The human resources function is at a defining moment in its evolution. Most organizations are developing bold new strategies to contend with rapidly changing market dynamics, presenting HR professionals with the challenge of translating these strategies into organizational structure, redefining roles, accountabilities, and competencies and aligning work processes. In the absence of strong HR leadership to drive this strategic reassessment, even the most thoughtful strategic plans can rapidly unravel.

Implementation of a new organizational strategy frequently starts with an initial burst of energized chaos, which all too often loses its luster fairly quickly as the workforce settles back into old roles and processes. The common outcomes are failure to achieve the targeted performance goals and increased employee cynicism about the future and capabilities of the organization’s leadership.