Tobi Metz, co-lead of Cisco’s EMEA PRIDE Network, Germany. Here Tobi shares how the Radius Network Leadership Programme helped him make more of a global impact on the business.
I first got involved with Radius when I was the Pride Lead at Cisco, in Germany and then moved into the role of PRIDE co-lead for EMEA. I did both ENPL 1 and 2 leadership programmes. I loved the idea of making voices heard in the organisation and although I was aware of some of the ways to run a network from my day job, the Radius Network Leadership Programme gave me the training, structure and clarity to make more of a success of running it. Stage 2 in particular, was useful because that focused on our legacy and what we achieved during our tenure.
Cisco is a global company and even within the Pride network, we have different regional and country leads. Over the last 12 months, I am really proud of helping to set up groups in France and Italy. Doing the Radius programme helped me handle this more strategically and with the right approach especially when dealing with other stakeholders. I have also been able to have a wider impact beyond borders as I was in the position where I could bridge what was needed at the corporate level with what people are doing locally, and where possible, elevate what they are doing. This worked well, for example, running virtual or hybrid events in English where other English speaking chapters could also attend. We also supported the London PRIDE event last year with networking technology and a float. This has inspired other PRIDE chapters to replicate this model for their own local events.
One of my achievements was bringing in two sponsors from different parts of the organisation and two different countries – UK and Belgium. They brought a diversity of thought as well as their own approaches. They were also keen to meet the other regional leads and understand the lived realities of people on the ground.
It is really important that our work is customer facing – and Radius really encouraged us to think more about collaboration. This year we are joining forces with our internal ERG networks to work on sessions and panels covering topics like ‘why employee communities are good for business.’ It strengthens our message when we work together.
Data is key to showing the wider business the impact we are having. We are trying to track what is happening across the EMEA region, and what the key messages are around certain topics. Our chief of staff did a report last year, highlighting all the things that happened to showcase to our corporate sponsors.
The most valuable part of taking part in the programme was connecting with other participants of the programme who I met during the live networking sessions. It was interesting hearing from people with different experiences, sharing their insights and journeys.
