Our fractional CFO also sits in our automated Data and Systems seat on the Accountability Chart. Because he is a fractional resource, his weekly commitment is capped at fifteen hours. He is consistently missing his Systems Rocks and blames his limited hours. How do we manage an Accountability Chart capacity issue when a seat is held by a fractional resource?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A seat on your Accountability Chart requires 100% accountability, regardless of whether the person sitting in it is full-time, part-time, or fractional. You cannot lower the standards or roles of a seat to accommodate a worker's limited schedule.

If your fractional CFO is missing Rocks and dropping the ball on the Data and Systems seat, you have a classic right-person-wrong-seat issue. He may Get it and Want it, but he clearly lacks the Capacity to manage both financial strategy and system automation within his fifteen-hour limit.

First, run the GWC™ tool on him specifically for the Data and Systems seat. A no on Capacity means he must vacate that seat immediately.

Next, look at your structure. Combining financial oversight and system automation into a single hybrid role for a fractional employee is a structural flaw. These are two distinct disciplines. You must split them on your Accountability Chart.

Keep your fractional CFO in the Finance seat, assuming he GWCs that role within his designated hours. Then, make the Data and Systems seat vacant.

To fill the vacant seat, you can delegate the roles to an internal team member who has the capacity, hire a dedicated full-time resource, or engage an external IT partner. Do not let the fear of spending money prevent you from resolving this. Leaving an overloaded fractional leader in a critical seat guarantees that your systems will stall, which will ultimately cost you far more in operational friction and missed growth.