A productive relationship between leaders and their employees has never been more important. From expectations of flexible working arrangements through to ongoing talent and skills shortages, the need to effectively engage your people and build trust is a must for navigating future work challenges.
This means that the role of HR Leadership is now more crucial than ever before. Where once HR was solely concerned with transactional tasks like payroll and workplace policies, the modern HR leader is increasingly expected to focus on business strategy, leading on talent development, recruitment and engagement.
A recent study of HR and executives bears this out. According to The Predictive Index’s 2024 The State of Talent Optimization report, 70% of respondents agree that HR is an integral part of the leadership puzzle, with effective HR leadership key to business success.
While this is a strong figure, this still leaves 30% who don’t see HR as a fundamental part of successful leadership. Even within the 70%, it is one thing to agree that HR should take a seat at the top table, but another to implement it. So, what unique value does HR bring to the CEO that other leadership positions can’t?
Mike Zani, CEO at The Predictive Index (PI), has an idea. “In the 80s and 90s, it used to be that the chief executive, chief financial officer and chief operating officer sat at the boardroom table. Today, the chief operating officer has been replaced by the chief people officer. That’s because we’ve left manufacturing and moved into knowledge work,” he shares.
“Today, the finance leader looks at the economic resources to execute the plan and the chief people officer examines the talent resources to execute the plan. We’ve seen people leaders elevated into the leadership triumvirate,” he adds.
People strategies
This is a strategy The Predictive Index practises in its own business. Zani has a close relationship with his chief people officer Jackie Dube, having first worked with her in 2009 at a previous company before bringing her on board to take over people operations at PI. Her ability to deliver effective feedback, provide intelligence on employee sentiment and challenge his views is vital to the development of the organisation. That is to say, trust is key.
“Mike and I meet regularly to discuss business challenges, decisions we need to take and how they might impact different teams. We have developed a very transparent relationship where I can deliver both good and bad news, while challenging some of the ideas he might want to communicate,” says Dube.
One of the most crucial areas where HR can help the C-suite is in their ability to hire and develop talent at pace. According to a 2024 survey by Business in the Community, 57% of CEOs ranked attracting and retaining talent as one of their top three biggest challenges, alongside geopolitical unrest (74%) and implementing new technology and generative AI (54%).
With talent at a premium and a volatile market where organisations need to be agile in changing direction, many companies are increasingly looking to internal talent marketplaces and developing in-house capabilities. Having a strategic chief people officer allows organisations to understand the skills they already have and the talent pipeline needed to develop future leaders.
The success of any organisation hinges on a shared vision between HR and the CEO
“A requirement of modern organisations is the ability to be flexible and adaptable. The speed at which you make change is critical to your success. Mike and I constantly talk about talent - who we have in the business, what skillsets they have, what we need in the future - so we’ve been able to manoeuvre through the changes we’ve had to make. We can rely on internal people by optimising them to be agile,” says Dube.
Zani agrees that the new work environment means organisations need to develop talent internally. However, this requires both patience and an individual who has their finger on the pulse of organisational culture. This person need not necessarily be rooted in HR - Zani points out that ex-Google chief human resources officer Laszlo Bock started out as a management consultant - but does require a skillset that prioritises relationship building.
Empathetic leadership
One example of how The Predictive Index does this is through its communication with manager-level employees. This is a highly-pressurised position, in which managers are expected to inspire and convince their teams to execute initiatives from senior leadership, while at the same time managing employees and delivering their own targets. Through programmes led by Dube’s HR team and their new Perform product, managers receive constant coaching and mentoring to work on people-focused problems, while also supporting them to grow their own careers and aspirations.
“The most successful leaders have always been empathetic, but you could be successful without it. Today, it’s a requirement. The modern workforce expects empathy and to have their voices heard. If you come into an organisation as authoritarian and transactional, people won’t follow you,” says Dube.
This is another way HR and CEO synergy can benefit organisations. Chief executives don’t always have full insight into how their messaging is landing in an organisation. However, by empowering HR leaders to seek out employee sentiment and trusting them to provide actions on how leaders can better communicate, they can act on feedback and build a better culture.
“I have a good sense of our culture from my direct reports, but if I really need to find out what is going on, I’m connecting with Jackie to see where the company stands on an issue,” says Zani.
“Sometimes, Jackie may decide to withhold information until the time is right, because if she shares it, she could lose trust with the people in our organisation. By valuing that relationship, I can step back and trust her to do the right thing,” he adds.
Ultimately, the most important elements of an effective HR and CEO relationship are trust synchronicity. Do you agree on the kind of company you want to build?
“Mike is a people-centric CEO. We agree on how we want to treat our people and the team we want to create. That’s where you start the relationship - with shared values,” says Dube.
The success of any organisation hinges on a shared vision between HR and the CEO, grounded in mutual trust. When leaders prioritise this partnership, they unlock the potential for sustained growth and a thriving workplace culture.
To find out more, visit predictiveindex.com
