The Best PI Profile for Chief Human Resource Officers

Chief Human Resources Officer. Chief People Officer. Chief Talent Officer. Your CHRO’s profile will vary based on the business lifecycle, the job to be done, and the people on your Human Resources and C-Suite teams. With the Predictive Index (PI), you can create a framework of the skills and strengths most beneficial for a CHRO to have that fit the need of your organization’s unique situation. Let’s dive into the top PI profiles for CHROs and how they can shape the future of your HR leadership.

Does the perfect CHRO exist?

Alright, here’s our disclaimer. There are many ways to succeed (or fail) as a CHRO. What we’re offering is a scientific lens to workplace behaviors, communication style, and leadership tendencies that will aid in the success of a role. Only a customized Predictive Index Job Target can tell you the right behaviors for your role in your particular organization. And for every job target there are many patterns that will be a great fit, not just one. This blog summarizes the most popular reference profiles for a CHRO role from our 65+ years of experience. Okay, let’s jump in.

The Maverick: Innovation and Agility

Challenging the status quo? Breaking HR stereotypes? Leading with an innovative, entrepreneurial mindset? Meet the Maverick CHRO. Mavericks are assertive, big-picture thinkers, and risk-tolerant—making them excellent business leaders with a knack for innovation.

As a CHRO, a Maverick thrives in environments that encourage shaking things up, creating change, and driving change.  These CHROs are outcome-obsessed business leaders first—with people expertise as their specialty. They prefer psychology-driven HR strategies over process-driven methods and need to be included as key partners to the business. Without authority or respect, they won’t stick around for long.

Characteristics of a Maverick:

• Assertive and risk tolerant
• Thinks big picture 
• Motivating and inspirational
• Able to hold their own with the toughest C-level members
• Obsessed with making an impact and achieving outcomes

Building a Maverick’s Team

Balancing a Maverick involves team members who ensure compliance and regulatory balance. Maverick’s need team members who are good at structure, details, processes, and seeing things to the finish line. Those who are willing to drive change quickly are essential. Mavericks should also adapt their communication style to slow down and listen. A Maverick CHRO will need to provide more clarity of expectations upfront, ongoing feedback, and progress discussions than they themselves would need, if they want their team to be productive. Their innovative, unconventional leadership will be noticeable and uncomfortable for some.

One of my clients was hiring a new CHRO and looking for Maverick qualities in their candidates. During an interview, the CEO asked, “When was the last time you broke a rule?” The CHRO candidate replied, “Where do you want me to start?” Impressed, the CEO, responded, “Of all the people I’ve interviewed, nobody has even begun to answer that question.”

Bonus: The Captain (a cousin to the Maverick)

The Captain PI profile, while sharing the Maverick’s drive for results and outcomes, differs slightly in its approach within the CHRO role. Captains are more structured and bring a stronger sense of organization to HR practices, while remaining flexible themselves. Captain CHROs are still heavily focused on moving fast, taking action, and getting outcomes, but they are more conscientious about follow up and follow through, whereas Mavericks excel at being disruptors. Captains are fast-paced go-getters who are driven to achieve high-level results and a robust framework for effective HR leadership.

The Persuader: Employee Experience and Engagement

Persuaders excel in environments where talent is seen as strategically important, and organizations are willing to invest in talent optimization. They are natural coaches who build relationships and are persuasive, influential, and motivating without being overly authoritative. They are also natural relationship builders. When Persuaders think about the work, they naturally gravitate to “who do we need to get where” or “who would be great for this…” as a way to tackle tasks. 

As a CHRO, a Persuader will have a palpable passion for people. They thrive in organizations that value leadership development, succession planning, and employee engagement. These CHROs excel in places where “good” is not enough and there’s a drive to reach the next level. They hunger for cultures fostering partnerships across functions and departments.

Characteristics of a Persuader:

• Naturally coaches, teaches, and shares
• Follows up and follows through
• Delivers results reliably
• Adapts to business needs
• Moves fast and builds support

Building a Persuader’s Team

Balancing a Persuader requires team members who are technically savvy in total rewards and compliance, and HR business partners who can stand firm with tough business leaders. Persuaders need team members who will throw up red flags and ground the vision to effectively execute plans.

Bonus: The Altruist (a cousin to the Persuader)

The Altruist PI profile is team-oriented and detail-focused. While Persuaders and Altruists both build relationships and drive engagement, Altruists emphasize meticulous attention to detail and structure, fostering a supportive work environment. This nurturing style contrasts with the Persuader’s more risk-tolerant, action-oriented approach.

During a union organizing campaign, an Altruist head of HR not only led a thoughtful campaign to defeat a union vote but also reflected on the leadership and cultural shortcomings that led to the situation. “This is a battle, but we need to win the war,” they said. “This is about what our leaders are not doing for our people and we need to fix it.”

The Strategist: Turnaround and Functional Excellence

Strategists shine in environments needing functional excellence and process discipline. This reference profile excels at building and executing strategies and seeing them through to completion, even when their actions are uncomfortable or unpopular.

As a CHRO, a Strategist is more structured and disciplined, ensuring quality and effectiveness in HR practices and standards. They bring a strong sense of organization and are adept at implementing and maintaining systems and processes. As the name implies, these people are good at thinking about the big picture strategy and then moving all the way to implementation, with equal comfort and skill. This profile is very action oriented and fast-paced. A Strategist CHRO will thrive in an environment that welcomes analytical assessments of performance with a data-driven approach to people solutions. An organization seeking to build or significantly improve HR efforts should look no further than the Strategist.

Characteristics of a Strategist:

• Process-oriented
• Excellent at marrying strategy and execution
• High standards for self and others
• Candid, factual communicators
• Fast-moving and highly productive
• Excellent at driving change

Building the Strategist’s Team

Balancing a Strategist involves adding team members who focus on relationships, empathy, coaching, and relationship development. Strategist CHROs will succeed by adapting their communication style to be more people-oriented and accommodating. This means including more coaching, feedback and communication with others than they would want or need, themselves.

What if I am a CHRO?

If you’re a CHRO reading this, we hope you gained some insights that feed your self-awareness and lead to greater productivity. If your PI Behavioral Assessment results are different from the ones listed in this article, don’t fret. These three (actually five) reference profiles are generalizations and an exercise in the concepts around these different job targets, not hard and fast rules. Understanding the behaviors needed for a role, through the use of a PI Job Target, and where a person has fits and gaps can help with development planning, coaching, building a complementary team, and overall accelerating performance. 

Still concerned?  Let’s talk.  We’ll walk through this in a productive way, promise.

Conclusion

Effective people leadership hinges on self-awareness. By aligning your CHRO’s profile with your organization’s needs using the Predictive Index, you can ensure your HR leadership is primed to drive success. If your HR results are stagnating, MindWire can help not just the CHRO, but the entire team, understand strengths, fits and gaps, to take impactful actions.