Charting the Future of HR Leadership: McLean & Company Introduces CHRO Playbook

In response to the rising complexity and influence of the CHRO role, global HR research and advisory firm McLean & Company has launched the CHRO Playbook, a strategic framework and guided partnership built to help HR leaders lead with clarity, confidence, and impact. Combining a road-tested capability model with personalized support from an executive counselor, the Playbook equips CHROs to anticipate challenges, balance strategic and operational demands, and strengthen their voice at the executive table.

TORONTO, Nov. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - McLean & Company, the trusted partner of HR and leadership professionals worldwide, announced the launch of its CHRO Playbook, a comprehensive capability framework and guided partnership designed to help chief human resources officers (CHROs) excel in one of today's most complex and high-stakes executive roles.

The modern CHRO faces a landscape defined by transformation, uncertainty, and ever-expanding expectations. The HR research and advisory firm reports that beyond overseeing people and culture, CHROs are now tasked with shaping enterprise strategy, guiding AI and technology adoption, driving risk readiness, and fostering organizational resilience. McLean & Company advises that many CHROs, despite their growing influence, are expected to deliver results without a clear roadmap, balancing strategic foresight with operational discipline while maintaining credibility with the CEO, board, and C-suite peers.

McLean & Company's CHRO Playbook provides the roadmap required to successfully navigate the future of work. Designed as both a strategic compass and an ongoing partnership, the Playbook combines a pioneering, road-tested capability framework with the guidance of an executive counselor to help HR leaders anticipate roadblocks, avoid detours, and achieve lasting influence.

"At the highest levels of leadership, HR is expected to deliver measurable business impact, but many CHROs are still operating without a clear map," says Grace Ewles, practice lead, HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company. "The CHRO Playbook combines a proven framework with the expertise of a dedicated executive counselor to help HR leaders translate complexity into clarity, elevate their strategic influence, and drive results that resonate across the organization."

At its core, McLean & Company's recently published Playbook features a Strategic & Operational Capability Framework outlining the 14 capabilities essential to CHRO effectiveness, from crafting business-aligned HR strategy and leading organizational change to managing risk, integrating talent strategies, and demonstrating enterprise leadership. Together, these capabilities culminate in the mega-capability of influence, representing the ability of HR to guide strategy, shape culture, and deliver tangible value to the organization. Accompanying the framework is an optional self-assessment to identify strengths and gaps, a curated resource catalog mapping McLean & Company's highest-value tools to specific capabilities, and built-in measures of success to track HR's organizational impact.

What distinguishes McLean & Company's CHRO Playbook is its executive counselor partnership, which transforms the experience from a static framework into an ongoing, dynamic collaboration. Counselors act as trusted copilots, helping CHROs contextualize insights, apply them to real-world challenges, and prepare for pivotal executive and boardroom conversations.

"The CHRO Playbook is designed to give leaders not just insight but the partnership and confidence to act on it," explains Ewles. "With the Playbook, CHROs can sharpen their focus and accelerate decision-making, all while building the influence needed to drive sustainable organizational success."

Through this combination of clarity, impact, partnership, and lasting influence, McLean & Company aims to redefine what effective HR leadership looks like. By equipping CHROs with a structured yet adaptive framework, one that evolves with the role itself, the Playbook empowers HR leaders to deliver results today while shaping the strategic legacy of tomorrow.

McLean & Company's CHRO Playbook is now available, with full access for Counselor members and preview access for nonmembers.

As organizations navigate ongoing change, HR's ability to connect operational excellence with strategic influence will determine its long-term effectiveness. By leveraging diagnostic and benchmarking insights in partnership with McLean & Company's Strategy Workshops and Executive Services, organizations can move beyond measurement to meaningful impact.

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About McLean & Company

McLean & Company pairs evidence-based research and immediately applicable tools with deep HR expertise to position organizations to meet today's needs and prepare for the future. The global HR research and advisory firm's member organizations enjoy comprehensive resources, full-service diagnostics, workshops, action plans, and advisory services for all levels of HR professionals, from executive leadership and HR leaders to HR team members, that help shape workplaces where everyone thrives.

McLean & Company is a division of Info-Tech Research Group.

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SOURCE McLean & Company