Has your business grown to the point where it needs high-level executive expertise, but you aren’t big enough that you can afford to hire the right person full time? A “fractional leader” might be a great solution.
Today’s guest, Ben Wolf, has literally written the book on the concept. And on this edition of The Clarity Advisors Show, Ben and host Ken Trupke discuss the growing trend of fractional leadership and how it can help small and mid-sized businesses get to the next level.
Timestamps
(00:51): What is fractional leadership?
(03:33): What kind of company can use a fractional leader?
(06:10): Ben’s background.
(09:08): Creating a national community of fractional leaders.
(12:57): Challenges of fractional leadership.
(17:14): Benefits of an outsider’s perspective.
(18:51): Setting priorities.
(23:48): The fractional leadership end game.
(28:55): Ben’s recommended reading.
(31:12): Connecting with Ben.
Episode Quotes
- “In a typical executive’s role, especially at a smaller mid-size company, they’re probably spending on average about 20 percent of their time on truly executive-level functions. When a fractional executive comes in, what they’re doing is essentially taking that 20 percent strategic and executive part and only filling that role.” (Ben)
- “That’s a nice solution to what I call the ‘Entrepreneurial Catch-22.’ You got big enough to where you need experienced talent, but you can’t afford it full-time until you have had the benefit of that person’s experience building the company.” (Ben)
- “We find ourselves focusing 80 to 90 percent on people issues.” (Ben)
- “When we come in as a COO, we’re taking over from someone else who either was or by absence wasn’t doing that job. Now we can more effectively drive both strategy and execution for the entire business and make sure everyone’s rowing in the right direction.”
- “If we can’t talk about difficult topics and say the hard things, then our clients are not going to be well-served. They’re not going to be able to achieve the goals they so desperately want to achieve.”
- “People typically are becoming fractional executives because they love being fractional executives. It’s not because they couldn’t get a full-time job. They want the variety of doing multiple businesses, learning about multiple companies, learning new skills, making massive change.”
Recommended Listening and Reading
- Win Win Podcast hosted by Ben Wolf
- Fractional Leadership: Landing Executive Talent You Thought Was Out of Reach by Ben Wolf
- Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott
- Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan with Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Follow/Connect with Ben Wolf
