From CHRO to Orchestrator of Value
The role of the CHRO in the boardroom is changing. As strategy, culture, risk and transformation converge, CHROs are becoming critical orchestrators of enterprise value.
Recently, Vanessa Gavan sat down with James Allen, Leader of Bain’s Global CEO Forum and author of The Founder’s Mentality, for a conversation that brought clarity to a shift many leaders are quietly grappling with: the CEO role has fundamentally changed.
The CEO role of the late eighties was largely analytical -focused on where to play, perfect anticipation, and long-term planning horizons. Today, the most effective CEOs have evolved from pushing strategy down through layers of management to creating pull, building a clear and compelling strategic narrative that captures the discretionary energy of the entire organisation, particularly those closest to the customer.
Planning is no longer about projecting the perfect base case and executing against it. In a world defined by uncertainty, the leader’s job is to build an organisation capable of responding well to change. Adaptability is not a nice-to-have, it is the strategy.
To drive entrepreneurship and frontline responsiveness, leaders must become highly attuned to energy: their own, their team’s, and the organisation’s. Bureaucracy often becomes a system of energy drains, where structures and individuals unintentionally slow momentum. Even high performers can act as energy vampires. The role of the CEO is to build a leadership team that consistently generates energy and to remove friction wherever it exists.
Thriving leaders continually ask how to maintain a curious organisation – one that looks outward, challenges assumptions, and stays ahead of change. Curiosity is not an inherent trait reserved for a few; it is a discipline that must be intentionally developed and modelled from the top. It is a critical driver of learning speed, adaptability, and better decision-making.
Many leaders operate under the belief that balance, sustainability, and personal fulfilment belong to a future “chapter.” This is a dangerous assumption. Sustainable leadership must be lived in the present. Two simple acid tests help cut through this: whether weekends are spent recovering for Monday or pursuing meaningful interests, and whether you are fitter – physically and mentally – at the end of each week. These indicators reveal whether your current pace is sustainable or gradually eroding your effectiveness.
A leader’s primary responsibility is to simplify. To make the work clearer, more direct, and more purposeful for their people. When leaders are exhausted, they tend to overcomplicate, introducing friction rather than removing it. Energy is not abstract – it is the foundation of clarity, simplicity, and performance.
Our mission to shape the leaders who create value for the future is grounded in our relentless commitment to deliver leadership impact across diverse industries, teams and communities. Over the past 24 years, Maximus has become the place where the world’s best leaders grow. Many of our clients are household names impacting the lives of thousands of employees and millions of customers.
The role of the CHRO in the boardroom is changing. As strategy, culture, risk and transformation converge, CHROs are becoming critical orchestrators of enterprise value.
The CHRO’s remit is evolving. Vanessa Gavan explores how CHROs sit at the intersection of strategy, leadership, culture and workforce transformation, making them well-positioned to enable enterprise value creation.
As volatility becomes the norm, leaders must rethink how they navigate customers, risk and performance. James Keeler explores why high-definition thinking is emerging as a critical leadership advantage in uncertain times.