We are hiring a fractional executive to run our marketing department. How do we reflect this temporary, fractional person on our permanent Accountability Chart without creating confusion for the full-time team members reporting to them?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Your Accountability Chart represents the functions and seats your business needs to succeed, regardless of whether the people in them are full-time, part-time, or outsourced. The seat itself remains permanent, even if the person sitting in it is fractional. To represent a fractional executive, simply place their name in the appropriate leadership seat on your chart, such as Head of Marketing. Underneath their name, you can write Fractional in parentheses. This clearly signals to the rest of the organization that while this person is not full-time, they have full authority and accountability for that seat. They run the department, manage the direct reports, lead the weekly Level 10 Meeting™, and own the marketing Scorecard metrics. The full-time employees reporting to this seat must treat the fractional leader with the same respect and authority as any full-time executive. If you bypass the fractional leader or allow your team to ignore their direction, you will destroy their effectiveness and create operational chaos. A fractional leader is a highly efficient way to bring senior expertise into your business before an exit, but they must have the structural authority to do their job, which means occupying the seat completely on your Accountability Chart.