In First Person: Fiona Cicconi

Fiona Cicconi is the chief people officer at Google. Cicconi joined Google at the start of 2021 after leading the HR function at AstraZeneca for the previous six years. Before that, she was an HR executive at Roche, Cisco Systems, and GE Oil & Gas. As part of People + Strategy articles editor Adam Bryant’s “Strategic CHRO” series on LinkedIn, he sat down with Cicconi to discuss her views on leadership, AI, and board-CHRO relationships.

People + Strategy: What are some top-of-mind HR issues for you now?

Cicconi: One is the role of the CEO and how it’s evolved, given the massive upheaval we’ve had with the pandemic, macroeconomic changes, and geopolitical tensions. Over and above managing and leading a company, they have to deliver for employees, shareholders, and other stakeholders. The CEO job has become several jobs in one.

And what should be top of mind for a board? What should be discussed in the boardroom, and what’s the role of the people function in those discussions? We’ve been catapulted into the driver’s seat. And then you’ve got the AI revolution on top of all of that. It’s going to be pervasive across companies. What does that mean in your company? What does it mean for our function?

P+S: What’s your take on how AI can and will transform HR?

Cicconi: AI is the biggest technology revolution we’ve seen in our lives. It’s as big as when the internet was invented, maybe bigger. AI is going to be pervasive and powerful, and it will change a lot of how we work. We should embrace it, just like we’ve done with many changes over the decades. I’m an optimist, and I think it will change our lives for the better, though we do need to make sure that we are handling it responsibly.

As our AI products mature and grow and learn, they’ll become more accurate and we’ll be able to use them, for example, as help desks. And we’ll be able to use generative AI to simplify a lot of information and what we write. In terms of the HR function, AI will help us be even more present and be people first. Because we’ll have a lot of help from AI, we can really be there for those moments where we need to be there, rather than having to wade through a lot of administrative and operational work.

P+S: You’re a board director—at Stellantis—in addition to your CHRO role. What is it that CHROs need to understand about boards, and what do boards need to understand about the CHRO role?

Cicconi: CHROs need to understand that boards are not management. Boards are there to really help when management needs them. Of course, there’s an important governance role as well, but they are not management. And if board members ever do try to start getting into issues of management, it’s confusing. It’s important to stick to your role as a board member and find the right balance as you serve as a sponsor and cheer on the management team and give them strength and knowledge and expertise.

And I am seeing a trend of more CHROs sitting on boards, which makes sense because there are massive cultural themes that come up in every organization.

P+S: What were early influences that shaped your ability to navigate all the challenges that come up every day in your role?

Cicconi: Early in my career, I worked in GE for a number of years, and Jack Welch believed that a CEO needed to have both a strong CFO and a strong people person. Through them, you see the flow of money and the people, organizational and cultural issues.

That was formative because he didn’t see HR as an administrative role. It was much more of a strategic function. That really shaped how I run the people function. You don’t do talent management just for the sake of talent management. You do it because the company needs to have a specific talent strategy in order to be successful.

P+S: Let’s shift the timeline to earlier in your life. What were important influences from when you were a kid?

Cicconi: I was a terrible rebel. As a child, I was sent to boarding school. At the time, we were living in Rome, Italy. My mom was working for the United Nations, and I loved the diverse international school I was in. It was a big shock to end up in England on the freezing cliffs of the North Sea. After two weeks, I realized I needed to be a rebel to be included, so I started breaking all the school rules. I quickly became popular, was in constant punishment, and ended up being voted head girl when I was 18.

But that difficulty I have in adhering to rules has actually helped me in the business world, because I’ve often looked at policies and wondered if they could be simplified or whether they are necessary in the first place.

P+S: What are the key leadership lessons you’ve learned over your career?

Cicconi: One is to surround yourself with a great team. That is one thing you should not rush. And check the references yourself when you’re hiring for your team. You will make some mistakes, but you should go deep to build that team really carefully.

Second, I would say be accessible and authentic. Get rid of the layers of shoe polish that we’re told we need in the corporate world in the name of things like executive presence. Just be yourself, because that’s what’s made you successful. Be generous with your time and energy and listen to the organization, listen to employees.

Third, it’s so important as a leader to have people’s backs. Of course, you have to give feedback to people, and it can be done in a constructive way. People have big jobs and they are dealing with a lot of challenges, and you’ve got to stick together and have each other’s backs because things will go awry, and everybody makes mistakes sometimes. You can’t succeed in an environment of fear or not knowing whether your leader has your back.

P+S: Leadership in general has become more difficult these last few years. How do you think about the specific challenges facing front-line managers?

Cicconi: It is a complicated role. You’re dealing with a lot, including macroeconomic uncertainty and navigating the challenges of hybrid work policies. Before someone becomes a manager, we want them to know what they are signing up for. It’s not an easy job. It’s a serious responsibility, and you can get it seriously wrong and make people miserable. Not everybody’s good at it as well. And that’s fine.

P+S: When you coach and mentor leaders, are there a couple of themes that come up more often?

Cicconi: Across all generations, genders and countries, I would say it’s a problem of self-confidence. It’s quite chronic, whether it’s based on a fear of being judged or other things. Obviously, everybody’s different, but in general I have found that people can be so unkind to themselves. There are these voices in your head that just bring you down.

It’s as if you’re trying to swim freestyle in the ocean, because you do have big waves to tackle in your job, but you’ve got this underwater seaweed around your ankles trying to pull you under the water. Those are the voices that are pulling you down, and you have to put a stop to those voices.

Think instead about where you can put that energy to a greater purpose, whether it’s somebody who needs your help or a situation that really requires your attention. Imagine chopping away at all that underwater seaweed so that you can swim stronger and faster to tackle the waves.