EXECUTIVE TEAM ARCHITECTURE AND THE ROLE OF THE CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
Executive team architecture and the role of the Chief People Officer
This article by Samira Richards, a Partner at SHK with over 25 years of executive HR leadership experience, argues that when organisational strategy stalls, the root cause is often flawed executive team architecture rather than individual capability or the strategy itself. Richards contends that executive teams tend to evolve reactively over time rather than being intentionally designed, leading to blurred accountabilities, siloed functions, and structural misalignment that constrains even the most talented leaders. She highlights the evolving role of the Chief People Officer (CPO), who at their best now operates as a strategic enterprise partner - advising boards on leadership structure, succession risk, and operating models - rather than simply as a functional head, and suggests that boards should regularly interrogate whether their executive team's architecture is genuinely fit to deliver their current strategy.
Read the full article to explore what this means for your organisation
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