Purposeful leadership: navigating the CHRO role with intent
The role of a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) goes beyond just overseeing HR functions — it's about leading with purpose. We explore why it’s crucial to define and own your purpose to help you lead more effectively and make a real difference in your organisation.
My story about purpose
In 2017, I was working as the Head of UK HR Operations for one of the world’s largest banks. Historically I’d always been in generalist and business partnering roles and had never planned on ending up in HR Operations, but I loved it. I loved the big team, the international travel, and providing HR services for every one of the 46,000 UK employees.
Sadly, signs suggested that the role was coming to an end. Due to some new regulations that were being implemented in the UK following the financial crash in 2008, the bank needed to ringfence its retail operations away from its so called ‘casino’ investment banking arm. With that, my role was slated to move to Birmingham. Birmingham is a great place (I’m about to move about 20 miles away from the very city), but I wasn’t ready to move there. I wanted to stay in London. So, I decided to take the redundancy package on offer.
Before long, I had a few job offers on the table. A couple were with big organisations. One of them was even in Hong Kong. I was clear though, I wanted the top HR job. It was therefore the opportunity to secure my first CHRO role that caught my imagination. In September 2017, I put on my new suit and tie (this was pre-pandemic don’t forget) and arrived at the offices of my new employer. This was a successful and ambitious wealth management firm based in Mayfair in the West End of London.
I’m ashamed to admit that I wasn’t well prepared. I knew several areas of HR well, but there were some big gaps. My history in generalist roles meant I was a jack of all trades but master of none. I expected my natural talent and ability to learn would get me where I needed to be, but this wasn’t true. In the first year I was on the steepest learning curve of my life, firefighting crises as they happened whilst driving a transformation people agenda without ever really sitting down and thinking about it properly.
I never stopped to think about my purpose. Why was I in the role? What was I there to do? Where should I be spending my time to make the most impact? I achieved a lot that year, but it was more by luck than design. I reflect now how much more I would have achieved if I had just stopped and taken time to think.
Dolly Parton quote ‘Find out who you are, and do it on purpose’
Purpose - the centre of success
At the centre of the CHRO Impact Framework is the core mindset. This is split into two areas: being purposeful, and always learning. Let’s cover purpose first of all.
The CHRO Impact Framework
Purpose is central to success in any role, but particularly for CHROs. The CHRO must treat each area of their role with care and commitment. It’s also important to continuously check in with their purpose and ensure they’re spending their time wisely.
I often ask my clients to condense their purpose as a CHRO into one or two sentences. Often, they use words like ‘strategic’, ‘influence’, ‘challenge’, and ‘partnership’. These are easy words to say but are not that easy to put into practice. I ask them to think about their stakeholders and their views – what do they believe their purpose should be? Do they agree with their stakeholders on where they should be focussing?
Navigating the human element
We’re human beings. We’re messy and unpredictable. And CHROs constantly deal with human beings. This means there’s always plenty of reacting in the role. I, however, was reactive far too much at times, allowing myself to be driven by events, drama, and the needs of the business, rather than thinking about where I added value. I was often subservient to senior leaders, believing my role to be purely about support.
I encourage you to think about your purpose. Where do you want to focus your precious time as a CHRO? Do you revel in other people’s drama, wasting time being sucked into emotional situations? Does your view of your purpose fit with your stakeholders’ views, and if not, what conversations do you need to have to reset boundaries?
From reactive to proactive
I often ask my clients to write their purpose on a post-it and put it somewhere they come across it regularly. I ask them to look at it every day and reflect honestly on whether their actions are aligned with the CHRO they want to be.
Have a think about these four questions:
Why are you in the CHRO role?
What do you want to be known for?
How do you want the CEO, ExCo, and other stakeholders to experience you and your leadership?
Is there anyone you could share your purpose with so they can help you to succeed?
Stay tuned
I hope you‘ve found this useful, if you have stay tuned as there’s more to come. In part two of this blog, we look at where CHROs are spending their time and what they might need to change. Sign up to the newsletter and we’ll let you know when part 2 is available.
Plus you can join me live for my brand new interactive webinar ‘The core mindset of great CHROs – being purposeful and always learning,’ you can find out more and secure your free place here.
