By Kyla Nicholson, CHRP Candidate

The March issue of Harvard Business Review highlights research by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles on ‘The New Path to the C-Suite’.

The research examined those skills, past and present, that have made senior executives in various functional areas successful. It further uses the data collected to make informed predictions about the future skill requirements for roles at the C-level.

The article acknowledges that in some organizations HR continues to face challenges overcoming dated role expectations or administrative or reactionary stereotypes to make it to the C-suite. While that may be true, it is also true that as businesses become global, the talent market expands and workforces diversify (by culture, generations, etc.), the need for strategic HR becomes increasingly critical.

As we move forward, organizations that will leverage their HR functions in meaningful ways will require C-level HR to play the role of advisor to the CEO, and stewards of the corporate culture. The role will involve a diverse set of areas including creating succession strategy, building performance and total rewards into the governance strategy, understanding diversity and incorporating it into strategy, and facilitating the organization to be dynamic and responsive to change.

To do this, C-level HR requires leadership skills and business acumen rather than the technical and functional expertise required while moving up the proverbial corporate ladder. Thus, those that make it to the C-suite will typically have more skills in common with their C-suite peers than those within their function.

In fact, the research found that at the senior executive level, those selected for HR roles are often from other areas of the business, including legal, marketing, operations, or (as we’ve all seen before) finance. This can have the advantages of bringing a broader business perspective to the role, and typically those who succeed to C-level HR roles from areas of the business with a  traditional place at the senior table have more ready access to the ear of the CEO. At the same time, the disadvantage for those that do not also have cross functional expertise in HR can mean too much focus on a single area of HR or in the approach to HR, for example when a legal background results in a focus on HR as a regulator.

So how can HR become a path to the C-suite? The obvious areas for development reside in universal leadership skills and business foundations. If you are interested in being in a top HR position, seek to broaden your skill set and business understanding by:

• Taking a role in another function;
• Acting as an HR Business Partner;
• Participating in cross-functional teams and business projects; and
• Seeking mentors beyond your functional area of interest.

The New Path To the C-Suite by Boris Groysberg, L. Kevin Kelly, and Bryan MacDonald:  http://hbr.org/2011/03/the-new-path-to-the-c-suite/ar/1

Kyla Nicholson, CHRP Candidate, is the manager of Professional Development at BC HRMA. Kyla is committed to providing high-quality learning opportunities that build the capabilities and the organizational impact of HR practitioners. She also sits on the editorial committee and writes for PeopleTalk Magazine.