The tide is turning for fractional leaders. Most companies haven’t caught on yet. I’m excited for this wave…
5-10 years ago, fractional was rare.
In the last few years, more execs list “fractional CXO”. But the market is also flooded with people using “fractional” as an opportunistic lever during gaps in employment.
Few companies strategically hire fractional talent. Many need someone with deep, functional expertise and broad strategic experience - but also generally assume that person should be a full-time employee.
Why will AI shake this up, with more startups hiring fractional? A few trends are playing out already.
1. Companies leveraging AI generally need fewer people to do well-defined work - so the new CXO role will naturally require less people management, and offer more automation / offset even for exec work. That reduces the full-time requirement. Some startups, especially genAI-native, are embracing the changing need for full-time permanent work.
2. AI is forcing rapid change - in most cases, requiring SOME people with experience leading a function and navigating an organization through change. I’m leaving the door open for functions collapsing or taking on novel shapes - but most companies will continue to need expertise across core functions like sales, marketing, operations, finance, and product. Pattern-matching is arguably even more important when you plan to break the pattern.
3. Thanks to AI, the startup market is heating up again, with a lower bar than ever to create a product/solution. So, more demand for a limited supply of talent (experienced functional leader).
A lot of what high-growth tech companies in particular need could be accomplished by a fractional exec in a day or two a week, especially after an initial build-out. Companies then have a choice: under-hire for experience and hope to grow talent, over-hire for experience and hope the business grows to match, or … hire an experienced fractional leader.
On the “supply” side, fractional is increasingly attractive to execs in a world of 996 and founder-mode companies trying to differentiate and win in a crowded market. It allows an experienced exec to both diversify across companies, and maximize impact with each fractional engagement.
I’m leaning into this trend as a fractional GTM Ops leader, and excited to see other fractional leaders in operations and other functions. I’d love to connect with other fractional leaders, and companies that have seen fractional leadership work (or not work!).