We hired a fractional operations consultant to run our supply chain seat, but our internal fulfillment team members are still dropping the ball. Who is ultimately accountable on our Accountability Chart when a fractional leader does not have the hours to oversee daily minutiae?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When you put a fractional consultant in a seat on your Accountability Chart, they must own the outcomes of that seat just like a full-time employee. If your internal team members are dropping the ball and the fractional leader is blaming their part-time schedule, you have a structural alignment issue.

A fractional leader must still fully GWC™ the seat. If they do not have the capacity to manage the daily minutiae, then the roles of that seat must be redefined. You cannot hold a fractional consultant accountable for daily task management if they are only in your business one day a week.

The solution is to restructure the seat. Define the fractional leader's seat as a high-level strategic director with roles focused on system design, vendor contracts, and long-term KPIs. Then, create a separate, full-time coordinator seat directly underneath them on the Accountability Chart to handle daily execution and oversight. The coordinator reports to the fractional leader, and the fractional leader reports to your Integrator. This structure ensures that daily execution is monitored constantly, while your fractional executive remains accountable for the overall performance of the department.