The Growing Trend of Part-Time Executives
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Welcome to the hb idea cast from harvard business review. I'm curtaining.

Imagine this, you're leading a small organization, but you're struggling to recruit and Frankly, afford the senior talent you need to grow. What can you do? Today's guests propose an innovative solution that picking up momentum.

It's called fractional leadership. If you're not familiar with this idea, it's where leaders who might otherwise service four times see sweet executives instead offer their skills to multiple organizations. They dedicate on the a fraction of their time, a portion of their time to each one can afford a chief marketing officer or don't need one full time, higher part time on.

But how do you know if this approaches right fear company? What chAllenges do you need to anticipate to get the most out of working with a fractional executive? And if you're a senior leader, how do you know if a fractional role could be a good fit for you? Our guests today are experts on this growing practice.

They are combined research and practical experience will help us understand how fractional leadership actually works and whether it's right for you in your organization. Tommo yoka is a researcher and adviser at the tony ams global center for digital and A I transformation at I M D school. SHE studies the impact of emerging technologies and organizations and work, and amy console is the founder of collective and a former leader at ideo and old navy.

And SHE currently works as a fractional cheap product officer with several organizations. Together, they wrote the H, B, R. Article how part time senior leaders can help your business to moco. Thanks for coming on the show.

Thank you so much.

And amy, thanks for being here.

Thank you. We're so bad to be here.

And you currently work as a fractional chief product officer. And to moco, your research focuses on how this practice works, kind of as an organizational system. I want to start by asking what drew each of you to this practice.

Um I just love how people are starting to actively and intentionally think about how they want to work and they actually want some flexibility in the types of work they do and they're trying to do something about IT and I think that's what I find and so interesting um about this phenomenon yeah amy.

what about you?

What really drew me to this was I spent most of my career as a consult, and what I appreciated about being consultant was I was able to accelerate my learning and my offer to my clients because I was working with multiple companies on similar chAllenges. And that really allowed me to make make a bigger difference faster. And then I went in house.

And what I enjoyed about being in house was the sense of ownership that I had, the sense of a commodity I had within the leadership team. And what fractional leadership offers to me is the ability to combine both of those things. So i'm as a fractional leader, I am very much a partial leadership team, but also I I can be in that position for more than one company at a time, which allows me to accelerate my learning and give that right back to my clients.

Sounds like you can kind of scale your impacts but also draw boundaries too.

absolutely. And and then just really, you know, one of the things that you really do miss as a consulting is, is the sense of like, you know, this is I am a part of this and this is a part of me and you feel that as a rational leader as well.

Can we talk to about the name for a moment? IT sounds like a nice branding for part time or team .

work even it's I think it's a fantastic a marketing wood. And I think because of this word, the movement has sort of letcher and resonated with a lot of people. And those in the fractional community actually said because of this term of fractional is just being able to be adopted because IT just resonated so well with .

many people yeah and the term part time is just tough branding because that sounds noncommittal or something yeah.

I think I think that's true. And then there's also something that part time misses that I think fractional really nails on the head to me. Part time implies a sense of sort of uh, very boundary connection to the organization, monday, wednesday, friday, whatever.

Set time.

set times and fractional. The idea is the company should not know that you're fractional. They should feel that you're there in all of the key moments.

And so as a fractional leader, that means your context switching a lot more. But to the company, they get this real benefit of feeling like they have a full time person. And that's also why the the part time monicker doesn't quite that.

So it's been growing, right? You know in your article that more than one hundred and ten thousand individuals on linked in this year identify themselves as fractional leaders. IT was just two thousand two years ago. Why is IT accelerating so quickly?

I think that covered made a huge difference in two areas. One is, I believe that the pandemic was a reasoning for many of us. Many people rethought what they really wanted out of life.

And this idea of having greater flexibility, I think, really resonated. But also, the pandemic really Normalized the idea of working from anywhere and working remotely. And that fundamentally suits for action leadership. You, anna, be there at the moments that you need to for each team that you're working with. And so that may mean, you know tuesday at ten, you're with team a and tuesday at eleven year with team b, which would be entirely impossible if you needed to be in person for both of those.

I'm just curious to a lot of fractional leaders work remotely. Do they actually work in person? How does that practically work? And is that also kind of something holding the trend back?

Most of the uh, executives we've spoken to a working remotely. In fact, I spoke with a woman who is currently looking into moving to europe from the united states because with digital technologies and fractional IT would allow her to work from anywhere around the world.

I I would would say I know some people who definitely work in person as well. And a fractional capacity. And I think tear point cut that that means their geographically bound, right? So i'm in the temper area. I know people who work for actually in the temper area. I think the the the bigger question in my mind is what is the future of remote work and how does IT impact this? I think IT speaks to one of the current potential uh, gatekeepers or are things that holds this back um is companies leaders being more comfortable with people being in person can constrain their ability to be open to the possibility of of a fractional leader yeah.

On the other hand, as the fractional movement starts to celerity even that there's so many people who are who who are wanting to become fractional now, then you might have that possibility where IT becomes so diverse and well spread out that then in those large cities there will actually be people geographically already there um so they may not have to be remote working. But I think at the same time, the fractional executives and themselves uh rely on the remote work needs to be there to some extent so they can have the possibility to work with three or four companies at the same time. It's connected in some ways, I would imagine.

Yeah so who are these fractional leaders? Like what would we know about their experience, their backgrounds and and why they're seeking these less traditional rules?

So many the fractional executives that we've spoken to have about twenty to thirty years of experience. They also position themselves as advisers to the sea sweet and that they are also part of the sea sweet. But in order to be a part of a sea sweet in any organization, you have to be able to bring that experience along and be part of that sea sweet. Um so it's not uh, a position that we've seen uh for a early career stage.

People and what kind of companies are trying out fractional leadership definitely.

It's IT startups and S M B, small and medium size businesses to some extend IT might be business units of bigger organizations. And the only place we really start. So I extend into much larger organizations and I A hypothesis will change, but the only place we saw that was in new to organization roles. So maybe it's an A I role or an innovation role if they haven't particularly had that in the past or a data management role or something where the organization knows that they want that kind of support but isn't Frankly ready to handle a full time leader in that capacity.

Do you have any specific examples of how companies are employing fractional leaders that you could share?

I had the opportunity to work for an early stage start up and to really help them as they were ignoring out what their product road map was and what what exactly their product would offer and what felt very beneficial from the founders perspective was that I was working with him and giving him the skill set he needed, both to answer that question, but also to be able to continue. Product is an evolution.

You're constantly we're finding, learning acedera. And so I give him both the answer that question, but also the skills to be able to continue to go off and do that on his own. And I think that's a unique this of a fractional role in that you can come in and solve a problem quickly, but also build internal strength, whether it's in the CEO or a team that you leave the behind.

Yeah I have a case. We actually interviewed a person, a business owner who had hired a fractional and SHE shared with us a story about a situation that actually did not go well. And um SHE one of the reasons why he felt that the fractional IT was a executive that he had high.

I didn't go well with that. He felt that the fractional executive was coming in and just applying something that he was just using either from her past experience or from past clients or even parallel parallel clients as well. And he felt that IT wasn't really solving the problem that SHE had as a business sooner.

That provides a couple of different lessons, right? I think on one hand, the fractional executive, um if they do have they do bring this knowledge and wealth from other experiences. But at the same time, it's the question of how much can you shift and switch between new different clients.

And in this particular case, that the business soil was telling us was that he felt that, that fraction executive didn't switch into the context of what he needed got. And I think one of the other things he had described in that example is that he felt that he was very transactional. And of course, if when the fractional executive only has a partial fractional amount of time, there is that possibility that I can IT could become transactional in order to get the deliverable done. But at the same time, one has to work together to make sure that IT doesn't come off as being transactional, although you're cutting pasting from other. Other jobs.

both sides need to have that collaboration mindset. yes. And what are we learning so far about where this works best? Like, for instance, can this work for any type of role at any company? Yeah, I think .

IT depends, right? I think we've seen IT in the finance accounting stages for sure, but we've spoken to fractionally executives from all walks of life marketing product as amis a uh h chief product officer and also is a cheap Operating also officer and also as human resources, one of the other uh area, some additional companies of organizations that are interested in fraction s which we heard of are also venture capitalists and also non profits companies or organizations that may not have the the the runway or the assets to be able to pay a senior executive at a full time rate.

The reason that started with CFO s is because as a company is growing, the founder or the leadership team is looking at where do they need complimentary skills, what things do they want to offload for themselves and finances. Almost always, one of those things we don't want to do any longer than we have to um but I think that's a nice in an instructional way to think about like how a leader might be bringing on a fractional leaders is really looking at what skill sets do they know someone else can do Better than them as they grow.

So the benefits for companies are clear, like fractional leaders can bring in some new ideas. They have this expertise in this approach can kind of in some ways to democratize access to senior talent for smaller ogg's or or once that are growing and just need a certain amount of expertise for a certain amount of time. What are the downside of fractional leadership?

I think one thing, especially start up founder struggle with is this idea that someone I am trusting to help me growing your organization has multiple demands, multiple expectations, multiple polls. On their time.

they might have three different .

canadas x meetings. And and I think what i've heard from from start up leaders is this idea like, can I trust someone? Can I trust that they have my best interest at heart if they are not full time dedicated to my company?

Yeah I I when we'd speak to some of these fractionally executives, they they have the clear communication seems to be a big criteria for how they men into their time. And I think a lot of the executives, they said they always said that they are like um a lifeline for some of the seas they work with. So if the C E O A needs them, they need their vice there on they are on the telephone .

immediately got IT. Communication is important. Accountability is important. And because this is a new and growing management practice is you know, the playbook isn't totally .

written yet, absolutely yet to show tribe .

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okay. So let's turn to advice. So let's say you're an organization that's fractionally curious. How do you know if you could benefit from having a fractional leader? Like what questions should you be asking to prepare yourself for the decision?

Yeah, I think the probably the first one is the most important, where you really have to figure out what's the work that needs to be done rather than what is the role we need to hire for. And that's a big mindshift change for a lot of organizations because organizations are used to just hiring for a role and then just making sure that, that role can cover whatever needs that may be. But with fractional, one has to think about what exactly is the work to be done and to think about that very intentionally in the beginning. And then once that has been defined, IT would be much easier to define that fashion engagement .

got IT because I might if they define that is a lot of work, they may need that full time leader.

That's right. And just to pick up on, on your question there, current terms of what question should you ask yourself before you even know, I think it's about is there an area of business that would help in your growth if you could accelerate IT, if you could put an expert into that area, maybe it's marketing, maybe its its product, maybe maybe it's finance. If you had expertise in that area, would IT help excel bring your business growth. And I think that, that can be a very business centered way to frame IT up.

Let's say my company has answering those questions and we decide to hire a fractional chief marketing officer, for instance. How do I find good candidates? Like is there a fractional worker agency to go to more than one?

Yeah, already over there are so many. In fact, we we interviewed someone for the article in january who was just starting a fractional broken age.

okay. So you've got brokers fractional head on this.

exactly. That's right. And when I wrote to him, I think IT was last month and had said, hey, can I send you someone to speak to? He said i'm i'm pulling in a thousand people per month. I can't speak to everyone anymore individually. And so that just speaks to the acceleration of people who are craving this kind of work and really to the the imbaLance of some supply and demand. Right now, there are a lot of of leaders who would like to be fractional leaders and far fewer companies who are ready and and and and excited about this opportunity at the moment, we think that's changing.

So let's say you go out and find some some candidates. How do you yeah how do you choose? Like what what are the criteria different?

I would say two things. One is it's really helpful to have someone who's grown up in the field of marketing versus someone who has say, grown up and Operations and switch to marketing or something like that. The reason for this is that often what you're asking a chief uh, a fractional chief marketing officer or fractional anyone to do is to both be your strategic partner and your tactical slaves rolled up partner.

So you want someone whose is comfortable sort of getting in and doing some of the you know, social media, for instance, as you are someone who can be a statistic partner to you. Number two, I would say you want to know that that person has in context switching. Um so consultants are classically trained in this. Other people might have those experiences from other aspects of their lives are ways of working. But you want to know that they can switch in out really easily because that will benefit you as a leader.

And I think he is important to be able to ask some questions about how they might work if they're working pot time or an infraction basis and to also ask questions about their expectations about the rolls longevity. Because, of course, the what defines a fractional role is that IT may not be a permanent role. So we would that you can really sort of dig in to the motivations of why they're applying for that role.

right? So finally, if you found someone that you wanted hire, how should you integrate them into the organization and and make sure there's actually ability and structure for their work? Like what's the process that you recommend here?

This is probably one of the most delicate pieces of this actually. And I think IT comes back to the sort of the definition of what this is. A fractional leader ought to be considered a part of your leadership team.

Number one, include them in the key leadership touch points, much like you would do for a full time higher. Make sure that they have the opportunity to build relationships with everyone in the organization that they need to work with. But really, part of the the fractional will do a lot of the hard work to make sure that they are there at the right times and in the right moments. But the reality of being in a fractional role is you're not there every single hour, every single day. And so your job as the leader who brings them in is to make sure that they are in the right points when they need to be and that you are giving them the context they need to be able to do their job at an ongoing basis.

Yeah is there a problem with I forget what this is called IT at agencies, right? When you when a company highers like an advertising agency, there's like it's not scope creep but it's yes.

scope creep yeah .

is scope creep. They will just exploit agency like come up with the presentation, please do another ad for this and and it's hard for agencies to say no. Is that an issue here where fractional leaders do feel pull or people feel like full timers?

It's absolutely. And if you speak experience here, please, what i've learned how I approach these things at this point, one of the things I it's really important going into this relationship to and IT is a relationship, by the way, with all of the intricate and communication chAllenges and opportunities um but one of the things i've learned going into IT is that together with its usually A C E O who hire me together with that person, I want to sit down and say here the problems in which I will support and those problems can be quite broad but almost always in our initial documentation is these are two or three key things that are really important to driving the organization forward.

And then I make sure I have an accountability session with the CEO once a week at least, where we're checking in and saying, okay, these were the priorities we started with. Are these still right? And so what you're doing as a fractional leader is really constantly coming back to, hey, have I got my prioritization right?

So amy, kind of gotta started there. From the individual perspective, what does IT take to be successful in this type of role? How do you structure your time, your presents effectively? How do you know that this working relationship is right for you?

Yeah strategically my goal is I want to show up when they need me for the meets that they need me in and um and to be there seamlessly for them so that they are not feeling like um where's this person that I need? What the things .

that uh some of the fractionally executives had told us was that many of the people who find a way to fractional coming from long corporate career and one of the things that they have to uh identify um before they go into fractional is what are they good at um and what will know what will be their brand that that one skill that they want to really tell people that know this is what i'm really good at and this is how I can help contribute to your company. And so defining what you're really good at and it's difficult after a lengthy corporate career where you become bit of a jackal trades. But finding that sort of expertise is also um uh uh a good first step got IT.

So really lean into the the part where you can make the most impact.

I I just add to one hundred percent agree, what that impact looks like depends on the stage of the organization. The stage of the orange zone is in, right? And so knowing what your sweet spot is and what what stage of an organizations growth you can best help really helps you narrow in on the kind of role that would .

suit you best. So if someone decides to make the transition from a traditional full time senior leadership role to a fractional role, what adjustments do they need to make in the way they were? Do they need new skills? Or is that mostly a mindset shift?

yes. And yes, it's both. I, I, I will say just to i'm helping someone do this right now. And one of the things that I encourage is tight trading into IT. Um don't try and go all in all at once. Maybe try and get what I call an anchor client um someone who's may maybe four days a week, maybe it's three days a week, but it's enough to cover your base costs.

And just start with one.

start with one. And IT allows you to learn some of the skills that you need in order to work this way. IT allows you time to set up in L C. Or you might need um depending on your jurisdiction that allows you to play with the boundaries that you need to create to have um a non full time role. IT allows you to understand what that means and and and what what meetings you want to attend, what meetings you don't and IT gives you a little bit of space to sort of make mistakes in that realm so that you gain the confidence to be able to take on more.

And I think there's an ecosystem popping up related to fraction s. So there are communities, uh the ones that we're in is fractional united. There are also educational programs um that we know of, it's called buyer to university and they also um delivering you know just even one day seminar on how you transition from a corporate life into a fractional world. So there are a lot of resources out there and the community is willing to help and provide information for those who are who are fraction inly. Curious, when is take the step in?

So the close, let's return to the bigger picture. We've already seen, you know, huge growth in just the last couple of years in the number of people who want to have fractional roles. What has to change within companies, organizations to scale this and make IT more mainstream or or, or just more of a common practice?

I think just awareness. Of course, I have some bias here being a fractional leader, but I think that's really the way to see IT for many companies as IT is an opportunity to access the leadership that otherwise you couldn't afford add an earlier stage or had a Younger gross stage for your company. So I think number one is simply awareness. And the number two is helping companies build skill sets in incorporating in and bringing in people who are not there um every hour of every day and that that is A A change in the way they work.

Yeah I do that. I think companies need to think really long term strategy about their human resource policy and their talent because as we all know, demographics are changing. People are living for longer, even though else company structures have not yet caught up. If you're a company trying to look into sort of long term human resource strategy, we have so much senior executive talent on the table as we all get older, uh, we still hopefully will lead still very productive lives beyond sixty five. And the question is I think this type of alternative working practices is also a way to retain this expertise within within companies and to also make sure that you uh there's there's some you know ways that you can still participate in the workforce beyond these Mandatory retirement dangers as well. So I think there's that sort of long term mindset shift that need to take place, and that would be a really interesting way for companies to just adopted a very different mindset.

Yeah, I was definitely thinking about that as you were talking about how this can just be a different kind of bridge to retirement for a lot of a lot of seen in your executives with a lot to offer, but just not the energy or time or or will to take on a full time role, right?

Yes.

that's right to moco and amy. It's been really great. Thanks for coming on the show.

Thank you.

Having this is done such a pleasure, we could talk for hours on this. So thank you for inviting us.

That's tomato, yoka and amy bsl. Together they wrote the H, B, R article, have part time. Senior leaders can help your business, and we've nearly one thousand episodes and more podcasts help you manage your team, your organization and your career.

Find them at h br at works last podcast, or search H B R in apple podcast, spotify or wherever you listen. Thanks to our team, senior producers mary dee and and sanny, associate producer hinoe tes, audio product manager ean fox and senior production specialist roby card. Thank you for listening to the H. B. R. Idea cast. I'm curt nicky.