Business Succession Through Fractional Leadership
John Knotts | President and Owner of Crosscutter Enterprises — Your Success Incubator.
In a period of great resignation, where CEOs are departing businesses in record numbers and family-owned companies are going without successors, the need for competent leadership is paramount. Luckily, the pandemic gave birth to a gig economy, with fractional and interim business leaders by the droves.
Fractional C-suite positions in marketing, sales, human resources and technology joined the ranks of a very common Fractional Chief Financial Officer (FCFO). The FCFO was common in mergers and acquisitions pre-pandemic and after working with an FCFO myself, I decided to start operating as a Fractional Chief Operating Officer (FCOO). After doing business coaching and consulting in strategic operational areas since 1998, this was a natural progression from previous COO positions.
That brings us to the current dilemma that several companies face in this new business world. Many companies are facing a business brain drain of a different sort—a loss of senior capable business leaders.
How can the influx of fractional executives be a solution to this significant business gap? The answers fall into three C’s: capability, customizable, and contract.