Senior leaders say HR and Finance are partners until budget season exposes the truth. In this episode of The Talent Sherpa Podcast, Jackson Lynch and co-host Scott Morris tackle the uneasy marriage between the CHRO and the CFO. Finance measures what is. HR argues for what could be. Between those two truths, the business either scales or stalls.
Jackson makes a simple point with sharp edges. If there are three leaders in the triangle the CEO, the CFO, and the CHRO and two are aligned while one is not, the problem is not the other two. The fix is to co-author the narrative, not compete for the microphone. That means translating talent moves into financial outcomes that a board will fund. Stop selling programs. Start presenting investments. Speak in revenue per employee, margin impact of turnover, speed to productivity, and retention of top talent in pivotal roles.
Scott pushes on a second truth. Empathy creates psychological safety. Accuracy turns hard truths into action. HR credibility rises when the CHRO previews the audit, anticipates questions, and arrives fluent in ratios, not adjectives. Together they sketch a Monday-morning playbook. Build one joint scorecard that blends leading indicators of capability with lagging financials. Co-author the board slide so HR is visible in the value story. Move the real debate out of forecast defense and into strategic allocation, where capital is actually set.
The episode closes with a challenge to CHRO strategy. Human capital is financial capital with a longer maturation cycle. Treat it that way, and Finance becomes a co-investor. Ignore it, and Finance will rewrite your story. If you care about HR leadership, business transformation, talent density, and the future of work, this one belongs in your operating manual.
Keywords/Hashtags:
CHRO strategy, CFO partnership, talent density, revenue per employee, speed to productivity, HR leadership, business transformation
#CHRO #CFO #TalentDensity #FutureOfWork #PeopleMetrics #BoardReadiness #BusinessOutcomes
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