Here’s why Stacey Abrams doesn’t get hung up on job titles

Stacey Abrams has had quite a career so far.

She served as the minority leader of Georgia’s House of Representatives, brought national attention to voter suppression issues in the state, and is widely credited with helping turn out an unexpected win for President Joe Biden in 2020. After losing two gubernatorial campaigns, she currently doesn’t hold public office—but that’s not exactly a problem. The job title isn’t really the point.

“I know what my end goal is with my work, but it’s a freeway,” Abrams explained earlier this week at Fortune’s Impact Initiative Conference. “It’s my job to pick the lane that gets me where I need to be—and to be able to shift lanes depending on obstacles and needs.”

Abrams is leaning into her activism role right now, advocating for voting rights and campaigning for presidential candidate Kamala Harris. And although she lives in a world of politics and policy, leaders of all stripes should take note of that career philosophy. It’s the form-follows-function school of thinking that eschews vanity titles and other status markers. In short: Just do the work.

Abrams leaves herself open, of course, to switching lanes later on when the time’s right. She said she would “of course” run for office again. But elected office is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

“Politics should be a tool for the policy you want,” she said. “Unfortunately, it’s too often the other way around. But I’m always very clear that politics is something I do; policy is the reason I do it.”

Leadership Tip of the Week ??

Gen X is sometimes referred to as the forgotten generation, and that seems to be exactly what’s happening to them at work, writes my colleague Emma Burleigh. They’re less likely to feel a sense of belonging and recognition compared to other generations. So don’t overlook your Gen X employees—they might be due for a check-in.

Leadership Next

When T-Mobile burst on the scene in 2002, the wireless market was already saturated with big players like Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T. To make inroads, the company became “The Uncarrier,” famous for customer-centric contracts with better pricing and more user-friendly terms and features.

Twenty-two years later, T-Mobile today is one of the biggest telecom companies in the world.

On this week’s episode of #LeadershipNext, CEO Mike Sievert talks about innovation in the wireless space, how AI will change telecom, and what happens when a company goes from startup to incumbent.

Listen to the episode and subscribe to Leadership Next wherever you listen to podcasts, or read the full transcript here.

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-Azure Gilman , Fortune’s Deputy Leadership Editor