THE HR TRAP
NEW BOOK
What if eliminating HR isn't reckless -
but rational?
The HR Trap argues that decades of handing “people work” to HR has quietly hollowed out the one thing leadership can't outsource: the human side of leading. A provocation, a diagnosis, and a practical way forward — from someone who spent her whole career inside the function.
The argument everyone's been avoiding
HR didn't seize control of feedback, culture, coaching, and hard conversations. It absorbed them — because leaders delegated discomfort, boards demanded control, and regulators required documentation. Someone had to hold it, so HR did.
The result: a generation of executives who've outsourced the human work of management, and an HR profession buckling under leadership gaps that were never theirs to fill.
The HR Trap is a direct challenge to CEOs, founders, boards, and executives to reclaim that work — and a roadmap for how.
Timely, because leadership is at a breaking point
The book maps three crises hitting the C-suite at once:
The CEO Succession Crisis
boards can't find “ready” leaders, while the people who already hold those skills sit overlooked.
Leadership in an AI world
As machines absorb the routine, judgment, courage, and context become the whole job.
CHRO Burnout
95% of HR leaders report burning out, carrying work that belongs to leadership.
Along the way it also covers: the “No Assholes Rule” ; Why Annual Performance Reviews Fail, and a Practical Framework For Redistributing Responsibility Where It Belongs.
About Kristin Berkinsky
Kristin has served as a Chief Human Resources Officer across life sciences, financial services, and high-growth environments — advising executive teams, boards, private equity sponsors, and investors through mergers, rapid scaling, and complex change. She's built executive teams, aligned talent strategy with enterprise value, and acted as Chief of Staff, formally and informally, in multiple organizations.
She's also the founder of Green Star Human Capital Advisors.
Bring the conversation to your leadership team
The ideas in The HR Trap work best in the room. Kristin speaks to boards, executive teams, and leadership offsites — and advises organizations rethinking how they lead people.
Potential Speaker Topics:
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Leading through Change and Transformation
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Creating a Work Force Strategy that Supports your Business
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Healthy Conflict Management
