The transferable skills needed to go from CPO to CEO

People coordination, managing change and uncertainty, a clear vision, careful planning, meeting people where they are, and working case by case are keys to success, said a former head of HR turned chief executive.

In a recent episode of the HR Leader Podcast, Belinda Cohen (pictured), Gilchrist Connell chief executive, talked about her experience going from senior HR leader to CEO at the major law firm.

She said: “I am where I am today because I chased the work that was meaningful for me. It was where I was naturally curious. And that meant that I committed to the detailed learning that I think is useful in terms of the skills that I have developed.”

“My approach is always to meet people where they are.”

Keys to success

Cohen attributed her path from chief people officer to chief executive to the skills that she learnt working in HR and people and culture.

“If you have a positive and engaged workforce, that pays forward to the client’s experience,” she said.

She noted that strong leadership, a clear direction, and staying attuned to employees’ needs are crucial for the benefit of clients.

“In a world that’s increasingly complex and that increasingly requires collaboration across functions, across different levels of business, across generations – the ability to engage, motivate, inspire people across all aspects of the business who have varying lenses on the world and on work – I think is a critical key to success,” she said.

She stressed that “the ability to manage change … [and] settle people down on the uncertainty” is vital “because if you don’t do that up front, then people can’t hear the rest of your message”.

HR leaders and CEOs are cut from the same cloth

“Central to the [CEO] role is coordinating people to work together to produce something amazing,” Cohen said.

She said that a combination of seeking breadth and specialist expertise was instrumental in her path to becoming chief executive.

“I would suggest people take career opportunities that give them broad exposure to the business and an opportunity to be part of conversations across different parts of the business and then where you can go deep from time to time in centres of excellence,” she said.

She added: “The interesting thing about senior HR professional roles is that you are actually required to wear many, many hats all at once.”

“The cultural leader, the business strategist, organisational enabler [and] change manager … you’re a trusted partner if you do it well.”

She also argued: “The strategic thinking required to be a successful chief people officer very much mirrors the thinking required as chief executive.”

“You are both required to consider the health of the organisation in a number of ways and, you know, then design strategies that deliver sustainable business performance.”

“[Senior HR leaders] are no longer [merely] facilitators of process as we have been in the past.”