Chief People Officer: In the Spotlight – with Olivia Sharp

Olivia Sharp, Partner in HR Practice at Eton Bridge Partners, has produced the Chief People Officer Pathway Report, a comprehensive set of findings based on research into the CPO role. She joined me on the podcast to discuss the outcomes and how we apply that to the world of HR and the future of work.

We discuss terminology and how HR titles can be a controversial subject.

We explore differences in internal/ external appointments, gender and geography.

We consider squiggly careers and routes into the CPO role.

Olivia shares her observations about career breaks becoming an opportunity for curiosity rather than judgement.

And we talk about the importance of sector experience and diversity of thought.

As usual, joining the dots came up and Olivia made the connection with ESG, mental health, wellbeing and performance.

Match-making and husbands also come up!

The over-arching message that I took from this conversation was the fact that there are no 'rules'. Individual people and organisations have to be clear about the specifics that are important to them, whether that's about gaps, energy, interests or strengths.

Data is vital. As a psychologist, I want to know what works, what doesn't, and most importantly, why. But organisations are becoming more interested in data too. Being able to hypothesise, analyse and test approaches in your unique context is essential. That's why I'm a fan of Leadership Labs - find out more here: Leadership and Manager Labs

More about Olivia:

Olivia specialises in executive search for EtonBridge Partners’ HR Practice, with a primary focus on Chief People Officers and their teams. Her practitioner background in HR, gained in senior positions in a FTSE100 environment, combined with extensive general management experience, is a unique combination for clients and candidates alike. Eton Bridge Partners is a market leading executive search, interim management and consulting business operating all over the world, from our offices in London and Windsor. A Chartered Member of the CIPD, Olivia has a particular interest in diversity in the workplace, particularly mental health, social mobility and neurodiversity, and uses her first hand experience of delivering business turnarounds and wide scale people change, including complex industrial relations environments to support clients of all shapes and sizes, globally. Closer to home, she was delighted to support Eton Bridge itself shift to a 9 day working fortnight 10 months ago. Outside of work, Olivia is ‘Mummy’ to three young children and is proud to ‘parent loudly’ at work, and tries to squeeze in a bit of running, cycling and ballroom dancing in between everything else!