We rely heavily on fractional executives for our CFO and CMO seats to keep overhead low before our sale. How do we represent these fractional roles on our Accountability Chart, and how do we run a GWC check on someone who is not a full-time employee?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Fractional partners must be treated exactly like internal team members when it comes to accountability. On your Accountability Chart, the seat remains the same regardless of whether the person occupying it works forty hours a week or ten. You must list the fractional executive's name in that seat. They must own the five core roles of that seat and be fully accountable for the results. To evaluate them, you must use the same GWC™ tool you use for your full-time team. Do they truly get the seat? Do they want the seat? Do they have the capacity to deliver the results? Capacity in a fractional context does not mean forty hours of physical presence, but it does mean having the mental bandwidth, expertise, and focus to hit their Rocks and manage their department during their contracted time. If a fractional CFO is spread too thin across ten other clients and misses your Level 10 Meetings™, they do not have the capacity for your seat. Buyers look closely at fractional roles during due diligence. If they see a fractional executive who does not GWC the seat, they will view it as a major operational gap. Be rigorous. If your fractional partners cannot pass the GWC check, you must find partners who can, or plan to transition those seats to full-time roles as you near your exit.