How can inclusive leadership strategies improve employee retention and prevent workplace burnout?

Why must modern leaders align company values with action to build psychological safety?

Former AT&T CEO Anne Chow details the seven principles of inclusive management in Lead Bigger. Learn how to foster psychological safety, align organizational purpose, and harness diversity to drive performance. Master the art of “leading bigger” by exploring the detailed breakdown of Chow’s strategies below, and start building a culture where every team member truly belongs.

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Former CEO of AT&T Business Anne Chow explores how embracing diverse perspectives can revolutionize your leadership and elevate your organization. Weaving together compelling research, personal stories, and practical strategies, she reveals the immense power of inclusive leadership. Whether you’re navigating a complex business landscape or striving to create a culture in which everyone thrives, Chow provides the road map to growing as a leader and making a lasting impact. She shows you how to unlock the potential of your team and discover what it means to “lead bigger.”

Take-Aways

• Define a clear purpose that connects everyone.
• Align company values with employee behavior to drive better performance.
• Create a sense of belonging to nurture a healthy work environment.
• Embracing diversity will help you hire and retain top talent.
• Create a safe work environment through open communication and active listening.
• Respect boundaries between employees’ home and work lives.
• Be flexible with your employees and provide support for changing needs.

Summary

Define a clear purpose that connects everyone.

During Anne Chow’s father’s time at AT&T’s Bell Labs in the 1970s, innovation focused on the joy of invention without much concern for or understanding of the ways new developments might reshape society. However, when Chow joined AT&T in 1990, a more explicit purpose had emerged: to serve as a critical communications lifeline for people and businesses, affecting everything from emergency services to business operations. Over the course of her career, that purpose evolved in tandem with new technologies that caused fundamental shifts in people’s lives, work, and interactions with others.

The sense that you are participating in something that furthers a tangible social good — a clear, meaningful purpose — lends a sense of urgency to work and gives customers an emotional boost. Gallup polls have found that employees who feel tied to their organization’s mission are more productive and less likely to quit. Today’s consumers, likewise, prefer to buy goods and services from values-driven companies. Gen Z consumers and employees, in particular, look to work for and buy from businesses that align with their values.

“Purpose is most engaging when it’s tied to our hopes for ourselves and the world around us.”

Craft a purpose statement by identifying the deeper “why” behind your organization’s work and exploring the broader impact it aims to have. For example, IKEA ties its purpose to affordability and functionality, offering well-designed home goods at accessible prices.

Communicate to your employees how their work contributes to the company’s vision and outcomes. Highlight customer stories, such as, for example, how AT&T’s 5G network supported virtual reality experiences that improved patients’ lives to show employees the real-world effects of their efforts. Engaging stakeholders and sharing the tangible results of their work creates emotional connections and reinforces the company’s purpose.

Align company values with employee behavior to drive better performance.

Cultivate core values — the fundamental principles that guide your company’s internal culture, such as respect, integrity, teamwork, and aspirational values. Then, align your organization’s behaviors with its stated values. This consistency builds trust, shapes culture, and enhances employee and customer loyalty.

“When it comes to establishing your values, the most important constituent to cater to is your workforce.”

Identify your values by brainstorming with diverse stakeholders. Facilitate inclusive group discussions to consolidate ideas and identify common themes. Align your values with real-world actions by carefully considering whether your company’s behaviors, policies, and performance reflect these values.

Measure performance and ensure you deliver results to your stakeholders by understanding each stakeholder’s unique goals and expectations. For example, employees may prioritize job security while customers expect timely and high-quality products. Set meaningful metrics that reflect crucial areas, such as customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and financial performance. For example, tracking customer retention or the mean time to repair can help you gauge customer satisfaction.

Connect your team’s work to these metrics by regularly assessing how their actions support stakeholder priorities. Ensure that they focus on delivering value in both the short and long term. Avoid overly narrow thinking when it comes to your team’s performance: Remember, their work affects other parts of the business and its customer base. Keep in mind, too, that though performance matters, sacrificing your values to gain a performance edge is rarely a good move. Investigations in the aftermath of the catastrophic BP oil spill in 2010 revealed the company had prioritized speed and cost-cutting policies over quality control. These short-sighted decisions resulted in human and animal deaths, devastating environmental damage, and mass job losses — and cost BP over $60 billion in fines and legal fees, along with reputational damage.

Create a sense of belonging to nurture a healthy work environment.

Mental health challenges in today’s workforce are widespread, affecting employees across all demographics and industries. Workers are facing stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and loneliness, which factors such as financial worries, caregiving responsibilities, or societal pressures often compound. By offering support via mental health resources and creating a culture that normalizes open discussions about mental health, you can promote employee well-being and help your teams avoid toxic burnout. Practical measures like flexible work options can also support employees’ mental health.

“Connection is a lifeline.”

Encouraging connections at work and outside of it and celebrating employees’ human experiences further enhances employees’ sense of company support and belonging. When employees feel they belong, they are more likely to feel connected to the organization’s mission and, thus, be more productive. General Stanley McChrystal recalls how, during his three years in a counterterrorist organization, he had three different bosses with distinct leadership styles that drastically shaped his sense of belonging. The first and third bosses were inclusive, which made McChrystal feel valued and motivated to work hard. The second was more elitist, leaving McChrystal feeling excluded and disconnected from his work. His experience highlights the profound effects leadership style has on team morale and engagement.

Schedule regular check-ins with your team members and provide opportunities for all employees to engage in meaningful ways. Ensuring everyone feels seen and valued — through mentorship programs or inclusive discussions, for example — helps create an environment where people can thrive as their authentic selves.

Embracing diversity will help you hire and retain top talent.

Diversity in the workplace includes generational and linguistic differences, neurodiversity, and differing personality types, each bringing its own challenges and rewards. For example, older employees may face ageism, while neurodiverse individuals might struggle with exclusion. To foster an inclusive environment that embraces diversity, intentionally validate different perspectives and ensure respectful dialogue. Creating a safe space for discussions, even on challenging topics such as politics or personal beliefs, allows diverse employees and executives to share their viewpoints without judgment.

“We should be cautious that what we’re unfamiliar with doesn’t fuel unintended biases in our thoughts, our assessments of someone, or the way we choose to work with them.”

Getting the most out of a diverse workforce revolves around hiring and retaining top talent. CEO of Thrive Global, Arianna Huffington, believes that during hiring, you should focus on finding candidates who bring diverse perspectives and contributions to the company culture rather than looking, primarily, for people who fit the existing culture. This, Huffington asserts, helps organizations avoid groupthink and fosters innovation.

Instead of hiring based on instinct or replicating past hires, employ tools such as skills assessments and diverse feedback to ensure candidates complement your team’s needs. Prioritize onboarding and career development. Offer new employees clear integration into the team and ongoing support, such as feedback sessions, to align their growth with their career aspirations and the company’s goals. This approach helps ensure sustained employee motivation and contribution.

Create a safe work environment through open communication and active listening.

Workplace safety encompasses physical safety and mental and emotional well-being. Employees must believe that their company will protect them from harm while at work. Physical safety covers protection from hazards such as accidents and injuries; digital safety addresses the safeguarding of personal data and information systems. Emotional and psychological safety ensures employees feel secure expressing ideas and concerns without fear of punishment or ridicule.

“Constantly walking on eggshells is no way to work…”

Toxic work environments featuring bullying, discrimination, micromanagement, and lack of trust lead to stress, burnout, and employee disengagement. These environments feature poor communication, lack of transparency, and favoritism, which makes employees feel undervalued and alienated. Signs of a toxic workplace include high turnover, absenteeism, or employees who seem withdrawn or fearful of speaking up.

Create safe environments by promoting open communication and actively listening to your team members. Encourage feedback through anonymous surveys or suggestion boxes. Implement regular check-ins to show support and offer resources like mental health programs, flexible work arrangements, and training on diversity and inclusion. Clarify that the company won’t tolerate any harassment or bullying by establishing and enforcing a zero-tolerance policy and ensure that employees know how to report issues confidentially.

Respect boundaries between employees’ home and work lives.

Navigating professional and personal realities as a leader means understanding and respecting the boundaries between people’s work and personal lives while managing their inevitable intersections.

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant suggests that inclusive leaders should recognize that people have different preferences for blending personal and professional life and tailor their approach accordingly. Leaders should accommodate “integrators” — who enjoy combining work and personal life — and “segmenters” — who prefer to keep them separate. This approach ensures that policies and events respect and support both preferences, enhancing employee well-being and satisfaction.

“Untethered from physical location or time zone, we each determine our boundaries as we collaborate with others.”

Aim to build a culture of trust and respect. Provide resources, such as, for example, employee assistance programs for personal issues. Encourage open communication without fear of judgment. And set clear expectations regarding work hours and availability. Demonstrate empathy by being flexible about work arrangements and actively supporting your team members during challenging times. Flexible hours and remote work options can significantly reduce employee stress and improve overall well-being. Creating regular opportunities for employees to share their concerns and feedback — and taking visible action on any issues they raise — builds a psychologically safe work environment.

Be flexible with your employees and provide support for changing needs.

Flexibility allows leaders to adapt to their organization’s and its employees’ ever-changing needs and priorities. Work is only one part of a person’s life, and enabling employees to accommodate the demands of their lives, such as family obligations or personal growth, makes employees feel valued and respected. A flexible leader can quickly adjust plans, timelines, or expectations based on shifting circumstances, which helps the team navigate unforeseen challenges and fosters a culture of trust and resilience.

For example, suppose an employee needs to work from home due to a family emergency. In that case, a flexible leader can provide support and resources to ensure the employee can manage that personal situation without sacrificing professional responsibilities.

“Think of flexibility not as an end point but as a set of evolving expectations.”

Currently, many developed countries, including the US, have total fertility rates below the replacement rate of 2.1. Fewer children born every year means fewer people entering the workforce, which will shift the ongoing talent shortage into overdrive. Remote work and adaptable schedules can help alleviate barriers to raising children, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic when increased flexibility contributed to a temporary rise in birth rates. By creating a more supportive environment for current and potential parents and mitigating the pressures of balancing work and family life, companies are not only investing in their current workforce but in future workforce stability.

About the Author

Anne Chow is the former CEO of AT&T Business and the current founder and CEO of The Rewired CEO, a business services firm focused on powering connection and culture.