Senior Leadership, in the Proportion You Need

Very few businesses need every capability in equal measure, all of the time.

There are points when an organisation needs a particular level of experience around the table. It might be preparing for growth, entering a new market, repositioning, building a team or trying to bring greater focus to activity that has grown organically over time.

That need might last for years, six months or require just a day or two each month.

I've worked with businesses through particular periods of growth or change, as well as becoming an ongoing part of the leadership structure. What that looks like depends on the organisation, the capability already within the team and what needs to be achieved.

Fractional leadership gives organisations flexibility around that.

I've worked as a fractional CMO where the requirement was very hands-on, joining the leadership team, setting the strategy and then working alongside the internal team to put the foundations in place and deliver it.

Elsewhere, my involvement has been much lighter. A regular day each month can be enough to maintain strategic direction, work through decisions as they arise and provide senior input at the points where it's most valuable.

Board advisory sits further along that spectrum again, with quarterly sessions and ad hoc support around particular decisions or periods of change.

I've seen this work particularly well during periods of growth, when the capability a business needs to get from one stage to the next isn't necessarily the capability it will need forever. Being able to bring in the right level of experience, then adjust that support as the organisation develops, can be incredibly useful.