Long opposed, culture and performance are now thought of as two inseparable dimensions of organizational success. In a context of increased economic pressure, uncertainty, and rapid transformations, the challenge is no longer to choose between business requirements and caring for people, but to reconcile them sustainably.
It is around this conviction that the 4th edition of The Dots Connect was organized, in partnership with Bpifrance Le Hub.
On this occasion, several CEO-HR pairs shared their practices and convictions:
Jean-Baptiste & Mathilde Cayed, CEO and HRD of Shine
Bruno Vaquette & Majda Vincent, CEO France and HRD France of Sodexo
Their testimonies converge towards the same finding: alignment between CEO and HRD is not a "nice to have" but a key factor in strategic execution and collective engagement.
The CEO-HRD duo: a foundational alliance before being functional
Behind high-performing organizations often lies a unique working relationship between top management and the HR function. Exchanges show that this relationship is not based primarily on roles or scopes but on a quality of connection: trust, mutual curiosity, and deep understanding of respective challenges.
Trust built on the person, not on the function
At Sodexo as well as at Shine, the beginnings of the CEO-HRD relationship are described as decisive moments. Even before talking about goals, numbers, or performance, it is the human encounter that founds the collaboration.
This "a priori" trust then makes it possible to address complex subjects without a defensive stance, and to establish a relationship of equals, essential for addressing cultural issues.
The business-people complementarity as a prerequisite
Another strong lesson is the permeability of roles. The HRDs interviewed claim a strong business appetite, while the CEOs fully assume their responsibility on human topics.
This hybridization of perspectives helps avoid a "HR vs business" vision and approach decisions with a systemic perspective: performance, culture, and human impact are considered together from the outset.
To remember: the CEO-HRD duo works when it surpasses the logic of functions to become a strategic partnership, united by a common vision.
Aligning culture and performance: from discourse to concrete trade-offs
While alignment is a widely shared intention, its implementation quickly faces the reality of everyday life. Exchanges show that it is precisely in moments of tension that culture reveals its true utility.
Clarifying culture to reduce ambiguity
At Shine, the recent overhaul of the culture starts from a simple observation: values that are too old or too abstract end up being interpreted differently by different teams.
The work aims to transform culture into a decision-making tool, capable of guiding trade-offs when short-term imperatives clash with the company’s DNA. Formalizing updated values, accompanied by "do & don’t" behaviors, helps create a common and actionable reference framework.
When culture serves as a compass in difficult decisions
The shared examples illustrate the ongoing tension between speed of execution and cultural coherence, particularly on topics such as marketing, growth, or profitability.
Rather than denying these tensions, leaders explain how culture allows naming discrepancies, embracing setbacks, and redirecting decisions. Culture then becomes a safeguard: not a hindrance to performance, but a framework that prevents drift and protects the credibility of the collective project.
To remember: an explicit culture does not eliminate dilemmas, but it simplifies trade-offs and strengthens consistency in action.
Leadership, exemplarity, and rituals: bringing culture to life daily
The last major lesson concerns the operational translation of culture. All agree on one point: without embodiment, culture remains theoretical. It is the daily observed behaviors of leaders that set the tone.
Empathetic and collective leadership as a lever for engagement
At Sodexo, the deployment of an empathetic and collective leadership program illustrates this desire to align culture and performance on a large scale.
Far from top-down training, this program aims to enhance managers' ability to create fear-free environments, fostering speech, feedback, and responsibility. Empathy is not opposed to requirement: it becomes the condition for it.
Feedback, rituals, and indicators: anchoring culture in practices
Both organizations share the same conviction: culture spreads through repeated rituals. Regular one-to-ones, structured feedback, integration of HR topics into the COMEX agenda, or monitoring of social indicators (turnover, absenteeism) allow to measure the real impact of cultural choices.
By objectifying these effects, culture gains legitimacy with the most "numbers"-oriented leaders and establishes itself as a lever for sustainable performance.
To remember: culture is reinforced when it is measured, embodied, and ritualized, just like business priorities.
In conclusion
The exchanges from this The Dots Connect remind us of an often overlooked truth: performance is not only based on strategic plans or financial indicators but on the quality of human relationships that make them executable.
When the CEO and HRD advance together, aligned on a clear and embodied vision, culture becomes a performance accelerator, capable of traversing periods of tension without losing meaning or collective engagement.