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With the nation politically fragmented and on the cusp of electing its new head of state, sound leadership is a top-of-mind concern for many.
A vital characteristic that leaders need today — whether running for office or sitting atop a Fortune 500 company — is an understanding that driving inclusiveness is important, argues former AT&T (T) Business CEO Anne Chow.
“Every leader, every business has to decide what fair outcomes they’re striving for,” Chow told Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi on his Opening Bid podcast (video above; listen in below). That could mean anything from unlocking better access to healthcare in a company to building reliable broadband services throughout the country.
“Inclusion is an intended action,” Chow says. “It’s purposely opening your mind and widening your perspectives for greater performance and impact.”
Chow is a second-generation immigrant whose parents came to the US from Taiwan in the 1960s.
Chow worked her way up at AT&T after taking a job there as a network engineer in 1990. In 2019, she was appointed CEO at AT&T Business, which made her the first woman of color to sit at the helm of a major division at the telecom giant.
In 2022, she stepped down to purse her interests in leadership, while still serving on the boards of railroad operator CSX (CSX), industrial giant 3M Company (MMM) and executive coaching company Franklin Covey.
“My parents knew that this country had an immense amount to offer, that this is where the land of hope was,” she said.
With DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] initiatives under fire mostly by the right this presidential election season, Chow believes it’s important to look at where things have become so politicized.
“[These programs] are misunderstood and misrepresented to be solely issues of representation of gender and race at the cost of everything else,” she said.
One way is to split acronyms like DEI up — and driving a different discussion in society — is to return them to their defined roots Chow believes.
“I think it [DEI] oversimplifies three incredibly important strategic imperatives that are relevant to every leader who is looking to grow and be successful,” she said.
Adding that diversity touches upon many things, including thought, perspective, education, and experience, Chow contends that equity means fairness.
Chow also thinks technology is a double-edged sword because along with incredible innovation, it “has also enabled access to misinformation and disinformation in a way that we have never seen before,” she said, calling on leadership to do more diligence to ensure values drive the culture.