The CHRO Journey: Personal Growth & Organisational Impact

ChapmanCG partnered with Marriott China to host an in-person HR Leadership Roundtable at their Shanghai office. The session brought together nearly 30 CHROs and senior HR leaders from a broad range of industries, including several regional HR heads who happened to be in Shanghai that week.

The theme of the day, The CHRO Journey: Personal Growth, Organisational Impact, sparked vibrant and honest conversations about the evolving role of today’s HR leader, the realities of leading transformation, and the personal challenges that come with being at the top of the function.

The Evolving CHRO: Growth Through Transitions

Several leaders reflected on their personal career journeys, noting how each transition, across industries, markets, and organisational cultures, has shaped their leadership style.

Common threads emerged:

• The steep learning curve that accompanies stepping into new industries, especially when moving from multinational to local organisations (or vice-versa).
• The importance of “lowering the ego”, approaching each new environment with humility, curiosity, and a willingness to unlearn past assumptions.
• The reality is that successful CHROs often grow the most not during periods of stability, but when navigating complex transformations, integrations, or restructurings.

One recurring insight was the importance for HR leaders to balance confidence with openness: knowing when to guide with experience, and when to step back and allow teams to discover solutions themselves.

Leading With Intent: Listening First, Changing Later

A powerful theme was the temptation for newly arrived HR leaders to quickly make changes, especially when hired with the mandate to “transform.”

However, many agreed that:

• The beginning should start with listening, not fixing.
• Teams often need to experience certain challenges themselves before embracing change.
• Trust is earned not through rapid action, but through empathy, understanding, and consistency.

Several CHROs emphasised the importance of pacing, resisting the temptation to push rapid structural or people changes before understanding the organisation’s history, culture, and readiness.

Building Organisational Impact: Foundations Before Innovation

While strategic HR transformation remains a major focus, the discussion highlighted that foundational work remains essential: managerial capability, clarity of roles, basic processes, and communication routines.

Many leaders shared that:

• Underinvested fundamentals often become the hidden barriers to transformation.
• Even simple programmes, such as onboarding refreshes, first-time manager curricula, or revamped communication channels, can create a disproportionate impact.
• True organisational impact happens when HR simultaneously drives innovation and operational excellence.

One striking example demonstrated the power of empowering managers to facilitate consistent, structured bottom-up discussions, creating a more authentic dialogue between leadership and employees, and giving the organisation clearer insights into needs on the ground.

Digital Acceleration & AI: Fear, Opportunity, and the HR Response

Unsurprisingly, AI emerged as a dominant topic. Leaders shared both optimism and caution as AI begins reshaping workforce structures, capability requirements, and HR operating models.

Key reflections included:

• AI adoption is as much a cultural shift as a technological one.
• Organisations that succeed with AI often have cultures that encourage experimentation, transparency, and continuous learning.
• HR must help employees distinguish between “fear of AI” and the real opportunities AI creates, especially in elevating HR from administrative work to strategic partnering.

Participants also discussed how AI will impact job families, capability building, talent deployment, and the design of future-ready HR teams.

Succession, Talent Depth, and Taking Risks on Internal Talent

Another prominent theme was succession planning. Many CHROs voiced concern that talent pipelines, particularly within HR, are becoming thinner as organisations flatten structures and streamline roles.

Key messages included:

• Companies are often more willing to take risks on external candidates than their own high-potential internal talent.
• HR leaders play a crucial role in advocating for internal successors, providing stretch opportunities, and ensuring readiness.
• Succession discussions must evolve alongside changing business models, not remain anchored to legacy structures.

A consensus emerged that bold talent moves, when supported with coaching and guardrails, can accelerate organisational capability and engagement.

CHRO Well-Being, Purpose, and Career Choices

The session concluded with candid sharing about the personal side of being a CHRO:

The weight of expectations, the pressure to deliver fast results, and the emotional strain of constant decision-making.

Several leaders reflected on:

• The challenge of maintaining stability vs. speed in their own lives.
• The need to carve out time for personal renewal, not only organisational renewal.
• The importance of defining one’s own “why”, whether pursuing global roles, shifting industries, or exploring entirely new career paths such as coaching, academia, or entrepreneurship.

A key takeaway: HR leaders often dedicate their careers to developing others, but rarely pause to reflect on their own growth. Creating intentional space for personal clarity is essential.

A Community of Shared Learning

The roundtable, rich with storytelling, vulnerability, and real-world experience, reminded everyone that the CHRO journey is not straightforward. It is shaped by continuous learning, bold choices, cultural adaptability, and the courage to transform both organisations and oneself.

ChapmanCG is grateful to Marriott China for co-hosting this meaningful session and to all participants for their openness and insight. We look forward to continuing these conversations across our global HR leadership community.