In a recent episode of The View From the Top, host Brian Friedman sat down with Anna White, Chief People and Culture Officer at Lumen Technologies, to discuss one of the most significant corporate transformations in recent history.
Lumen, a nearly century-old company, is currently pivoting from a traditional telecommunications provider to a digital-first networking giant. This shift isn’t just about technology; it’s a radical overhaul of business, people, and culture.
Key Takeaways from the Discussion:
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Culture as a Performance Driver: Under CEO Kate Johnson, Lumen established a "North Star" centered on eight "Luminate" behaviors: teamwork, trust, transparency, clarity, customer obsession, courage, growth mindset, and respect.
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The "How" Matters as Much as the "What": Lumen revamped its performance management to weigh "how" employees achieve results (living the values) as 50% of their rating.
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From "Know-it-alls" to "Learn-it-alls": In the age of AI, Anna emphasizes that curiosity and learning agility are more valuable than having every answer.
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Playing to Win: The company moved from "playing not to lose" (defensive, incremental bets) to "playing to win" (bold moves and offense), a shift reflected in a dramatic stock price recovery from under $2 to approximately $8.
The Role of AI in Transformation
Lumen is leading with AI diffusion, using tools like "Goal Pro" to create SMART goals and "Casey" to help managers practice courageous conversations in a safe environment.
Strategic Global Mobility
Anna’s story of transformation mirrors the journey many Global Mobility teams are currently on. Much like Lumen, forward-thinking GM functions are moving away from being reactive and transactional to becoming Strategic Business Partners.
At Benivo, we empower this shift by providing a Unified Mobility Platform that automates the "transactional bucket", the manual work of invoice auditing, payroll reporting, and data entry. By eliminating these administrative burdens, we give Mobility leaders the "superpowers" to focus on what matters: strategy, talent impact, and employee experience.
When you replace traditional fragmented systems with a single system of record, you gain the same level of clarity and data-driven influence that Anna White used to fuel Lumen’s incredible turnaround.
Watch the full recording here to hear more about Lumen's journey and how to lead with purpose-driven leadership.
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