And for a time, it worked. The shift away from bureaucratic structures in the mid‑1980s unleashed ambition, innovation, and risk-taking. But over the years, cracks appeared. Performance systems grew stale. Quarterly results began to matter more than sustainable value. Trust in leadership eroded.
Today, many traditional companies face flat growth and an inability to connect deeply with their workforce. We hear leaders say:
- “I don’t understand why our people want to unionise — we pay them well.”
- “The comments on Glassdoor make no sense to me.”
- “Millennials and Gen Z want something entirely different from what my generation expected.”
Even success doesn’t always translate — quarterly targets hit, yet analysts remain unsatisfied. Meanwhile, the looming AI revolution threatens significant job displacement, and most leadership teams have little time to prepare.
It’s no surprise that only 10% of UK workers report being actively engaged[1] and that 64% worry that business leaders purposely mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations[2].
This is a concerning and worsening issue. The number of workers lacking trust in their leaders has risen by 12 percentage points (from 52% to 64%) in the last four years. While this may seem to be a purely morale issue — the impact is a productivity crisis.
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The social tsunami aheadThe role of the CHRO has never been more pivotal. We must write a new playbook — one that balances the individual with the collective. The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World, co-authored by Alan Watkins and Nick Dalton, is the playbook for the forward-looking CHRO. It describes the “Seven Great Waves” of HR evolution — culminating in HR 6.0, the Paradox Wave, which spans roughly 2020–2040. This is precisely the era we're entering. It’s an era in which traditional, individualised methods must coexist with networked, team-centric strategies. |
Three imperatives for the new era
- Elevate team performance beyond away days
We’ve mastered the art of motivating individuals; now we must master the science of optimising teams. This means ongoing team coaching, adoption of modern collaboration methods, and breaking free from outdated meeting structures that go back to the Victorian era. - See the organisation as a network, not a chart
Structure still matters — but the true performance drivers lie in the invisible arteries of the organisation: trust, information flow, and support. Expert network analysis can give CHROs an X‑ray view, revealing pinch points, overloads, and opportunities for better connectivity. - Relinquish control to build trust
Outside of work, people are treated as discerning adults and valued customers. Inside the workplace, too often they’re managed like children. The future belongs to organisations that empower employees — even in sensitive areas like restructuring — through distributed decision-making and subsidiarity.
The sporting excellence model for HR
In recent times, HR has felt like the football trainer of the 1970s — well-meaning but limited, running onto the pitch with a sponge and some half-time oranges. Today’s elite sports teams employ nutritionists, psychologists, performance analysts — even throw‑in coaches. The modern HR function must mirror this transformation: deeply specialised, relentlessly focused on collective performance, and confident enough to let the players play.
The new HR isn’t about controlling every move. It’s about setting the stage for collective excellence, where individual brilliance is amplified by the strength of the team.
In this next era — the Paradox Wave — we must also keep sight of HR 7.0, the Planet Wave (from 2030 onwards), where the focus broadens to the wider purpose of business in society at large.
CHROs who embrace Paradox HR — who both hold the tension between individual and collective and move deliberately toward purpose beyond profit — will not just manage change, they will lead it.
Some CHROs are already making this transition. You can find out more about their experiences in Complete case studies. You might want to read the experiences of Chief People Officer at Phrase, Marion Kaehlke. Her story of transformation is inspiring.