HR Leaders

How to Become the HR Leader CEOs Actually Listen To

September 9, 2026·1h 1m
Episode Description from the Publisher

The CHRO’s real test isn’t getting a seat at the table, it’s whether the CEO would make the decision without them.In this special episode, Lewis Brown, Jr. - MA and Josh Klein of From Here Collective join Rich Jennings, Executive Advisor to Comcast, to explore what it means for the CHRO to become the CEO’s trusted consigliere.Using The Godfather as an intentionally provocative analogy, they unpack the skills, behaviours and experiences that make an HR leader genuinely valuable at the highest level. From business fluency and fearlessness to asking better questions, building trust across the organisation and knowing how to influence decisions without needing to dominate the room, the conversation challenges the traditional boundaries of the CHRO role.For HR leaders, the biggest question is not whether you have a seat at the table. It is whether you are inside the decision-making circle before the decision is made. The episode offers a practical way to assess whether HR is operating as a functional expert, a business partner, or the strategic adviser the CEO cannot afford to make decisions without.5 things you’ll learn from this episode:The surprising reason CHROs may have more strategic access than almost any other executive, but still struggle to turn it into influenceThe characteristics that can move an HR leader from trusted functional expert to indispensable strategic adviserWhy the strongest CHROs are increasingly expected to understand far more than HR, and what that changes about the roleThe tension HR leaders must learn to hold when the CEO, the workforce and the wider business do not all want the same thingThe question that can reveal whether you are truly inside the CEO’s decision-making circle, or simply being informed after the fact🙏 Thank you to our series partner, LeapsomeMeet Leapsome: The AI-powered HR platform that raises your talent density. By unifying core HRIS, ATS, performance reviews, and learning into a single platform, Leapsome turns deep people data into measurable employee growth.🚀 See Leapsome in action → https://hubs.li/Q04vQ-KT0⭐ Trusted by 2,000+ global innovators including Spotify, Notion, Mercedes-Benz, and BoltSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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