Ideological doctrines of CEOs and CHROs differ drastically; causes divides

The findings of CEO Leadership Report 2021 suggest that about half of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) do not see eye to eye or are not on the same page regarding opinions and views on organizational talent. DDI, a global leadership consulting firm conducted this study. 368 CEOs and 2,102 human resource executives were surveyed worldwide. 

Companies involved in the research had an average size of 28,000 employees. One of the observations of the report says that "strong alignment between CHROs and CEOs only happens about half the time." Only 47% of CHROs and CEOs from the same company have similar dispositions or aligned perspectives of their senior leadership quality, as the report says. The study reads, "This alignment has both talent and business implications," 

A grave issue of underutilisation of HR departments on the part of CEOs was highlighted in the report. It further elaborated that HR department members are used as reactors or partners while sorting out talent problems whereas they should be allowed to act as anticipators using analytics to foretell talent gaps in advance.

The study concluded that chances of hiring the right people are increased three times if HR is an anticipator unlike when it is only used as a portal to meet talent needs. Companies creating anticipator driven HR departments are 1.4 times more likely to be positively reacting to change. Chances of landing in 10% of high-performing companies are also increased by twice.

Another finding of the report shows that 60% of CEOs are still in the want of more external coaching and feedback. While 85% of CEOs undergo some leadership assessment, only  23% admit that they got high-quality feedback which they used for their further skill development. The study revealed that the CEOs who receive honest and high-quality feedback are more confident in their abilities and leadership skills. They rated themselves as 52% higher in business acumen and identifying and developing future talent. 

Transitioning officials have been recommended for some high-quality assessment.  Lower levels of stress and smoother transition into their new roles have been reported among senior executives who were recipients of high-quality assessment.