Organizational Alignment & Strategic Disconnects Respondents highlighted a critical gap between what HR can do—and how it’s perceived or supported internally. Several emphasized the need for HR to be embedded as a strategic business partner, not just a support function. “HR is not a support function. If we’re doing our job, we’re driving business first.” — VP of HR, Genea Others called out executive complacency and resistance to self-development, creating misaligned leadership and undermining succession planning. “C-suite leaders think they’ve arrived. They’re not investing time into their own development—or the next band of leaders.” — SVP & CPO, Calibre Scientific Poor internal alignment also showed up in rapidly growing companies where leadership turnover or change fatigue had eroded trust. “Everyone is exhausted from transformation—reorgs, layoffs, leadership changes. People are doing two or three jobs.” — Global Director of TA, Duck Creek Technologies Still others described challenges in linking employee roles to long-term strategy, citing vague goals, lack of clarity, or failure to make the connection meaningful to individuals. “A lot of employees can’t tie what they do to any long-term strategy. It’s hard to quantify or even see the linkage.” — CISO, Freshworks