I came across an interesting read from Russell Reynolds on The CHRO of the Future. It does a great job outlining where the role is headed.
Broader remit. Deeper business partnership. More technology. More transformation. More board-level accountability. All true.
But there's a missing layer, and it's one I see derail this work often.
Readiness
Not just whether the CHRO is ready for the future. Whether the organization is ready for the kind of CHRO it says it wants.
Organizations hire a future-ready CHRO/CPO before they've validated the real problems, before they've aligned on the mandate, before they've built or even identified change capacity, before they've decided what actually has to stop.
Then they're surprised when it's hard, and other execs and stakeholders dig their heels in. Old habits die hard, as they say.
The problem isn't that CHROs aren't capable
It's that companies are hiring them before they're ready — or before they truly understand what they need.
I wrote about this last week, but it bears repeating: most companies don't fail at hiring a Head of People. They fail to define the job and what must be true to enable that future state.
If the role isn't clear, the authority and empowerment aren't real, and the organization isn't prepared to change — even the best CHRO will struggle.
This is exactly why I'm brought in before a hire
To pressure-test the problem. Surface what's actually required. Make sure the organization is ready to receive the leader it claims to want.
New CHROs and CPOs fail when organizations skip the inward-facing, hard work that makes that vision executable.
Hiring or promoting a Head of People? Let's talk.