"The 45-year-old boss spent 25 years climbing the ranks at the Fortune 500 Europe telecommunications giant BT. In that time, Walker went from joining the sales team at the £14.21 billion British ($17.7 billion) legacy brand to leaving as its director of corporate and public sector. Following a micro-retirement, she joined Cisco as managing director before being promoted to lead its U.K. and Ireland arm just two years later."
""You don't need to be the finished article to be promoted, but we need to know that you are in a position where within a reasonable timeframe, you'll have invested the time to upskill and develop-so I say to people, be very focused on who you are first and foremost, because that's the bit that makes you stand out, and can't be taught and will be a differentiator," she adds."
Positive attitude, engagement and energy are prioritized above resume skills for hiring and early-career promotion at Cisco U.K. A strong willingness to learn and humility can secure roles over more experienced candidates when employers can invest in upskilling. Skills become more important in specialist or senior roles, but trainable skills are secondary to inherent personal traits. Career progression example: a leader who spent 25 years at BT rose from sales to director, took a micro-retirement, then joined Cisco as managing director and advanced to lead the U.K. and Ireland within two years.
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