people around you.

I do some official mentoring and consider myself a mentor to the folks who work for me in my own organization. I pride myself on being a talent developer, and so I invest in every relationship with my nine direct leaders who work with me. I spend a lot of time thinking and talking about their development in their own roles and even beyond the organization.

I am also an executive sponsor of one of our talent development programs at Cisco, which brings in a cohort right out of undergraduate or graduate school and places them through three years of rotations. I mentor each of the approximately 50 people in that program.

I have also been one of very few very senior African American executives in the companies that I've worked in, and so I’m very visible as a leader and role model. I take that role very seriously and I know the importance of example because someone’s always watching the example you set.

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