CHRO Global Leadership
Board
Pillar 1: Becoming a World-Class
CHRO
The first pillar involves defining the global standard for a world-
class chief human resources officer (CHRO) or group HR
director, with a focus on chief human resources officer
competencies and how aspiring heads of HR are developed.
Members of the CHRO Global Leadership Board have defined
this standard, and current and former CEOs representing large-
cap companies from across industries have reviewed it
rigorously. The result is a model that can be used by HR
leaders around the globe.
To learn more about the chief human resources officer
competencies detailed, refer to the model and related resources
below.
Model of a World-Class CHRO
About the model: The Model of a World-Class CHRO establishes a global
standard for excellence in chief human resources officers (CHROs). The
model is:
Aspirational: It defines what its authors see as the high-water mark of
CHRO performance today and into the foreseeable future.
Applicable: Its relevance crosses industries, geographic regions and
business cycles.
The authors envision this “open source” model serving as inspiration for the
development of a number of resources in helping incumbent CHROs to
improve performance, aspiring CHROs to develop more thoughtfully and
rapidly, and CEOs and corporate boards to hold the CHRO to a high standard
commensurate with the evolving expectations of this critical role.
Using the model: The Model of a World-Class CHRO is intentionally
aspirational and represents the best demonstrated qualities of HR leaders.
The CHRO Global Leadership Board recognizes that HR leaders may find it
difficult to simultaneously excel at every component of the model. To navigate
this challenge, the Board encourages CHROs to sit down and discuss with
their CEO how they should prioritize the five core roles at the center of the
model, based on the CEO’s priorities and the strategic position and direction
of the business. The key point is that leading CHROs never ignore any of
these roles, even if they disproportionately prioritize one or two in a given
year.
CHRO Self-Diagnostic
The CHRO Self-Diagnostic allows current and aspiring heads of HR to
evaluate their mastery of and the importance of activities core to the CHRO
role. Upon completion of the survey, participants will immediately receive a
personalized feedback report detailing their strengths, development
opportunities, and next steps based on responses. Importantly, the
recommendations and development guidance come directly from the
experiences and expertise of CHRO Global Leadership Board members.
If you are a current CHRO, this CHRO Diagnostic helps you:
Assess your mastery and relative importance of world-class CHRO
activities
Prioritize HR activities and development opportunities based on your
results
Align with your CEO on the role of the CHRO and your key development
areas
If you are an aspiring CHRO, this CHRO Diagnostic helps you:
Assess your mastery and relatice importance of world-class CHRO
activities
Pinpoint where you should focus development to prepare for the CHRO
role
Take the Diagnostic
White paper
For an in-depth look at the Model of a World-Class CHRO, download the
white paper, “Becoming a World-Class CHRO: A Practitioner-Defined, CEO-
Validated Model.” This white paper explores the purpose of the Model of a
World-Class CHRO and provides detail on each component of the model,
including tactical advice for implementing features of the model and guidance
from members of the CHRO Global Leadership Board on their experiences of
each of the roles.
Download Now
Webinar
This webinar from May 23, 2018, was facilitated by three Board members who
led development of the model and focuses on providing an overview of the
model as well as highlighting CEO feedback, ways in which the model can be
leveraged and support and resources on the horizon.
View Webinar
Further guidance and resources
CHRO Competencies by Role
The members of the Board believe the following competencies are critical to
the CHRO role:
Board’s Creator Enterprise Driver of Trusted
Leader of of Talent Change Culture Advisor
Human Strategy Leader and and
Capital Purpose Coach
Judgment Business Customer Cultural Emotional
decision orientation visioning intelligence
Ability to making
effectively and Ability to articulate Ability to Ability to
succinctly frame Ability to the case for partner with identify
complex cost- apply holistic enterprise change the CEO and areas of
benefit analyses understandin in terms of the executive personal
to advise the g of the evolving peers to craft strength and
board on major organizationa expectations of the both the weakness in
human capital l business organization’s organization’ own role and
decisions, model, customers and the s unique seek out
recommending financial data implications on the purpose, diverse
the best and external workforce based on the feedback
potential course trends to broader and points of
of action make business view to
effective strategy and manage
decisions on social one’s own
the current context, and emotions
and future a culture that and those of
talent needs will deliver others
of the on that
business purpose for
customers
Proactivity/ Evaluating Adaptive Personal Speak
trend spotting key talent leadership role objectively
modeling
Ability to Ability to Ability to quickly Ability to
anticipate future continuously and flexibly deploy Ability to provide
human capital scout out, HR resources to demonstrate balanced
problems the assess and manage change the and impartial
board must recruit key across and sustain organization counsel to
address, talent from change al culture senior
develop diverse momentum when through leaders
mechanisms to sources to individual while
surface and add to the issues arise actions and maintaining
manage the leadership interactions, strict
problems in bench casting a confidentialit
advance, and shadow that y and
monitor for reflects how unwavering
further action by work should ethics within
the board get done a politicized
work
environment
Talent Motivational Process Persuasion
managemen leadership design
t expertise Ability to
Ability to Ability to engage the
Ability to stay communicate a harmonize board, CEO
current on compelling/inspirin HR and peers
and apply the g vision and clear processes to on
most goals to all be consistent important,
effective employees in a with controversial
talent transparent way, organization issues and
management so they al purpose build a
techniques to understand the and culture compelling
solve to the complete rationale and influence case to
organization’ for change leaders to change their
s human align minds when
capital business necessary
challenges processes
with the
culture
CHRO-Defining Moments by Role
The members of the Board identified the following critical moments in the
career of a CHRO:
Board’s Creator of Enterpris Driver of Trusted
Leader of Talent e Change Culture and Advisor
Human Strategy Leader Purpose and
Capital Coach
Manage a Drive Design a Crafting a new Engage
CEO executive strategy to mission/vision/valu executives
transition decision enable an es in critical
making organization dialogue on
Managing a around a key to Leading work to leadership
major trend implement establish a new needs
leadership affecting the the right mission, set of
transition, enterprise structure for values or vision for Engaging
from the future the organization to and
development Proactively business better compete in influencing
of a monitor needs the market after a senior
succession macro and large-scale leaders and
process and micro trends Build an integration, business board
the (e.g., infrastructure transformation or members to
identification changing that enables leadership transition think about
and nature of work fundamental the
development or the changes in organization’
of successor workforce) the way work s future
candidates and directly gets done in leadership
to the exit influence key the needs, using
and business organization data-driven
onboarding outcomes and to drive decision
of the new resulting employee making to
CEO people engagement build a
decisions and comprehensi
around organizationa ve
rewards, l succession
talent performance plan that is
development used
and talent
acquisition
Manage Deliver Leading a Leading a cultural Courageousl
executives capabilities bold transformation y advocate a
through a for a experiment contrarian
sensitive/ business Designing a long- position
crisis transformati Seizing an term initiative to with the
situation on or new opportunity drive a turnaround of CEO
business for bold and the culture and
Managing a acquisition courageous engagement across Recognize
sensitive, leadership, an organization significant
high-risk Identify when such as the business
event that a new launch of an risks of CEO
jeopardizes business innovation action or
the strategy center or inaction on a
reputation requires a incubating a human
and brand of material shift radically capital issue
the in people different (e.g., firing a
organization strategy (i.e., business top
turnaround, inside the performer)
new market enterprise to and
strategy) and evolve talent respectfully
then develop, and support but firmly
design and growth advocate for
implement the the CEO to
human capital take his/her
plan that is course of
needed to action
meet the
business
demands for
capabilities in
the right place
and the right
time
Lead Implementin Managing impact
independen g a large- of digitalization on
t board scale culture
interactions change to
compensati Managing the
Engage on or organization through
board benefits the pressures and
members in demands of evolving
meetings Implement a workplace
and new technologies such
individual compensatio as artificial
interactions n and/or intelligence, social
alone on benefits learning and big
sensitive strategy that data analytics —
issues that carries and proactively
require significant anticipate the impact
navigating workforce on culture and
tensions risk, such as employee
between the shifting from effectiveness
CEO and defined
board (i.e., benefits to a
CEO defined
performance contribution
conversation plan or
s) launching a
voluntary
separation
program
