No one else really gets it. Not your executive team. Not your board. Not your spouse. Not your friends. None of them feel the weight you feel.
The weight of secrets. The painful, confidential information you carry. Stories of mental health crises, harassment, and even crime.
The weight of being the first to the CPO role, with no proven playbooks or frameworks to lean on.
The weight of the role itself being new, compared to long-established executive titles like COO and CFO.
The weight of the duality of being in executive-level conversations about layoffs and reorgs, and then immediately stepping into leading your own team.
The weight of leading a cross-organizational function, where your role touches every single department and team.
And what do we do? We hold it. We carry it.
Alone.
What if we changed that? What if we got honest about what this really feels like?
So let’s be real with each other. Let’s discuss:
What would you tell your executive team if you could be completely honest about what this role feels like?
Who in your network has become your unofficial sounding board, and how did you find them?
What assumption do people make about HR leadership that you wish you could correct?