We have hired a fractional CFO and a fractional CMO to help prepare our financials and brand for a future sale. How do we represent these fractional leaders on our Accountability Chart, and how do we hold them to the same level of accountability as full-time employees?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Fractional leaders are a highly effective way to inject executive talent into your business without the full-time payroll burden. However, many owners make the mistake of treating them as outside consultants rather than seat holders. On your Accountability Chart, a fractional leader must sit in the box just like any full-time employee.

The seat does not change because the person is fractional. The roles, responsibilities, and accountability remain exactly the same. The only difference is the capacity, which must be clearly defined and agreed upon up front.

When assigning a fractional leader to a seat, you must run them through the GWC filter. They must truly get, want, and have the capacity to deliver on the five roles of that seat. If they do not, they are in the wrong seat, regardless of their impressive resume.

To maintain accountability, your fractional CFO or CMO must participate in your weekly Level 10 Meetings. They must own their respective Scorecard metrics, lead their department, and complete their Rocks. If they act like external advisors who only drop in for monthly reports, you will fail to build the self-running operation that buyers premium-price during due diligence.