The advice CHROs give every day is often the very advice they need themselves.

They tell business leaders to pause before reacting. They help employees separate the facts from the emotion. They help executives see the pattern, name the real issue, and make the next decision.

And then, when the issue is theirs, they can get just as stuck as everyone else.

I see this all the time.

I am a sounding board for chief HR officers. And in our mastermind, the group becomes a sounding board for each other too.

Why Smart CHROs Still Get Stuck

What is interesting is that the problem is rarely that the CHRO does not know what to do.

Most of the time, they do.

The problem is that when it is your own issue, it is harder to separate the emotion from the thinking. It is harder to hear yourself clearly. It is harder to take the advice you would have given someone else in five minutes.

That is why a thinking partner matters.

Not a coach. Not someone with a perfect framework. A real thinking...