The Numbers Are In:
7 Strategic Tensions Every CHRO Should Be Solving.

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Hey friends,

It is that time of the year!

This year’s Global Human Capital Trends report from Deloitte doesn’t offer easy answers.

But it offers something more valuable:

1. It recognized the tensions we are all feeling across work, workforce, and culture
2. It gives us a perspective on navigating these tensions in our organizations

Are you feeling tense?

The Human Performance Equation is at the heart of it, aiming to balance organizational and human outcomes.

This is not surprising as we are currently facing economic headwinds that, on one hand, demand productivity and, on another hand, want to ensure human wellness across health, work, and finance.

So, in today's issue, here are the 7 trends that stood out to me—and what you can do about them if you're leading People at a scaleup or growing fast.

1. 🧘‍♀️ Stability + Agility = “Stagility”

This graph caught my attention. It highlights how many organizations operate in what I call “productive uncertainty:”

Work isn’t just about outputs. It’s about outcomes.

Thus, activity should never take a backseat to impact.

Unsurprisingly, leaders are more comfortable with this idea—they’re required to operate in greater ambiguity and embrace the drive for tangible results.

But here’s the twist: 85% of all respondents also recognized the need for greater agility at work.

So, what now?

It depends on your growth stage:

• If you're a growing company, avoid overengineering structure. Stability can be costly and slow you down. Focus instead on agility—move fast, iterate, and adapt to change in real time. And time is of the essence if you are trying to get ahead.
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• If you're more mature, consider silos. Yes, silos. (Stay with me.) Isolate one part of the business to focus on preservation and another to drive innovation. Think of it like Google’s approach—balancing core of your business while trying to open new markets.

The goal isn’t to eliminate tension.

It’s to design around it.

2. ⏳ Reclaim Time to Unlock Capacity

Maturing organizations are notorious for process bloat.

If I am being blunt, it's paper pushing.

All of us see it with ease.

But nobody says anything?!

I've heard stories where a VP acts like a coordinator, not a leader, while more junior technical specialists think and deliver work outcomes, only to discover that the same VP took all the credit for their work.

The challenge, of course, is bigger than that:

If we all see unproductive work, why don't we say something?

The answer is that we are afraid to break the harmony of the status quo in favor of productivity. And hence, we maintain this barely changing dance.

What can you do?

1. Run a Time Audit: Identify the work that is productive and unproductive. Then, eliminate, automate, and ruthlessly delegate unproductive work.
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2. Set a tone. Allow your employees and managers to drive for prioritization and defend your company's business. Most workers want to do well at work. So let them help you by challenging the status quo.

This will allow you to reclaim a massive amount of productivity annually.

3. 🤖 Does AI need an EVP?

Call me extreme (or honest), but I believe AI will replace many, many jobs.

And I would say, this is reflected in fears people have about AI:

Dystopian, I know.

However, while some might advocate for creating EVPs, wouldn't it be more productive to use AI?

So, rather than engaging in an unproductive communication exercise, why not allow employees to interact with AI and use it to streamline processes and create productivity?

Human genius is terrific at identifying new ways of using tools!

So let it.

Try this:

1. Establish an AI norm: Let your employees use AI in their work on a day-to-day basis to learn where you can unlock productivity.
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2. Educate people about AI: We are often afraid of things we don't know and understand. So, why not train your workforce on AI's ethical, effective, and safe use before other companies catch on? Let it be your competitive advantage.

But also remember, there are many charlatans out there preaching AI education. Search for someone who actually can teach using AI in practice.

4. 🧗‍♀️ Experience is Breaking—So Rethink Readiness

I always say that experience matters less than the quality of experience.

This started many years ago when someone told me that I needed 8 years of experience to achieve a director role.

I called BS on the idea of X number of years.

However, you need to put in effort and gain good experiences to be effective in the role.

We further see this idea of experience become invalidated as people step into roles straight out of universities and start companies without a degree.

People are catching on.

So, instead of focusing on years of experience, you need to focus on the quality of experience to develop in your early career.

Try this:

1. Challenge your talent: Instead of letting your talent coast through, challenge them to gain the experience they need to lead. This will not only be exciting for your workers but will also develop the leaders you need at the company.
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2. Cancel the idea of years of experience and focus on growth in specific productive skills for the person. Those skills will make your workers genuinely contribute to the company and make an impact.

5. 🧍‍♂️ Tech’s Human Cost Is Real

I review tons of tech and advise several companies on their analytics and products.

The challenge I often see is the utility of the technology.

What do we need this tech for exactly?

What are we solving?!

To give you some examples:

• If you have 10 emails to send, would you build a macro or send them manually?
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• Are you buying technology to process the legal cases or is this just another project management tool disguised as a legal platform?
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• What will this genuinely cost you, and could you hire additional talent to speed your go-to-market instead of buying an ATS that is barely different from the one you have today?

Try this:

1. Focus on things that matter when buying tech:
   1. Utility: What will I achieve?
   2. Tradeoffs: What will it cost me?

Always remember to go through a proper evaluation of tech.

You don't want to get a lemon.

6. 🛠 Performance Is an Ecosystem, Not a Metric

Isn't it disheartening that achievement is the last on a motivation for work scale?

These data are sad as they signal the state of the economy:

Lack of financial stability and fear of being out of work are what is driving outcomes in organizations.

Instead, a few years ago, we saw the opposite trend: desire to advance and to learn were the main drivers. In those years, we also saw more company growth, significant innovation, and personal satisfaction.

I cannot solve the economy...

However, we need to help people remember what winning feels like, which means focusing on things that do not make work but rather produce results.

Your people will feel alive again.

Your company will thrive.

Your workers will be less afraid.

7. 🧑‍💼 Reinvent the Manager, Don’t Just Train Them

Where do managers spend time?!

Managing work was not a part of the question. 🤯

The role of the manager is to manage.

Most of the options above focused on outputs, rather than outcomes.

And if management is achieving work through others, I am surprised not many options do not actually mention anything about the results at all.

This of course confirms Deloitte's query of whether there is still a role for manager in organizations?

I would say yes, but it is different from what we have created.

Try this:

Focus your managers on managing.

👊 Final Word

Do not avoid the tension.

You need tension to find the right balance.

You need creative tension to solve problems.

You need higher physical tension to improve in sports.

Tension is where true growth is.

Don't hide from it.

Embrace it.

Until next time,

Konstantin

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

#1

If you’re still looking to get started in People Analytics, I recommend starting with my affordable course:

​Practical People Analytics: Build data-driven HR programs to 10x your professional effectiveness, business impact, and career. This comprehensive course will teach you everything from building an HR dashboard for business results to driving growth through more advanced analytics (i.e., regression). Join your peers today! ​
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#2

If you are looking for support in your human capital programs, such as engagement, retention, and compensation & benefits, and want to take a more data-driven approach, contact me at Tskhay & Associates for consulting services. Or simply reply to this email!