In the last 70 years, 70 percent of Fortune 500 companies have disappeared. Disruption is the norm. CEOs: Balancing paradoxes As a result of this disruptive, fast-paced environment, the pressure on CEOs is unenviable. They have to nurture the ability to manage constant change, evolving expectations and undertake cautious risks. This involves balancing paradoxical skill-sets: agility and focus, strategy and execution, innovation and optimization, engagement, and demand performance. Strategy vs. Execution Agile organizations need agile CEOs – who lead strategy and drive execution – with remarkable turnaround time. Innovation vs. OptimizationDifferentiation is just a technology catch-up away. As a result, CEOs are expected to drive innovation in record time. However, it will only yield RoI when the organization is quick enough to get it out to the market with cost and time-efficient processes. Engaging vs. Demanding Performance While leaders must work to engage employees, they also must know how to demand performance. Individuals will be invested in the organization when they are engaged, thereby driving commitment and performance. Learning Agility vs.Task Focus Consistent learning allows leaders to use prior information to deal with new challenges. However, learning without intrinsic determination can create a performance gap between theory and practice. While the CEO grapples with these paradoxes, his/her expectations from the CHRO are unsurprisingly changing. Buddy on the Roller Coaster The CEO expects to partner with the CHRO to co-create business results by inculcating the paradoxical thinking into organizational structure, culture, people managers, processes, and systems. Agility can only come when the entire talent microcosm that is the organization is pulling together. The CHRO is best suited to make this happen. She has the broadest vantage point on organizational effectiveness and is structurally best positioned to work across the many organizational groups. The CEO expects to partner with the CHRO to co-create business results by inculcating the paradoxical thinking into organizational structure, culture, people managers, processes and systems In conversations, CEOs talk to us on what they want HR to do: Translate CEO’s expectations and strategies into HR outcomes, and anticipate talent needs of the organization Decode “culture” into HR programs and symbols Adapt to individual differences in attitude and style Advise the board and CEO on technical areas such as executive compensation, succession planning etc Business expects a talent-view on business situations and a sounding board for the CEO in dealing with uncertainties. Rolling stones bring diverse perspectives In fact, with rising expectations, CEOs increasingly prefer CHROs with non-traditional backgrounds. In a study by Aon Hewitt’s advisory group of clients on CHRO role readiness, diversity of experience was revealed as a key success factor for CHROs. Fewer than half of the CHROs who participated in the study came from a pure HR background. This implies that individuals preparing for the role of a CHRO should ideally take on multiple roles in HR in a planned manner, or seek out opportunities to work in firms that are “incubators”. Additionally, data showed that CHROs who changed their industries were better prepared for their roles, and rose to the CHRO position more quickly than their industry peers who did not. Potential employers tend to admire CHROs who change industries because successfully navigating these changes builds diverse skill-sets and speaks volumes of the learning agility and adaptability of the CHRO. Beyond what is said! At the core, however, the success of a CHRO in the new world depends largely on his/her soft power. Participants were asked to rate the most important behavioral and functional competencies required of them. The stated expectations from the business side on the here and now are well articulated. However, the unsaid expectations are equally critical Top three business competencies identified were: thinking strategically, business knowledge, driving change, influencing others. Interestingly, an area of concern is low self-ratings on business knowledge. It’s a telling story of basics being at risk while the expectations are mounting. In conclusion, in today’s times, all leaders, including the CHRO, are expected to do things differently and do different things in the context of business shifts. The stated expectations from the business side on the here and now are well articulated. However, the unsaid expectations are equally critical. The wish is that the HR leader is tuned in to the business changes, has an ear to the ground on talent’s changing needs and is thinking deeply on opportunities to tap and risks to take on talent strategy, newer skill-sets, and disrupt its own practices. This time could be the perfect storm, or an opportunity to prove their mettle in the next level of the HR game. (With inputs from Pritish Gandhi, Practice Leader, Aon Hewitt Learning Center, and Aviva Bhansali, Associate Consultant, Aon Hewitt Learning Center)