Being a CHRO is a struggle in itself. You have to think of the business profits while ensuring your people don’t suffer. And even though you are a people manager, aligning talent with business objectives is your preliminary role. That’s when you need impactful mindset shifts.
In our recent episode of The CHRO Mindset Podcast, we welcomed Shailaja Venkat Iyer, who is a Boardroom Advisor and CXO Coach with 28 years of rich acumen in the organization design, footprint strategy, talent modeling, building org DNA, and workforce planning. And she couldn’t stress more on the need for CHROs to play the dual role of a people manager and a business-centered mind. And this blog is based on the mindset shift HR professionals must adopt to stay relevant in 2025 and think like the people in the boardroom.
If you are anyone—CHRO or a beginner in the field, sit tight, because it’s an eye-opener.
Let’s get started.
Table of Content
Think Beyond People – Yes, It’s the Harsh Truth
Okay, let’s get it straight. Being a CHRO doesn’t mean you must think about your people only and not about the business.
‘You can’t make a business successful solely based on great culture, free perks, fun Fridays, and annual parties.’
According to PwC, CEOs think strategic CHROs are both leaders and business partners who can effortlessly manage people’s emotions and business profits.
Now you may ask why this mindset shift is important. Because CHROs bridge the gaps between people and CXOs, and they hold the functional keys to managing people/talent in the company to meet business goals.
Yes, thinking about people creates silos and neglects metrics that impact business output and value. And often while listening to the people’s voices, you miss—business growth. Thinking beyond people reminds you of the big picture.
An activity for you:
Revisit your business goals every quarter and create a quarter-wise strategy that supports the goals without exploiting people.
And ask questions like these,
- How many talented people have you hired in the last Quarter?
- How much money is being spent on hiring new employees?
- What does the feedback in the exit interview indicate?
- Why did talented employees leave within three years?
While playing the dual role of CHRO, always remember that you weren’t hired to manage people but talent, because it’s not full attendance but exceptional skills that keep business running.
Stay Updated and Pro-Active – No Compromises
Staying updated with industry trends, global dynamics, new patterns and ideologies in the workplace to help you stay in line with what CXOs want. Still, 85% of CEOs believe HR function should be more strategic, but 32% feel only their HR leaders are currently ready to meet expectations according to the EY CHRO Outlook 2030.
A strategic CHRO with deep-seated knowledge on people analytics, governance, risk & compliance, AI & GenAI in HR, skill-based recruitment & succession planning, enterprise agility and HR operating models, etc. knows exactly what to do to achieve business transformation without any fluff.
That’s why, you should,
‘Watch at least one full-length video or podcast on topics like AI in HR, culture & business alignment, or transformation in business.’
It will not only shift your mindset and increase your domain knowledge but provide your traditional notions and older takes on how businesses should progress.
Don’t stick to your domain only, gain knowledge on closely connected fields. For example, if you watch an episode on the role of empathy on increased ROI, then complement your learning with the read, Empathy in Action by Tony Bates & Natalie Petouhoff. It nurtures cross functional thinking and helps you understand how multiple business functions interconnect.
The cross-functioning ability of CHROs comes when they develop expertise in finance, technology, product, sales, and marketing. They start to work with equal competency as CXOs. Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2024 discovered that companies where HRs deeply collaborate with CXOs have 22% more revenue growth driven by aligned visions with right strategies.
Take top HR certifications from leading global institutions like SHRM or AIHR.
| Areas You Should Learn | Why It Matters to You? |
| Finance & ROI | To speak the CFO’s language & show HR impact |
| Tech & AI Fluency | To lead digital transformation, not follow it |
| Boardroom Dynamics | To influence strategy, not just support it |
| Marketing & EVP Insights | To co-create internal culture and brand pull |
| Leadership Science | To build stronger CXOs and succession pipelines |
Learn the Boardroom Talks – It’s Important
For a CHRO, boardroom jargon and terminology are crucial because the room doesn’t talk in terms of people but profit. While representing talent, you have to be data-literate as stated by Gartner that claims data is a key enabler to drive business outcomes. For each people-focused decision you propose in the boardroom, there is a term that denotes perfectly.
For example,
Don’t say, “We need to retain our top talent,” say, “We need to reduce our Attrition Rate.” It’s the boardroom language.
Next time, you walk into the boardroom, learn these metrics in advance to help you be confident. But wait, every metric has a purpose, and it measures something. So, learning the terms is not enough, you need to know ‘what’ they do. Let’s understand.
Some of the commonly talked metrics you should learn are:
- Revenue per Employee—It’s the amount of money an employee generates for the company.
- Internal Mobility Rate—How frequently are employees promoted internally?
- Cost per Hire-How much does your company spend to hire one employee?
- Attrition Risk Index– Who is on the brink of leaving your company soon?
- Attrition Rate- What is the rate at which employees are leaving your company?
- Burnout Risk Score– How much is a team or professional at the risk of burnout?
- Digital Dexterity Index– How comfortable are employees with the latest tech at the workplace?
- Employee Engagement Score- How emotionally do your employees feel connected to your company, team, and work?
There are common boardroom talks that should prioritize and to help you, we’ve compiled a list of mindset shift books to help yourself master these areas. Screenshot this and save it for later.
| Strategic Areas to Learn | Books You May Read |
| Workforce Strategy & Future Readiness | The New Long Life – Andrew J. Scott & Lynda Gratton |
| Leadership Succession & CXO Development | CEO Excellence – Carolyn Dewar, Scott Keller & Vik Malhotra |
| Organizational Design & Cultural Transformation | Redesigning Work – Lynda Gratton |
| Technology & AI Impact on Talent | The Coming Wave – Mustafa Suleyman |
| People Risk, Compliance & ROI | Risk: A User’s Guide – Stanley McChrystal & Anna Butrico |
A Quick Wrap Up
For a CHRO, adopting CXOs’ mindsets helps business build a strategic leader who isn’t only concerned about their people but knows how to bring business growth in similar lines with the planned roadmap. When you learn different stakeholders’ perspectives, you see the clearer picture and make more informed, business impacting decisions.
While there is no one way to gain knowledge to stay on the shoulder height with CXOs, your will to see yourself as a learner is preliminary. Because, when you step into cross-functionality, the learning curve is steep and may seem daunting. But once you are learned, you will no longer be a CHRO but something you never anticipated.
May be a leader in the boardroom?