Colten Muth: Leading from the Front Line

Colten Muth is an Xfinity Community Account Representative and Co-lead of Comcast’s Midwest Region Asian Pacific Americans (APA) Employee Resource Group (ERG). Learn more about Colten and how he embodies the ERG motto, “you don’t have to be to belong” as well as his passion for inspiring positive change through leadership in our interview below.

Q.    What drew you to your role as an Xfinity Community Account Representative?

A. “Prior to my current role, I was a leader in the call center for account management, previously known as the Loyalty department. When we started working virtually during the pandemic, I missed leading people and aspects of my work in-person.

“Working in a hybrid environment as a Community Account Representative gives me the best of both worlds. I work from home a couple of days of the week and on the other days I'm usually in the field. I enjoy being a face of the company and having an influence on customers and property decisions that help build the Xfinity brand.

“The more I learn about different areas of the business, the more valuable I become to the company and that was another reason I was interested in this role.”

Q.    What is your favorite aspect of working at Comcast?

A. “I like the people that I work with, and the culture here has always been a big favorite of mine. I was already ‘drinking the Kool-Aid’ so to speak, but after our company’s expanded investment and recommitment to DE&I [in 2020], I felt more like a coach winning the Super Bowl – having all the Kool-Aid showered on me. That's probably the best part of working here for me.

“I also appreciate how the company invests in its employees and especially in leadership development. I’ve grown a lot within the company and a lot of the skills that I’ve developed is because of the trainings and mentorship I’ve received.”

Q.    How did you first get involved with the APA ERG?

A. “In 2020 during the pandemic, there was a big sweep of Asian hate across America, lots of derogatory comments and actions that were taken against the community. I really wanted to transition myself from being an ally to being an activator. Luckily, one of my good friends on the account management team, Sonboon Yang, who was co-lead of APA here in Midwest Region at the time, reached out to me and said, ‘I think you would be a great partner. Would you want to join the board and co-lead it with me?’ That was a big win for me, as I was able to support the community and spread awareness.”

Q.    What does having a leadership role with APA mean to you?

A. “For me, it’s the ability to make an even bigger impact. I've been told that I’m a natural leader and so stepping into that role seemed somewhat effortless at the time. I was already leading a team of about 15 consultants and mentoring peers of mine – so I took the skillsets and best practices that I had developed and applied them to APA to help build the foundation that we have now.

“During my first couple of years as a co-lead, we were able to double our membership, which was huge because up until then, we'd been the smallest ERG in our region. This year, we’ve also increased our number of board members. We’ve been able to expand the impact on our local area – whether it's by volunteering or putting on events for employees, including one where we brought in therapists and held a safe space for employees talk about the hate crimes that were happening. Having the ability to help make this happen felt really good to me – it’s been a good calling.

“I've been a co-lead for the APA ERG for three years now. It’s a volunteer-based role, but I feel like I get so much more out of it than what I put in.”

Q.    What is something you wish people knew about you?

A. “I really love to support people and to inspire them. I grew up in a single-parent household with my mom and two younger brothers and I took that responsibility seriously as a kid – to be a role model for my brothers. That helped me grow and develop a passion for leadership. I want people who look like me to see what’s possible and to know that leader representation matters.

“And I’m happy to offer support in any way that I can. If you let me know what you need from me, I love to say, ‘Yep, I'll do it. Pile it on my plate, and I'll figure out how to get it done.’ People are always asking, ‘Are you stressed out? Doesn’t that overwhelm you?’ To be honest, no, it actually fuels me. If I didn't have much to do, I feel like I would be stagnant and bored and that's not a good place to be for me – I like to keep busy and to help influence and positively impact anything that I can.”

The Asian Pacific Americans Employee Resource Group aims to positively influence the attraction, promotion and retention of Asian and Pacific Islander American talent at Comcast, by providing its members with professional development, community outreach, cultural enrichment, leadership, and networking opportunities, all in service of creating and sustaining a diverse and inclusive work environment.