These trends have prompted leaders to streamline structures, adopt fit-driven assessment tools, invest in retention-focused coaching, and establish comprehensive succession plans. This approach not only supports growth and transformation, but also helps companies move from a pandemic hiring surge to a stable, sustainable talent strategy. By implementing these solutions, organizations can better position themselves for future success, whether that means adapting to industry shifts or preparing for potential ownership changes.

Below, our Leadership Consulting Partners share how they’re guiding clients to build resilient, future-ready leaders.

They addressed two questions:

Based on your leadership advisory work with clients in 2024, what are the key takeaways for business leaders?

What advice would you give to leaders to help them and their organizations stay ahead in 2025?

Align Processes with Functional Goals for Growth

Aligning business processes with overall and functional goals is essential for defining the right organizational structure and workflows. I worked with a sports infrastructure company to redefine its goals across immediate, mid-, and long-term timelines. This exercise revealed structural gaps, leading to a new function where social media evolved into a central processing unit for research, knowledge management, analytics, marketing, and customer service. The shift boosted lead generation and exceeded sales targets, with the CEO highlighting the strategic focus and execution strength it brought to the team.

CEO-Driven Development Yields Results

Leadership development initiatives realize the greatest benefits when CEOs drive them. When CEOs prioritize investing in their teams, output tends to rise. A client I worked with exemplified this by implementing a cohesive program for all direct reports, combining assessments, coaching, and leadership development. With aligned messaging and each leader paired with a coach, the team showed remarkable improvements. The CEO reported a 90 percent enhancement in leadership performance, adding that the team became more self-sufficient and effective in problem-solving.

Objective Assessment Critical for Leadership Selection in M&A

Including objective third-party assessments should be a standard practice in any merger and acquisition (M&A) scenario. We’ve seen a heightened demand for supplemental assessments such as Leader Lens and Hogan, with clients seeking deeper insights into finalist candidates to ensure an ideal fit. In a merger of equals, we conducted an objective assessment to determine the optimal leadership team for the combined entity. We assessed each leader’s strengths and weaknesses to guide decisions on who would stay and who would exit. This unbiased process offered transparency and minimized internal politics, giving participants confidence in fair outcomes.

Enhanced CHRO Involvement in Board Evaluation Improves Effectiveness

Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) are taking a more active role in board evaluations to improve effectiveness. In a recent board assessment for an investment banking firm, the CHRO was a stakeholder from the start. Our evaluation focused on aligning board culture, managing succession risks, and strengthening the board-CEO partnership. Post-evaluation, a board effectiveness session clarified board responsibilities and leadership styles, giving participants a focused vision for their 2024 priorities and a stronger approach to collaboration.

Align Talent Strategy with Business Goals for Best Results

The most forward-thinking CEOs and CHROs recognize that business strategy should guide talent strategy, ensuring it directly supports achieving their organizational goals. Increasingly, CEOs view HR as a strategic business lever, seeing their people balance sheet as an asset on par with Finance and the financial balance sheet. A recent organizational design project for my client, a major food manufacturer, highlighted this approach: The CEO integrated her business goals with investment in talent, restructuring critical areas to meet short-term financial objectives within her first six months on the job.

Executive Coaching Yields Personal & Organizational Growth

Executive coaching offers a valuable, cost-effective way to develop leaders in their current or new roles. A six-month coaching engagement that I delivered for an insurance company helped a newly promoted global leader build confidence, enhance executive presence with the board and executive team, and transition from individual contributor to effective team leader. This support helped the leader develop productive, trusting relationships with the management team, highlighting coaching’s benefits for personal growth and organizational effectiveness.

Building Resilient Leaders for 2025

As organizations prepare for the challenges and opportunities of 2025, prioritizing leadership and organizational development strategies will be essential. Investing in current and future leaders and adapting to new realities will enhance individual performance and strengthen organizations’ resilience.

Learn more about DHR’s Leadership Consulting Team and strategic talent advisory solutions.