Susan Anable

Q: What most notably stands out about your leadership style or what is an example of leadership success you can share with our readers?

I have a reputation of being a leader who encourages my team to try new things and to celebrate the wins and learn from the failures. Failures and mistakes are part of business and of life, and how people respond to failures or mistakes is a big part of their emotional quotient. One of my favorite sayings is, “We are either winning or we are learning.” (I thank Kevin Costner’s character, John Dutton, from Yellowstone for that profound wisdom.) I would rather have someone on my team try something new and fail, than operate successfully in the status quo.

I have learned that I can be a strong leader and still be an empathetic listener. I may not be able to solve every problem or give everyone the answer they want to hear, but I can be sure they are heard.

In my 22-year career at Cox, I am most proud of creating a program at Cox to inform and engage our employees in the civic and political process. We promote the importance of voting and of being an informed voter. While we don’t tell our employees how they should vote, we provide election information and create opportunities for employees to be exposed to candidates as well as important community issues.

Q: What impact has COVID-19 or the disruptions of the past 18 months had on you as a leader?

I have learned to flex around the new expectations of the workforce. COVID-19 created a lifestyle change for many of our employees and that has affected their work environment. Embracing technology is a big part of keeping important workplace connections, but it certainly still has its limitations. It is hard to give and receive human energy and collaboration on a screen. As a leader, I have learned I have to be very intentional about creating that virtual energy and collaborative environment.

The other challenge we continue to face is how we keep our strong culture of high-level employee engagement that has been a hallmark of our company for the 125 years we have been in existence. With so many of our employees either working 100% remote or working in hybrid roles where they are working from home for several days a week, it is challenging to maintain the employee experience of connectedness. Our employees tell us they enjoy the flexibility and productivity of working from home, but they also need human connection with their leaders and fellow employees. I think this is a big challenge that we as business leaders are going to need to continue to adapt to.

Q: What do you feel we can be doing as a business community to empower economic growth here?

The best thing we can do as a business community is to work for shared statewide success and not local “wins.” It is less important “where” economic growth is happening in Arizona, but that it is happening and it benefits everyone. We have several great business/economic organizations that have done a great job bringing the business community together for mutual success (e.g., Greater Phoenix Chamber, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Greater Phoenix Leadership, Arizona Commerce Authority and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry).

I think it is also important that we collectively own our narrative. When we let external sources like the media and politicians in other states tell our story, we lose a huge opportunity to promote Arizona as a great place to do business, and we also lose the powerful voice we have collectively to solve our challenges (e.g., our state’s brand, water resource challenges, tax policy, etc.).

Q: What is new and notable for your company’s near future that will impact our economy?

Cox has invested billions of dollars in our network the past few years and have added more fiber to the Arizona communities we serve. This year, we also partnered with local communities in Arizona, such as Huachuca City, Eloy, Arizona City, Black Canyon City and Congress, to expand our network to provide high-speed internet to rural communities that are unserved or underserved. We are looking forward to more partnerships in the future with local communities to expand our services.

In 2023, we have also enabled multi-gig speeds to 65% of the Arizona homes we serve and we also launched Cox Mobile service.