Gartner Says C-Suite Capability Gaps Are Every Organization’s Biggest Risk and CHROs Are the Best Positioned to Address It

C-Suite capability gaps are every organization’s biggest risk, and the CHRO is the leader best equipped to mitigate it, according to Gartner, Inc., a business and technology insights company.

"The challenge facing most organizations isn’t a lack of capable executives. The uncomfortable truth is that organizations cannot meet tomorrow demands with a leadership profile designed for yesterday’s environment," said Ingrid Laman, Vice President Analyst in the Gartner HR practice. 

As executive capability gaps emerge as the most critical business risk, CHROs are uniquely positioned to redefine what it means to be a qualified executive, align incentives to emerging leadership capabilities and help leaders prepare for future business demands.

During Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo, taking place here through Wednesday, Laman identified three emerging capabilities that differentiate highly effective C-suite leaders.

Organizations are operating in an environment increasingly shaped by geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty and supply chain disruption. As traditional planning approaches become less effective, leaders must be prepared to respond to multiple possible futures rather than rely on a single expected outcome.

External-first foresight is the ability to continuously sense and prepare for potential business and talent disruptors from nontraditional business intelligence sources. Rather than attempting to predict the future, leaders with this capability build dynamic, scenario-based strategies that create strategic optionality and position their organizations for success despite volatility and incomplete information.

CHROs should reserve time for external foresight planning exercises during executive planning discussions and drive accountability by establishing consistent expectations and tying executive incentives to function-level risk preparedness.

While AI may be powered by technology, successful transformation depends on leaders who can align vision, redesign work and build trust across the organization.

“Many executives mistakenly believe they need to be deep technical experts to lead in this space. They do not,” said Laman. “The C-suite’s job is not to build the AI. Their job is to determine which business challenges are best solved through AI, redesign work to capture that value, and help employees navigate the change. Success will depend less on technical expertise and more on the ability to orchestrate enterprise-wide transformation aligned to a clear AI strategy.”

CHROs should secure executive support and resources for ongoing AI learning, specifically AI literacy efforts that build leaders' understanding of AI's impact on work, and incorporating AI leadership capabilities into executive development programs.

Executives must create an environment where employees demonstrate cost acumen, cost transparency and cost ownership. Effective leaders build cultures where employees understand how their work creates value and drives costs, have visibility into cost and spending trends, and manage the organization’s resources as if they were their own. In doing so, cost management moves out of the finance department and becomes embedded in every workflow. 

CHROs should partner closely with CFOs to help CxO peers create a cost-conscience culture, recognize the workforce impacts of cost decisions before action is taken, as well as incorporate cost acumen, ownership and transparency into succession planning to ensure future executive development includes these capabilities.